Parker Duofold True Blue

[Defacto]

Hello Everybody,

 

I had to wait for it for awhile but yesterday I got my Parker Duofold True Blue.

I haven't inkted it yet, I'm only drooling al over it when watching it. Keep cleaning afterwards. :ltcapd:

It's kind of an early Christmaspresent to myself this year.

I've attached some pictures.

 

a wonderful Christmas to all of you already.

 

Nicolet

 

 

 

[fjf]

Nice pen!. Enjoy!

Edited December 16, 2007 by fjf

[diplomat]

Beautiful! It's a tipical Xmas pen!

I treated myself with a Pinstripe this year. It looks really similar to yours.

 

Wich size is it? Centennial or International?

 

Regards,

[moojpg2]

very nice!

[PAKMAN]

[Hoarder68]

One of my favorites.

[greencobra]

Very nice, enjoy it.

[dcwaites]

What is the origin of the 'True Blue' name?

As an Aussie, we think we own the term...

David

[omasfan]

What is the origin of the 'True Blue' name?

 

 

I second this motion! I would love to know the origin of this pen, too. I know that the original true blue pen was released in the 30s. If I may ask, how much did the pen cost you?

[Diamondback]

What is the origin of the 'True Blue' name?

 

 

I second this motion! I would love to know the origin of this pen, too. I know that the original true blue pen was released in the 30s. If I may ask, how much did the pen cost you?

 

The following is an extract from the documentation that accompanies the Duofold True Blue LE:

 

"In 1928, PARKER launched a range of slender and startingly contemporary pens - a new blue in a modern style. Marketed alongside the DUOFOLD but pitched at half the price, the Three Fifty (or $3.50) was initially targeted at the younger consumer. Students adored the extraordinary new colours and avant-garde design, so much so that late 1920's PARKER advertising claimed the Three Fifty was voted 'user's choice' in early US market research. Over time, this unique range became known as the True Blue........ A timeless colour combination found everywhere from porcelain to interior design, the original inspiration behind the blue and white styling is a mystery, and part of its allure. Prevalent artistic trends of the day were more geometric than the fluid streaks of the True Blue, and whilst the PARKER family made nearly all product decisions from that period, no relevant internal memos have been uncovered. One thing we can be sure of though, PARKER marketed the True Blue as unbeatable quality coupled with ultra-modern design - a true innovation."

 

The above contains the requisite amount of marketing hype, but is does give you some background on the naming of the pen based on its colour.

[PAKMAN]

Unfortunately the original true blue was anything but true to its original colors!! $3.50 wow. The new true blue retails at $850.00 and can be had at Fountain Pen Hospital for the kingly sum of $680.00!!

[Diamondback]

Unfortunately the original true blue was anything but true to its original colors!! $3.50 wow. The new true blue retails at $850.00 and can be had at Fountain Pen Hospital for the kingly sum of $680.00!!

 

Pam Braun had some for $499. No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

[dcwaites]

To answer my own question (I should have done this in the first place...)

 

From The Phrase Finder

'True blue' is supposed to derive from the blue cloth that was made at Coventry, England in the late middle ages. The town's dyers had a reputation for producing material that didn't fade with washing, i.e. it remained 'fast' or 'true'. The phrase 'as true as Coventry blue' originated then and is still used (in Coventry at least). The town's standing was recorded in 1670 by John Ray in the first edition of A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs:

 

"Coventry had formerly the reputation for dying of blues; insomuch that true blue became a Proverb to signifie one that was always the same and like himself."

 

true blueThere are other theories as to the origin of 'true blue'. For example, the representation in paintings of the Virgin Mary in blue clothing, the purity of lineage of the Spanish nobility (see also blue blood), or the blue aprons worn by butchers. These derivations are unlikely as they aren't supported by documentary evidence that link them to 'true blue'. The Coventry story also has the added credence of closely matching the 'steadfast, unwavering' meaning of the phrase.

 

The change from the literal 'fast' coloured cloth to the allusory 'steadfast' loyal supporters came around the time that Ray was writing his book of proverbs. The Covenanters were a group of 17th century Scottish Presbyterians who swore to uphold the National Covenant and oppose the rule of James I of Scotland. They wore blue as their badge and those who unequivocally supported the cause were called 'true blue'. Samuel Butler referred to this denomination in the satirical poem Hudibras, 1663:

 

For his Religion it was Fit

To match his learning and wit;

'Twas Presbyterian true blue

 

The Covenanters are no longer active but conservative politics still maintains an association with the phrase. Blue was later adopted as the colour of the Tory Party in England (later called the Conservative Party). Staunch Conservative supporters, those whom Margaret Thatcher would have called 'one of us', are known as 'true blue' Tories.

and from The ANU

The term itself is certainly not Australian, and its history goes back to the medieval period. At a time when all colours were given symbolic significance, blue was the symbol of loyalty, constancy, faithfulness, and truth. This symbolic meaning is common in Chaucer’s poetry, and occurs in the late fourteenth century poem (often attributed to Chaucer) Balade against Women Unconstant:‘To newe thinges your lust is euer kene. In stede of blew [i.e. blue, the colour of constancy], thus may ye were al grene [i.e. green, the colour of inconstancy]’. Very soon thereafter the phrase true blue arose. It meant: ‘faithful, staunch and unwavering in one’s faith, principles, etc.; genuine, real’ (OED). Thus, in 1663, Butler writes in Hudibras:‘For his Religion it was fit To match his Learning and his Wit; ’Twas Presbyterian true Blew’.

 

The phrase subsequently became the distinctive term for the Conservative party and meant ‘staunchly Tory’. Hence Trollope in Framley Parsonage(1860): ‘There was no portion of the county more decidedly true blue’. And this is one of the two senses it still has in England — ‘true blue adjectiveextremely loyal or orthodox; Conservative; noun such a person, especially a Conservative" (The Oxford English Reference Dictionary,1995).

 

Something entirely different happened in Australia. Thus in The Worker(Sydney, 1897) we find:

Reports from the sheds are cheering, both [union] reps and men being of the sort called ‘true blue’. Of course we

find a few of those queer individuals of the brainless, thick-hided, scab-barracker type amongst us.

The ‘true blues’ are the striking workers. Scabs (and, presumably, the wealthy and conservative grazing class) are their antithesis. The contrast drawn between ‘true blues’ and ‘scabs’ is clearly not a one-off: The Worker(1896): ‘Jim Smith is "true blue" and Bill Muggins is not a scab though Jack Ruggles has called him so’. The working class associations of the term persist. In 1921 a letter to the Editor of Ross’s Monthly(Melbourne) says: ‘Ever since I arrived at an age capable of thinking I have been an ardent Laborite’. The letter is signed ‘True Blue’; Bulletin(April 1975): ‘J.B. on the other hand, is a true-blue Labor man’; A.B. Facey A Fortunate Life(1981): ‘The unionists were real true blues — loyal and sticking together’. The Australian emphasis is still on loyalty etc., but whereas in England the political associations are with the Conservatives, in Australia they are firmly with the Left.

 

These working class associations of ‘true blue’ remain, but in a further development of meaning the term came to be applied to any loyal Australian; all ‘true Aussies’ or all that is ‘truly Aussie’ are ‘true blue’: Bulletin(January 1974): ‘In the meantime, keep up your true-blue Aussie image’; P. Barton, Bastards I have known(1981): ‘that bit of paper says he’s not a dinky-di true-blue Aussie’; The Kalgoorlie Miner(1989): ‘Eleven Boulder residents became true blue Aussies on Australia Day’. In other words, true blue has widened into a synonym for dinkum or dinky-di.

 

Other citations collected at the Centre indicate that further developments have taken place. The Kalgoorlie Miner(1989) reports: ‘Beer belly and pie-eating contests, coupled with the background of the aquatic centre and hot conditions should make the evening a true-blue event to remember’. Here, true-blue is a synonym for the adjective Australian or Aussie. Again, in 1989, the Observer(Narrogin) reports: ‘[she] became a "true blue" during a naturalisation ceremony’. Here, true blue is a noun meaning an Australian.

 

The term true blue has developed distinctive Australian connotations which have separated it from the English sense of the word.

So I imagine that the Parker "True Blue" is using the English meaning from Coventry.

David

[omasfan]

Thanks Diamondback for your elucidations. I love the looks of the True Blue reproduction. When I saw one recently in the flesh, I was a bit disappointed, though. The pattern, albeit beautiful especially in its striking combination of colors, appeared to be a bit flat and without "depth." Parker has the same problem with their reproduction of the Duofold pearl'n black: many people expressed their concerns that the reproduction does not have the same depth as the original. This seems to be a problem of the material, as the acrylic looks flatter than the original celluloid.

 

Would you (or anyone who owns the True Blue reproduction) bear me out on this or would you like to contradict? Nonetheless, it is quite an attractive reproduction. I think, Parker would have to spend tons of money if they commissioned the same pattern as celluloid stock nowadays. Therefore the acrylic was their choice.

 

In another post, David Isaacson provided this picture of an original true blue pen (I hope he doesn't mind my adducing it here!). I find the original quite amazing as it not only exhibits a very noteworthy pattern but as its barrel also has a very novel and exciting shape.

Edited December 20, 2007 by omasfan

[welfvet]

I'm a recent aquirer of a True Blue (modern) too. I'm halfway between delighted by the pen (it looks very good in an elegant, understated, unfussy way) and writes well; and underwhelmed, it hasn't grabbed me the way such a pricey pen should. I think Omasfan is right that there isn't real depth to the colour, and on a bad day I think it is a bit plasticky. The lightness perhaps reinforces the cheap feel and yet is is beautifully balanced and sits nicely in my hand. I think that I will eventually be really fond of this pen, and I like the fact that it is taking it's time to weedle its way into my good books, having been so brash when I first saw it and demanded that I buy it! The nib gives some feedback that I initially feared would start the long tedium of nib changes, but in fact it is just 'toothy' enough for me and so far has performed well.

 

I was disappointed that it came with a black ink, but even that is growing on me ( I don't use black in FP's), (so far).

 

When I look at the original True Blue's I think how good they must have looked when new, and I think I would rather have the modern materials for my True Blue and know the colour will stay, than have a pen that to my mind would not age well when the blue and white start to discolour.

 

Nic

 

P.S. Omasfan, I think david i was toying with us in those pictures, he'd manipulated the images to create the waists. Too many sleepless nights with these medical types can precipitate all sorts of strange behaviour!

 

Edited to say: Congrats Nicolette on a great purchase, I hope you'll enjoy. The box is a stonker too, though it shouldn't, of course, be the reason for buying any pen!

Edited December 20, 2007 by welfvet

[omasfan]

P.S. Omasfan, I think david i was toying with us in those pictures, he'd manipulated the images to create the waists. Too many sleepless nights with these medical types can precipitate all sorts of strange behaviour!

 

Are you certain he did that? :roflmho: Now I'm curious.

Edited December 20, 2007 by omasfan

[lewertowski]

Beautiful! It's a tipical Xmas pen!

I treated myself with a Pinstripe this year. It looks really similar to yours.

 

Wich size is it? Centennial or International?

 

Regards,

 

Only available in CENTENNIAL size and MEDIUM nib, J.M.L.

[georges zaslavsky]

that is one great looking pen enjoy it