All Pens and Ephemera

It is nice to find a Parker Sonnet with an 18k gold nib. We think most of them are plated steel these days. That would seem to date this pre-owned pen a little. Solidly built, this pen shows a some wear in places, but it is in great shape. It comes with a Parker converter, but it also can use Parker cartridges. Click the headline for close-ups. You will write a smooth broad line when you find the sweet spot. This pen also squeaks a little as it writes and can get a little scratchy outside of its sweet spot. 13.4cm capped.

Following the grand success of the Skyline model, next came the Eversharp Symphony. Moving to a more slender profile, as most pens of the era did, the Symphony did not meet the same success as the Skyline. In fact, it was a bit of a flop that helped lead to the end of the Wahl-Eversharp brand as it was known at that time. It isn't a bad pen, though. Nice, easy to maintain lever-filler. No frills but no fuss, either. Ours has been heavily worn but not cracked. Originally sold as part of the Gregg Shorthand Method, this pen bears an enameled Gregg top jewel and "Gregg" nib. Click the headline for close-ups. You'll write a nice fine line with its 14k gold nib. 13.4cm capped.

Blessed are those who love writing with a pen from Vatican City. This collectible ballpoint from the Vatican Museums sports themes of landmarks and images from all around the Vatican. It comes with its original box and paper. It features a "Vatican Museums" refill, which is really a Parker-style refill easily found anywhere in the U.S....and probably everywhere else. The Holy Pen Designer seems to have had a thing for modern Parker Duofold ballpoints. The pen is nicely weighted and shows a little light wear from use. 12.9cm.

Cashing in on the enormous success of its Parker 51, Parker decided to create a more affordable version of the pen to reach even more customers. This pen is the Parker 21. One of the biggest differences between them is that the 21 has a steel nib, and the 51 has a gold nib. Our vintage pen is in good working order, complete with a working original pli-glass ink sac. Its nib is more of a fine-medium that has a little feedback at the tops and bottoms of letters. You should be able to see a big crack in the barrel where it threads to the section. Don't grip it too hard or use to much pressure, as you will get it to wiggle in your hand a bit. Click the headline for a close-up. 13.4cm capped.

Not every vintage pen is going to be the belle of the ball. Today's Parker Duofold from 1942 seems to have been somebody's loyal workhorse. A great deal of the cap band is heavily brassed. There's a hairline crack in the cap lip running up under the cap band. The pen shows overall wear, and the 14k gold nib looks a little wonky. Click the headline for close-ups. HOWEVER, we restored it with a new diaphragm, and it writes surprisingly well. You'll find it is a wet medium with a touch of feedback. It actually writes much better than it looks. Perfect for a daily driver that doesn't mind another ding or two. 13.2cm capped.

The 2014 Montblanc Writers Series fountain pen was dedicated to Daniel Defoe. He is most famous for the classic "Robinson Crusoe." This preowned luxury pen comes with all of its complete papers and boxes. The pen looks perfect...except for the nib. The 18k gold nib is losing its ruthenium or platinum plating. Click the headline for a close-up. We filled the pen with water, and we aren't certain if it has ever been used. We dipped the nib and it writes a smooth medium line. 14.3cm capped.

Get in a festive mood with an emerald pearl Parker Vacumatic Maxima fountain pen. We restored this vintage pen with a new diaphragm. It is a beautiful writing instrument with no cracks or deep scratches. There are a few faded bite marks on the blind cap. The double-jeweled cap end are also emerald green stripes like the cap and barrel. No brassing on the gold filled trim. The two-toned 14k gold nib is excellent with most of its original platinum plating. You will write a smooth extra-fine to fine line. The celluloid's see-through barrel is ambered, but you can still see through it a little. 13.4cm capped.

Click the headlines for close-ups. You are going to want to see this one as closely as you can. A stunning emerald pearl celluloid still has decent clarity on this Parker Vacumatic. We believe it is called the Slender model, before they were named Debutantes. It has a crisp 1936 date code. Double jewels that are the same as the emerald pearl celluloid. We restored this vintage pen with a new diaphragm. It works well, but we had to shave a little off the aluminum lockdown filler to prevent it from getting stuck inside the pen. No cracks blemish this pen, but it does have a teeny little chip in the lip of the cap. Some signs of wear where the clip dug into the cap and light wear from use. It looks museum quality at a glance but a close inspection might keep it out of a museum. You will write a smooth extra-fine line with its still two-tone 14k gold nib. 12.1cm capped.