Parker
Pens and Ephemera

Parker Liquid Lead Pencils continue to fascinate us. Here is a slender model with an almost Parker 21 like pocket clip from the 1950s. Sadly, the idea of a liquid lead pencil never really took off, but we still have some handsome examples of them around. This model shows more moderate to heavy wear from use but a rarer imprint than many of these pencils we've seen. You can also see a little rust no the tail cap. Unfortunately, this pencil's refill has run dry, and they don't make these refills any longer. 13.1cm.

Perfection is difficult to achieve in vintage pens, but this 1940 Oversize Parker Vacumatic gets close. No cracks, only light wear and incredible barrel clarity with celluloid that is on the light orange-dark yellow spectrum. No brassing. A feint barrel imprint. Close to perfect two-tone plating for the 14k gold nib. (Click the headline for a close-up.) YET, as you can see on the main photo, the name "James A. Kunkel" is engraved on the barrel. We looked up the name, and there are too many James Kunkels to know who owned this specific pen. You'll write an extra-fine line that is a bit dry but can sometimes look fine. Restored and in great working order. Museum worthy rare burgundy...yet, still a good writer. 13.5cm capped.

In 1936, Fred & Ginger lit up the silver screen in the classic "Swingtime," King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne to marry an American divorcé, television broadcasts first began, Jesse Owens showed up the Nazis in Berlin, Joe DiMaggio was a rookie, FDR won a second term and this Parker Vacumatic standard set in burgundy was made. It was an elegant era, and this pen in many respects marks the pinnacle of art deco design. This particular set is in excellent condition. No cracks, maybe 1% brassing, no scratches, restored and working. Its two-tone 14k has some cosmetic issues. Click the headline to see close-ups. It writes an extra-fine line with a little flex but not much. The matching pencil works great in excellent condition and comes with spare 1.1mm leads. Pen measures 12.8cm capped.

Vintage ink collectors will love this complete Parker Superchrome ink bottle set. Included is a 4-oz. bottle of blue ink (dried out) and the special tin that it rested in. Superchrome was a brilliant and beautiful ink that was far more vibrant than standard inks of the era. However, it was only intended for the Parker 51 with the "pli-glass" ink sacs. That which made it so vibrant was highly acidic and tore through normal ink sacs very quickly, ruining many old pens in the 1940s and '50s. It was discontinued due to its corrosive nature. We've seen a lot of Superchrome bottles over the year but this is one of the first we've seen to come complete with its tin. The tin shows a little rust and wear in places, but it isn't all that bad. EXTRA SHIPPING CHARGES MIGHT APPLY DUE TO THE SIZE AND WEIGHT.

Saving people money during the Great Depression, Parker set out to make a more affordable series of pens. This ringtop model is a rare example of an early plastic they used with a really attractive red pattern. The faint imprint says Parker Lucky Curve, however, on restoring the pen, it doesn't have a Lucky Curve feed. In fact, its feed is missing a couple collector fins. We installed a new ink sac and pressure bar. Click the headline to see the old plier mark damage on the section. Its 14k gold nib writes a very nice extra-fine to fine line...AND it has a little FLEX. Overall, the pen only shows light wear. Unfortunately, there is one more hitch. The new pressure bar forces the button to ride a little higher than it used to, and the streamlined blind cap doesn't seat all the way down properly. You can see it in the photo. 11.5cm capped.