Vintage Pens

It is the height of the Great Depression. Parker's annual sales have crashed from $5M a year to just over $1M. Most of the competition has folded under the strain. Unwilling to discount the flagship luxury Duofold pens from $10 to a much more affordable $3.50, Parker created a new "thrift" pen for those who still want a good pen but cannot afford the opulent Duofold of just a year or two ago. Thus was born the Parker Duette. This is a Parker Duette Jr. set that has been fully restored with a new ink sac. Parker barely even advertised these pens, and they are a little harder to find than Duofolds. Brassing and discoloration detract from the vintage pen. However, it comes with a very flexi 14k gold nib that goes from extra fine to roughly 2mm! It is scratchy, but a worthy sacrifice for 2mm flex. Pencil works and has spare leads. Each is engraved with "Buster Brown Shoes." We suspect this was set for a top shoe salesperson or from corporate headquarters. Pen measures 11.2cm capped.

Jade green is the sticky wicket of vintage pen collectors. It is so beautiful, but it is so rare to find perfection in it on vintage pens. This Parker Duofold Junior is an excellent example of great jade, but even it has some discoloration. Happily, it is nowhere near as bad as it can be, and the pen is free of cracks and other serious flaws. In fact, the end caps have some insanely good milling. Nice crisp imprint, too. Some light brassing. Our pen has been fully restored with a new ink sac. You will write a fine line with its 14k gold nib. Also included is a Christmas tree inkfeed. There is a little feedback when you write with it, but we didn't find it particularly distracting. 11.6cm capped.

Here it is boys and girls, the rare-treasure Parker Duofold Jr that you've been looking for and not finding for ages. Behold the highly sought blue-on-blue lapis Parker Duofold Jr. with nearly mint cap and barrel perfection in color. NO DISCOLORATION! The milling on the blind cap and cap topper is crisp and superb. The barrel imprint is crisp and clear. Somehow the cap and barrel managed to get some light wear, and there is brassing on the ball of the clip. No cracks, deep scratches or flaws to the exterior. We restored the pen with a new ink sac. Click the headline, and you will see that the 14k gold original nib was what took a little damage over the years. Amazingly, it still writes well with a really wet broad line that is very smooth. Original "Christmas tree" inkfeed underneath. Pen measures 11.5cm capped.

Juicy, fat nibs are far too few in our opinion. However, if you like wet, broad nibs the way we do, you will love this streamlined black Parker Duofold Jr. Our fully restored vintage pen comes with a fresh ink sac. Click the headline for close-ups of the nib and shiny black goodness of this streamlined beauty. It isn't in mint condition, but it is pretty stunning if you don't mind some cap marks above the threadline and around the tail from posting. No cracks. No engraving. No deep scratches. The photo shows the deep imprint pretty clearly. 12cm capped.

Emerald pearl dazzles on this 1946 Parker Vacumatic. The green really pops, and the celluloid viewing window is still easily seen through, even though it is slightly ambered. No cracks, brassing or significant wear. It is a beautiful pen for display or use. You'll write a fine line with its 14k gold nib. Its matching pencil is from 1942 and looks stunning. However, you can feel a little warping near the top of the tail cap. You can extend and retract its 1.1mm lead easily with a twist of the tail cap. Click the headline for close-ups. Pen measures 12.9cm capped.

Parker Vacumatic celluloid bordering on perfection is difficult to find...but here it is! More than just crack and scratch free, when you hold this beautiful azure pearl Vacumatic barrel up to the light, the ink-view parts are insanely close to new-out-of-the-factory yellow-green. No amber! For many people that makes this a museum worth vintage pen. It helps that it has a 1st quarter 1936 date code and a double jewel design. The jewels are black, not blue striped. Click the headline for close-ups. The filling unit is black plastic and not the original aluminum. The 14k monotone gold nib writes a very smooth medium line...but is not two-tone. Unlike the pen, the matching pencil is heavily used but still working...and from a different year. Pen measures 13cm capped.

One of our favorite vintage pen innovations was the Parker Vacumatic. Inverting the ink sac into a diaphragm, the pen could fill the whole barrel with ink. Its golden pearl celluloid is very attractive. Our vintage pen is amazing looking. No cracks. Minimal wear. A little brassing on the cap band. It was restored with a new diaphragm by the famed Stuart Hawkinson. The two-tone arrow nib is amazing looking, with only a little wear to the platinum plating. You will write a fine line with a little feedback. It has a 1942 date code. The matching pencil was likely from 1937, and the jewel looks just like the golden pearl design. Twist the tail cap to advance and retract its 1.1mm lead. The cap is engraved "Rev. B C Stine." Pen measures 13.4cm capped.

One of the last great filling system innovations was the Parker 61 capillary filler. A passive filling system, all you do is dip the Teflon-coated filler housing in ink, wait a few seconds and you have a full pen. A very clever filler but it is difficult to change ink colors with this pen. When first released in the late 1950s, most people only wrote with one color ink, which made this pen easy to use. Our turquoise set has some issues. Click the headline for close-ups. There is a big crack in the barrel, and the hood is chipped just above the nib. Its 14k gold nib writes a fine line with feedback. The pencil is a Liquid Lead pencil, a fun innovation of the 1950s that never quite caught on. 14cm capped.