Parker “51′ A Brief History

The iconic Parker 51 fountain pen is arguably the world’s best selling pen of its time.  This revolutionary pen, launched in the USA in 1941, was so successful, it was also produced in Canada and the UK. It’s Bauhaus inspired shape, hooded nib, clutch fit cap,Vacumatic filling system and above all, it’s simplicity and functionality justified it’s market position. Apart from changes to the filling mechanism and the clip, the design has remained the same throughout its history.

The “First Year” 1941 production pens were available in four colours, Black, Cordovan brown, Cedar blue and Dove grey. These are now quite rare and were made with decorative aluminium jewels on top of the cap and the base of the barrel; described as a “Double Jewelled “model. In 1942 the aluminium jewels were replaced with a pearlised plastic. Three more colours were added to the US range: Buckskin beige, Nassau green and Mustard.

The Parker 51 Vacumatic filler was the Aluminium Speedline, its function remained the same, but the plunger was later replaced with plastic, and at the same time, the jewel on the blind cap which covered the filler was removed, which gave rise to the “Single Jewel” model. Additional colours from the USA and the UK  were also introduced :Teal, Forest green, Coco beige, Burgundy and Plum. In 1948 the Vacumatics system was replaced by the Aerometric, a very simple, durable and functional filler. After seventy years of normal use it would not be unusual for the Aerometric filler to require any maintenance

All metal pens can be found in stainless steel, “ The Flighter”, gold plated, “Signet” and all gold, “Presidential”. There are also more than sixty cap and clip design combinations in its thirty-eight year history .

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