Welcome to the bottom of
the Parker lineup, c. 1938! I can't honestly see where the
savings in production are in this pen, except that the point is not as
heavy as that in the then-top ranked Vacumatic. The
interior mechanism is simpler than that of the Vacumatic, too, but
otherwise there's not a lot of difference-- certainly not in evident
material quality. Like the marbled green version I had
previously, this pen writes in a dry way, which may well be a mannerism
of the model; perhaps Parker thought if you were scrimping a bit on the
pen, you would also be pressed on the cost of ink.. The catalogue
for 1939 hints that
the tipping material is different between this and the slightly
higher-priced Duofold ("iridium"
as opposed to "osmiridium"), but given how little of it there is I
can't see there being a huge cost savings in applying one or the other.
The funny thing is that this is a rather larger pen than either that
1939 Duofold, or the later version
which pushed the Challenger out of the low-end. One might even
call it "squat", given its relative width. You might not
have paid a lot for it ($2.75), but you sure got a great big pen for
the money.
I have some of the history of this pen in hand, and it's jolly
interesting-- it was at one point on duty in Japan during the post-war
occupation!
Specifications: Fine 14k gold
point. Button filler. 13.0 cm long capped, 15.5 cm
posted.
Condition: Overall good. There is a drag-mark around the
cap where at some point a loose clip was circulated, and the derby is
somewhat brownish (it seems Parker was still making that part out of
hard rubber at the end of 1937). The ink window is perfectly
clear, although a bright yellow with ambering. There is plating
loss on clip and barrel. On the body is the personalization ALICE
C. JONES (which is part of what makes the post-war thing so
interesting).
Repairs: Cleaning, polishing of fittings, and a silicone sac to
arrest ambering.
Location: My collection
For Sale?: No.
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