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| December '08 Update: Focus on Parker 51 See Pens for sale to find these pens and more grouped by brand and style The pens below are from Vacumania's 2008 December Update:
Holiday Parker "51" Insanity.
I suspect that in the 30 or so years of existence of the organized hobby of collectable pendom (using the publication of Cliff Lawrence's first book for our starting point), this update constitutes the largest single retail offering of Parker "51" fountain pens. No auction, no catalogue, no website has had so many. Of course... i could be wrong ;) Below take a gander at about 230 Parker "51" fountain pens. A few have sold or are on-hold from want lists, but most are up for grabs. A few will be available for shipping in January '09, as I found couple minor tweaks still to be done. Included find:
I collect pens. I have them restored by the pro restorers. As fate and timing would have it, I was lucky to have a number of the pens below restored by Joel Hamilton, Ron Meloche and Danny Fudge. Grand work as always. Daniel Kirchheimer did his usual excellent metal work on several pieces. But, I do owe a special note to Sean Gosse of Toronto, who on short notice and trying circumstances was able to get 60 or so of these up and running. And, finally, this special offering could not have fallen in place without Ron Zorn's help. Friend, neighbor and well respected restorer of old pens, Ron-- in order to accomodate a large portion of these pens, which could have set his usual queue back by a month-- let me drop by on multiple evenings so he could do overtime to get many of these done, while still providing timely service to... everyone else. If you happen to have pens needing repair, do give these guys a yell. You won't regret it. Will I ever do this again? Doubt it, at least not to this scale for "51" alone. A fun but exhausting project. After this, back to the usual 100-pen mixed updates. Please be tolerant of typos: Even if i priced the Empire at $25 by mistake, final call on prices is mine. No malice intended with prices, but errors happen. Thanks. Feel free to drop me a note with questions. -David Isaacson isaacson@frontiernet.net CONTACT ME-Order |
| RED BAND "51" 1946-1947 Produced
merely two years and released in small numbers, the "red band" Parker
"51" pens from 1946-1947 are items of high cachet. Discontinued due to
challenges repairing them, today they are quite scarce. Most commonly
found as desk pens in black, pocket pens are more difficult to obtain,
particularly in colors other than black.
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Pen 2747 Parker "51" Full Size "Red Band" $1400 Unrestored
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| Overall Grade: Nearmint |
Metal: NM | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: NM |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Fine | Imprint: none | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $1400 |
| COMMENTS: Red-Band pens are high-cachet items in the "51" universe. Produced in limited numbers for couple years, they were tough to repair and- rumor has it- largely recalled. A hoard came on the market about 8 years ago, further stimulating interest. Most found are black desk pens. Pocket pens in general, and colors other than black in particular, are far harder to procure. This one has plastic red threads (also found in red metal) which, i'm told, is the more difficult to find of the two styles. This pen is very clean, including the lustraloy cap, which has a much earlier (and better) "First Year" clip with horizontal feathers, large diamond and negative reverse imprint. Pen does not fill, is sold unrestored, and again- i'm told- makes for a difficult restoration. | |||
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Pen 2748 Parker "51" Full Size "Red Band" $1750
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| Overall Grade: Nearmint |
Metal: NM | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: NM |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Fine | Imprint: none | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $1750 |
| COMMENTS: Red-Band pens are high-cachet items in the "51" universe. Produced in limited numbers for couple years, they were tough to repair and- rumor has it- largely recalled. A hoard came on the market about 8 years ago, further stimulating interest. Most found are black desk pens. Pocket pens in general, and colors other than black in particular, are far harder to procure. This one has plastic red threads (also found in red metal) which, i'm told, is the more difficult to find of the two styles. This pen is very clean, including the lustraloy cap, which has a much earlier (and better) "First Year" clip with horizontal feathers, large diamond and negative reverse imprint. The pen does fill, after a fashion. Button tends to stick in the down position. May not be returned if ya break the button :) | |||
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Pen 2749 Parker "51" Full Size "Red Band" $975
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| Overall Grade: Mint Barrel |
Metal: Exc | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Fine | Imprint: none | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $975 |
| COMMENTS: Red-Band pens are high-cachet items in the "51" universe. Produced in limited numbers for couple years, they were tough to repair and- rumor has it- largely recalled. A hoard came on the market about 8 years ago, further stimulating interest. Most found are black desk pens. Pocket pens in general, and colors other than black in particular, are far harder to procure. This one has metal red threads (also found in red plastic). The barrel assembly appears to be MINT with no ink expsoure. The cap clearly is not mint (fitted to the barrel after the fact, i'd imagine), and has a much earlier (and better) "First Year" clip with horizontal feathers, large diamond and negative reverse imprint. Pen has not been tested for filling and is a tricky repair, if restorable. May not be returned if you break it. Go figure ;) | |||
| Double Jewel Vac-Fill "51" with SOLID GOLD Cap and TRIM Near
the high end of the cachet pyramid reside those "51" featuring solid
gold caps. Priced originally at $50 the pen, these cost two
weeks' gross pay for the average American worker during the 1940's,
nearly a month's wages after taxes.
Given as gifts by those who had significant discretionary funds, these truly evinced Parker's, "Jewels of Pendom" philosophy. Four cap patterns originally were manufactured: Smooth, Empire, Fish Scale and Coronet, though some low run variants appear to exist, too. |
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Pen 2814-R Parker "51" Double Jewel $2850 SOLD
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| Overall Grade: Exc |
Metal: Exc | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Fine | Imprint: ExtraFine | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $2850 |
| COMMENTS: One of the keystone cacheities (neologism alert) in the "51" collecting sphere. Two tone solid gold cap. Solid gold trim. This one is the thin lip variant (also available with the more common wide lip, or so i'm told). No dings. Minimal use marks anywhere. Strong imprint, though not near mint razor yada yada. Fine Point. Excellent color, noting one or two tiny specks in barrel where color is lighter. This is the only Empire I've ever owned. | |||
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Triple hallmarked. 1946 $1100 |
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| Overall Grade:
extra fine |
Metal: Perfect | Color: Perfect | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc | Clutch: Exc | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Med | Imprint: VG | Size: 5
1/2" |
PRICE: $1100 |
| COMMENTS:
Vac-Fill
51's can be found wtih four patterns of solid gold cap. This one is the
smooth finish. The cap has no dings. 14k hallmarks are present on cap,
clip and bottom tassie. 1946 imprint. Couple light marks to black
plastic. A much "better" Parker "51" |
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| Vac-Fill "51" 1941 FIRST YEAR PENS Double Jewel and Desk Parker
"51" was released for sale in the USA in 1941. The "First Year
Pen" is believed to be found with particular cap
variants, to carry a clip that features a larger-than-later blue
diamond and to be stamped such that a peek at the reverse side of the
clip shows a mirrored incuse "Parker", to feature the metal
"speedline" filler, to have an early style clutch, to have
metal end "jewels", and to show the manufacturer's imprint
near the blind cap jewel rather than near the barrel's clutch ring.
While it is uncertain that all features persisted the entire
year, or that all the first year features disappeared by the start of
the 2nd year, pens that carry "First Year" features do have above
average collector cachet.
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Pen 2640 Parker "51" Double Jewel 1941 $675 SOLD
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| Overall Grade: Exc |
Metal: Exc | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Med | Imprint: Exc | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $675 SOLD |
| COMMENTS: "First Year" features including blind cap imprint, metal bottom jewel, metal filler with diamond logo, double-border cartouche, clip with large diamond with "negative imprint" on reverse. Clutch is the 2nd style 5-finger mechanism. Very clean pen. | |||
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Pen 2637 Parker "51" Double Jewel $800 SOLD
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| Overall Grade: ExtraFine |
Metal: ExtraFine | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Med | Imprint: Exc | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $800 SOLD |
| COMMENTS: First year Blue Cedar pen with imprint by blind cap, with metal bottom jewel, and with metal filling unit with diamond logo. Smooth Sterling cap (with proper imprint at top of cap) is an high cachet cap. This one has later clip with small blue diamond, and has later (though perhaps still first year) clutch. Clean pen with no dings, no longer with any rhodium plating, and with some wear to side opposite clip. | |||
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Pen 2824 Parker "51" Double Jewel $750 SOLD
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| Overall Grade: ExtraFine |
Metal: Exc | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: -- | Imprint: Exc | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $750 on hold |
| COMMENTS: A "better" first year cap with large diamond and negative reverse "PARKER" imprint, with imprint at top of cap. Metal filling unit. Nice imprint at bottom of pen. | |||
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Pen 2826-R Parker "51" Double Jewel $600 SOLD
Clusters-of-4-Lines Pattern |
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| Overall Grade: Extra Fine |
Metal: ExtraFine | Color: Extra Fine | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: F-M | Imprint: Fine | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $600 |
| COMMENTS:"First Year" features including blind cap imprint, metal bottom jewel, metal filler with diamond logo, double-border cartouche, clip with large diamond with "negative imprint" on reverse. Top Jewel is pearl plastic, an accepted finding. Few superficial marks near bottom of cap. Better than average Dove Gray early barrel with slight darkening distally. No cracks or stress marks (early Dove Gray particularly at risk). Imprint ok on blind cap, fully legible though quite light in couple places, eg "51". Fine-Medium point. | |||
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Pen 2827-R Parker "51" Double Jewel $825 SOLD
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| Overall Grade: Extra Fine |
Metal: ExtraFine | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: XF | Imprint: Fine | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $825 |
| COMMENTS:First year pen with imprint by bottom tassie, metal filler unit, metal top and bottom jewels, clip with large diamond and reverse negative imprint, and cap with imprint correctly at top. A "better" early cap. Clean color. No cap dings. No cap brassing. The blind cap tassie is about half brassed with couple dings. Imprint is sound for "made in usa" and with top half solidly visible for "PARKER '51'". Extra Fine Point. | |||
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Pen 2720-R Parker "51" Double Jewel $650 SOLD
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| Overall Grade: Fine |
Metal: ExtraFine | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Med | Imprint: ExtraFine | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $650 |
| COMMENTS:First
year pen with bottom imprint, metal top and bottom jewels, metal filler
unit, "better" smooth sterling cap with proper imprint at top of
cap ), and clip with large diamond and reverse side negative
imprint. Cap has no dings and has good imprint at top. The "deco band" pattern at bottom shows wear at the bottom in a couple 4mm areas. As often found, no rhodium remains on the cap. It is at this point all silver. The blind cap's imprint is complete with some obvious scratches scattered across the imprint. . Clip has small nick in the ring at top. Tassie has slight edge brassing (i did place a cleaner tassie since this pen was shot pre restoration) |
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Pen 2837-R Parker "51" Double Jewel $625 SOLD
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| Overall Grade: Extra Fine |
Metal: ExtraFine | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: F-M | Imprint: Extra | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $625 |
| COMMENTS:First year pen with imprint by bottom tassie, metal filler unit, metal top and bottom jewels, clip with large diamond and reverse negative imprint, and early lined sterling cap with simple deco band. Good color. Sharp details on cap. Imprint on blind cap complete with scattered scratches on "51" and below the imprint. Cap has no dings but has scattered light nicks (light!) in top quarter. No cracks or stress marks to the barrel (early Dove barrels are at risk). Fine-Medium point. | |||
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Pen 2828-R Parker "51" Double Jewel $675 SOLD
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| Overall Grade: Extra Fine |
Metal: ExtraFine | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Fine | Imprint: Exc | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $675 |
| COMMENTS:First year pen with imprint by bottom tassie, metal filler unit, metal bottom jewel, clip with large diamond and reverse negative imprint, and early lined sterling cap with simple deco band. There are marks couple light marks to bottom jewel. Clean color imprint and contour. No cap dings, though typical light marks short scratches etc are present. Nice eye appeal. Internal filling unit shows wear and lacks diamond at back end. | |||
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Pen 2831-R Parker "51" Double Jewel $450 SOLD
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| Overall Grade: Fine |
Metal: ExtraFine | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: XF-F | Imprint: VG | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $450 |
| COMMENTS:First year pen with imprint by bottom tassie, metal filler unit, metal top and bottom jewel, clip with large diamond and reverse negative imprint, and "Wedding Band" Cap. There are marks couple light marks to bottom jewel. The imprint is light showing only "PARKER", the blind cap ring (tassie) has high point edge brassing. The top metal jewel has one tiny pock. The cap has been fully refrosted . It has couple tiny crimps in the band. | |||
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Pen 2825-R Parker "51" Double Jewel $240 SOLD
From Vacumania's Basement |
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| Overall Grade: Good |
Metal: VG | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | Personalized: L. Silverstein |
| Point: F-M | Imprint: Fine | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $240 |
| COMMENTS: Yeah, it is a first year pen with metal filling unit, imprinted blind cap and "Wedding Band" cap. The clip is post first year, with small blue diamond. Both jewels are plastic. Blind cap imprint still shows most of "Parker" and "in USA 1", with "made", "51" and part of "Parker" long gone. Blind cap imprint actually is better than shown in the pic as restoration done after the shot. Cap has been fully refrosted but still shows a few dings, scratches and crimps onthe bottom third. The barrel has been personalized, "LOUIS SILVERSTEIN" in fairly shallow neat letters. Entry level "First Year" no doubt with nice fine-medium smooth point. | |||
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Pen 2835-R Parker "51" Double Jewel $225
Clusters-of-4-Lines Pattern. From Vacumania's Basement |
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| Overall Grade: Fine |
Metal: ExtraFine | Color: Exc | CLICK FOR LARGER PIC |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Fine | Imprint: N/A | Size: 5 1/2" 13.9cm | PRICE: $225 |
| COMMENTS:First year pen with imprint by bottom tassie, metal filler unit, metal bottom jewel, clip with large diamond and reverse negative imprint, and cap with double-border cartouche. A pen that has seen better days. There is a large oval mark on blind cap (visible in pic) that appears to be a filled large deep scratch. Imprint is full with overlying scratches. Cap has no dings and withour brassing, but appears to have two sets of the 4-line clusters worn away (they are lightly stamped in this style). The tassie (blind cap ring) has some nicks and dings. Entry level First Year pen no doubt. Fine Point. | |||
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Pen 2820-R Parker "51" First Year Desk Pen $300 SOLD
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| Overall Grade: Exc |
Metal: NA | Color: Exc | |
| Nib condition: Exc |
Clutch: perfect | clarity: NA | |
| Point: Fine | Imprint: Exc | Size: " cm | PRICE: $300 |
| COMMENTS: First Year Desk Pen in Cordovan. Barrel diamond, metal filling unit, taper imprint. Only one i've owned | |||
| Double Jewel Vac-Fill "51"(1942-1948) -Excluding solid-gold caps and first year variants- Double
Jewel "51" pens feature end screws ("jewels") at both top and
bottom of the pen. The blind cap is fitted with a gold-filled or gold
tassie (trim ring), instead of being smooth, as for Single Jewel pens.
Even excluding those pens with solid gold caps and those with "first
year"
features, the remaining Double Jewel pens are considered up-scale items
from a collector standpoint, and do offer a wide variety of both colors
and cap styles. Some- even with gold-filled caps- feature solid
gold trim (clip and tassie) and this is known to be factory original.
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