Vintage fountain pen

This is truly my first "branded" fountain pen. It belongs to my father and I actually damaged his pen when I was young and I kept the pen in a drawer for many years. One day when my house was doing some painting or renovation work, we started to shift some furniture and the pen appeared again. By that time, I was studying at the National University of Singapore. When walking around Parkway Parade shopping mall with Chee Hoon, I saw a pen shop named Lin Kong and decided to ask if the pen can be repaired. To my wonderful surprise, the pen could be repaired with a brand new nib and the pen could once again be used again. This discovery and the term life time guarantee started my hobby of vintage fountain pen collection. During weekend, we would visit the various pawn shops, old stationary shops, flee markets, garage sales etc to search for vintage and old pens that have left in the shelf and drawer. Remembering that in the 1980s fountain pens were not a popular instrumen

T hese are demonstrators pens used by salesman to show their customers in the past...

9 COURIOUS PENS Platinum, one in solid silver. From lef to right: -  Jumbo pen, black resin, 155 mm, warranted 14K Golden Plated nib. Pump Filler. - Jumbo pen, made in japon, lever filler, 133 mm, made in japon. - English Pewter Made in Sheffield, 122mm. - Fountain pen 925 solid silver, 125mm, Iridium point bold nib. - Fountain pen, 125mm, brown resin, Iridium point bold nib. - Platinum black resin, Platinum 14k Medium nib, 101mm. - Fountain pen, blue resin, 100mm, iridium point medium nib. - 2 small pencils, 60mm. These are 1930s pens made in Japan..super big and fat. Some collectors have said that during the thirties, Japanese pen companies produced the so called Jumbo pens aimed at senior customers who had problems with the grip of standard pens. So, they were, they are, very thick pens with regular nibs. SOme said that it is made as a novelty item.  Stubby oversize novelty pens were a popular pre-WW2 import item in the United States

There are a few versions of the Parker Vacumatic. The US versions of this pen are known for stiff but smooth nibs and The UK and Canadian ones generally are softer, but maybe rarer. There are some Vacumatic that has a blue diamond on the clip, thus the pen dates around 1947 and onwards.  The Blue Diamond was added in 1938 indicating a Lifetime Warranty. In 1947, in response to an FTC (Federal Trade Commission) ruling against Lifetime Warranties, Parker stopped painting the Diamond blue and then eliminated that clip design altogether in favor of one similar to the original Feather clip design. US production stopped in 1948, Canadian in 1953. This pen is 60 over years old now...it has a variation of colors as well as pump types too.

Parker Vacumatic The Parker Vacumatic series are one of my favourite. Besides having different variations in term of colours, there are also differences in term of clips design and sizes. The vacumatic was launched after the Parker Duofold and was a very successful model.  Having restored the blue and gold Vacumatic and green, I have found another gray

Parker 45 has a long production run and it was produced from 1960-2008. I have managed to find the rarer and in very good condition Parker 45 Harlequin circlet pattern stainless steel fountain pen with medium nib. Date marked UI the 4th quarter 1981. The pen has been hardly used and in my view would rate as a collector’s item.  Fitted with a cartridge and in One day There are variations in terms of Parker 45 pen nibs too. 585 Made in France nib 14k Made in USA nib

The Parker "45" was my first vintage fountain pen always has a special meaning for me. It was initially a low-priced pen with steel nib, but it has eventually made in many colours, and finishes and also with 10k and 14k gold nibs and became one of Parker's great survivors. Parker always tried to fill the demands for both expensive and economy line pens Top to Bottom: Top & Parker 45 Insignia, Bottom Parker 45 Classic with Gold arrow clips Parker 45 Insignia There are Parker 45 fountain pens that were fitted with steel nibs and the gold nips are the more collectible one that write smoother too. Parker 45 together with Parker 75. Note that the center portion for Parker 45 is much fatter than the Parker 75

I have found this NOS Parker 45 Coroet in a stationery shop in Bangkok. The Parker 45 coronet in my opinion is the modern version of the classic. Even though the design is the same as the other Parker 45, the metallic colour plus matte finishes give the pen the ultra modern look (even though the pen is from the 1970). I am lucky to find one in new old stock condition.

I have started to build up my small collection of Parker 75. This   Parker 75 Florence   is one of the most attractive and elegant 75 pattern with its two-tone vermeil, gold over solid sterling silver, cabochon in clip top. This 75 was made in France for the Italian market, French and Italian hallmarks plus Italian serial number on side of section. USA 14K nib, section ring with angle indicator lines, old-style metal convertor, pen appears to be new old stock. As these are relatively expesnive when it was launched, not many were produced. Eagle & crab hallmarks. « Argent Massif France - M.D. » on cap lip. Spaced lines on cap and barrel. Black cabochon on cap end. 

After a year or so of test-marketing trials, the Parker Vacumatic was formally launched in 1933, replacing the  Duofold  as Parker's premier line.  Vacs were initially released under the name "Golden Arrow", and then "Vacuum Filler".  US production continued through 1948, and until 1953 in Canada.  Although other patterns were used, Vacumatics are strongly identified with the laminated celluloid which they pioneered.  Clear celluloid alternating with pearlescent allows the ink level in the barrel to be immediately visible.  Vacumatics are pump-fillers, with a large ink capacity. Great marketing campaign from the past:

In 1921, the Parker Pen Company took a risk by introducing a new pen based on the design of the company’s successful  Jack-Knife Safety  pen. The new model, proposed by a Parker branch manager named Lewis M. Tebbel, was the  Parker Duofold.  It was identical to the oversize Jack-Knife Safety Nº 26, and instead of the usual black, It was red. It was known as the Big Red. It was priced at $7.00, a dollar more than the Jack-Knife Safety Nº 26. Tebbel insisted that the Duofold would sell, but very few in Janesville were optimistic — until sales took off with great success.  There are various sizes and colours for the Duofold collection. The maxi size is considered to be the most desirable and the  mandarin yellow the most desirable for the  Duofold collectors. The Mandarin yellow color appeared in Parker’s catalog after a visit George Parker made to China, where he discovered this particularly bright yellow and observed how popular it was there.  But it wasn’t a