About This Pen

This is a a very nice Vacumatic-filling double-jewel pen. It is also a Parker-history delight because of its unusual assemblage of parts, which I believe is all factory-made. Although its date code is T6 (2d quarter), i.e. made in 1946 in Parker’s transitional factory in Janesville, one might think at first glance that this pen was a treasured 1941 “First Year Pen” from its clip, aluminum tassie and blind cap jewel. With a bit of examination, one can see that the blind cap does not have the brand imprint of the 1941 pens, the Vacumatic filler is post-war, and the cap under that early clip is also post-war. So, is it a retrofitted First Year Pen or a 1946 pen with some earlier parts? My conclusion is the latter: 1946 was a transitional year for Parker (for all industry), they were building a new factory, and they had a long history of using up parts.  Also, why would anyone with parts of a First Year 51 fit it out with later parts?  

Esoterica aside, the pen shows some wear but cleaned up very nicely. There are a few non-trivial scratches in the blind cap, a bit of cap wear on the hood, and a few larger-than-micro scratches along the barrel, but nothing that detracts from its overall appearance. The Lustraloy cap has an embedded gold ring and it is dent-free but shows some use. The Vacumatic mechanism fills well. The nib writes a nice fine line. Overall, an interesting and affordable double-jeweled pen that can be used every day forever and comes to you with a bit of unanswered history!