For Sale

Parker 51

1970s-1980s

This is one amazing Parker 51, re-imagined, most likely by Ariel Kullock. Its origins are as a American MKII Aerometric pen, but the maker recast the hood and barrel in a virtually transparent acrylic resin in opalescent swirled silver-green. The filler’s stamped instructions and the sac inside the filler are clearly seen; even the ink collector is visible in brighter light. The barrel comes to a relatively sharp domed point; not Parker’s usual tassie end, which adds approximately .15″ to the pen’s typical 5.5″ length; it looks longer. The cap is gold-filled, with the ungrouped vertical lines pattern, and it is appropriate for a MKII pen. The nib is a wet medium, and it is a luscious writer.

Price: $295

Parker 51

1946

This 51 is an excellent example of a working 51 — not fancy, but in very nice condition and an excellent writer. It is a MKI black “T6”, made in 1946 in Parker’s transitional factory, and it carries a 1945 nib. Use wear is evident under the shiny surface, and there are a couple of visible marks, but nothing significant. The Lustroloy cap is smooth, with a couple of shallow scratches and one dent that is felt but not seen. The pen’s Vacumatic filler works well, and writes a wet enough, smooth enough fine. A good pen, ready for its next generations of use.

Price: $95 $85

Parker 51

1948

This Parker 51 is a 1948 MKI, a Vacumatic filler. It is in Cordovan Brown, and is almost unmarked, in truly beautiful condition. The cap is appropriate for that period, a straight Arrow style, and in Lustroloy, brushed steel without ornamentation. The nib is also from 1948, and writes a wonderfully smooth, wet fine line. There is one quirk with this pen that was sufficiently annoying to warrant noting before a potential buyer does: the blind cap just does not quite fit perfectly; it’s off by a couple of thousandths of an inch, just enough to be seen and felt. It arrived that way and no amount of reinstallation fiddling would make it go away. So, its price was reduced to accommodate the flaw.

Price: $95 $85

Parker 51

1945

The double-jeweled Parker 51’s, which were made throughout the years of the Mark I line, 1942-1948, were Parker’s top line. They were identical to the other Mark I pens, except that their blind caps ended with a second jewel that matches the crown, instead of a plain rounded cap. As the top line product, there were far fewer produced, and so they are found far less often today.

This pen is from the spring of 1945 in cordovan brown, with a 1/8 gold-filled cap and the unpainted Blue Diamond clip, which was used after Parker was enjoined from offering the warranty that the Blue Diamond signified. It is in beautiful condition, shiny and without most of the micro-scratches of hard use. It does have a few scratches of note: radially just above the bottom of the barrel, lengthwise next to it, and on the blind cap. Additionally, there is a 1.5mm nick in the cap, just above the cap ring area, and on the bottom edge of the cap. None of these are readily visible or detract from the pen’s beauty. The nib is a wet smooth medium, and writes fast. This is a pen that could easily grace a growing collection of very fine vintage pens and be used!  However, if you plan to use it, please treat it to a case to protect the finish?

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Price: $215 SOLD

Parker 51

1950s

This example of the Parker 51 is a MKII, made in Argentina during the 1950s. It is in beautiful, almost new condition, showing no evidence of prior use except for testing. The black plastic barrel is unscratched, marked only by a white “M” marked to designate its nib size (and believed to only be on Argentinian pens). Its gold cap is unblemished, completely clean, in the grouped vertical lines pattern. The Aerometric filler is Argentinian as well, and shows no staining or mark of having held ink, although it was filled with water for testing. The nib is a wet fine/medium, very smooth, and writes fast. A good chance to get a 51 in nearly perfect condition!

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Price: $110 SOLD

Parker 61

1969-72

This English Parker 61 is one of the later MKIII models, from 1969-73. It fills with a cartridge or converter. Its color is a deep turquoise, darker than the American turquoise, not part of the American Parker 61 offerings. It is in excellent condition, marked only by a couple of minor scuff scratches on the Lustraloy cap; the plastic barrel and section are perfectly clean. There are two pearlescent jewels. Since it is an English model, the nib is predictably soft and wet, a full medium. This is a wonderful writer.
Comes with Parker cartridge; for $20 extra it can come equipped with a contemporaneous American aerometric filling unit. Enjoy it, give it a case to protect the perfect finish.

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Price: $105

Sheaffer Balance

1931-2

Sheaffer made a huge variety of Balances, and at the top of the stack in the early years was the 8TC, the oversized Lifetime model in 1932. This is a large pen, in black celluloid, 5 5/8″ long capped and a full half inch across below the cap edge. It’s also an Autograph model, with a 5/16″ wide 14K cap ring, machined-signed by Sheaffer for KE Richards. The clip is also 14K, bright and shiny. Yes, this pen has seen its share of use in 90 years, so there is some wear evidence, but none of it is noteworthy; this is a shiny, clean, serious pen. Its nib is typical: large Lifetime, writing a Sheaffer firm fine. It is a substantial, elegant pen that isn’t fragile. Use it!

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Price: $125 SOLD

Sheaffer Dry-Proof Desk Base with Pen

1940-45

For Sheaffer, the celluloid era brought bases in black glass or onyx with black trumpets that matched their black Radite (celluloid) Lifetime pens. This base is a Dry-Proof Model A-148: from the early 1940s, it is 3.5″ across and .5″ high, in what is called Pedrara Onyx, mined in the Baja peninsula of Mexico until the late 1950s. The trumpet is screwed into a brushed steel foundation in a modernistic shape. A small “Sheaffer” label sits on the rear left edge to remind one that it is the correct brand. The brand label is complete and present underneath, on the original felt. There are two chips in the front edge; one small and the other is very small; neither of these is disfiguring in any material way. On the onyx surface there is, visible in bright light, the imprint of what one would think was an ink bottle.
This base comes with its matching pen, a Lifetime Balance desk pen, lever-filled and complete with White Dot. For some unknown reason, there is a very small (.25″ long and .01″ wide) groove cut into the top of the gripping section; it is not through the celluloid and does not affect functioning in any way, and it’s not visible when the pen is in the trumpet or when it’s writing. The pen writes a full, smooth and wet medium.

Price: $125 $100

Sheaffer Lifetime set

1929-31

This very large Lifetime (5.25” long capped and .53” wide) dates from 1929-31, the appearance of Black and Pearl as a second celluloid color/pattern offering after Jade. There is some pretty significant deterioration in this pen’s cap, which happened frequently with these earliest celluloids, but the rest of the pen is completely intact. Yes, the barrel has darkened, a result of the very large latex sac gassing out generations ago, but there is no visible deterioration in the barrel. There is also almost none of the scratching of age on the entire pen. There is a scratch on the gripping section, clearly the result of pliers being used to attempt to separate the section from the barrel (the frustration is understandable; it took me an hour of steady heat to loosen it.) The trim is completely clean, no tarnish or missing metal. The imprint is deep and full legible. The nib is a very large Lifetime, and it writes a very firm fine to extra fine line.

Wait, there’s more! This pen comes with its matching pencil, in beautiful Black and Pearl celluloid, without discoloration or deterioration. The pencil works fine, and the trim is in perfect condition. The engraved imprint in the crown is complete and easily legible. The pencil was not included in the set’s pricing, so it is essentially free.

All in all, this is a set that belongs in any Sheaffer collection and can be used without fear, if perhaps with some care to protect the cap.

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Price: $95 $85

Sheaffer Triumph Imperial

1990s

This 1990s Sheaffer is a classic case of Sheaffer’s recycling names and features that worked even thirty years after it was current. (For the purists, it is neither a Triumph nor an Imperial, but much closer to the Legacy line.) Marketing aside, this is a very handsome, beautifully constructed pen that writes like a dream. It has the Imperial generation’s inlaid diamond nib in 23K electroplated gold, a wonderful, smooth, medium nib. Its filler is a Sheaffer converter, not the Touchdown one would expect in an Imperial. The pen is in a very solid, deep chrome; there is a bit of scuff on the body that is not readily apparent. The slip cap has a good, tight grip. Finally, its only identification as a Sheaffer is its white dot and a tiny “Sheaffer” on the side of the clip. Beautiful, sturdy pen. Give it a case?

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Price: $125 $110

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