ike
the the had a clip screw but this was also redesigned.
The first year 51, , was
different from the following models in a few details: The imprint, subsequently
to be found just under the section band, was situated on the blind cap
just below the tassie ring; the clip screw, as opposed to later models
made of a "pearl" plastic, was made of aluminium; the filling plunger
was also made of aluminium, later models were made of plastic. The 1941
also had a tassie ring on the
blind cap.
In with the adoption of the plastic
plunger a more rounded blind cap was introduced, the tassie ring was
however fitted to some 's until
, these are rarer than the rounded ones.
In a ladies size called was introduced.
The "real" already had the (see below).
The was made in three different types.
, produced in
was a Vacumatic filler, this model was in all aspects identical to the
standard but with a shorter barrel
only. was identical to the , only with diminished diameters, a miniature "51".
was also identical to the , only with diminished diameters, a miniature
with the difference that the metal
casing, or sleeve, around the pli-glass sac was shorter than on the
larger model and the metal bar was curved like an "U" around the sac
leaving it open (in a style later repeated on the ).
In some pens had a new clip on which
the blue diamond was deleted. It was longer, of a cruder design and
did not have the name Parker engraved. Both clips were produced side
by side until .
There are two models
of the : The first
had a longer clip and the filler instruction engraving said . There was two types of filler sleeves (see
below) one was made of aluminium, the other of chrome-plated steel.
Also the barrel threads were extended (raised).
The second model, from
and on, had a shorter clip, the filling instruction read: , and the filler sleeve itself was made of
brushed stainless steel. A rubber O-ring was fitted by the threads under
the hood joint and the barrel threads were indented.
The pens had a brand new filling system
that was to be adopted by virtually all Parkers in the future, the .
Almost all pens had to have moving parts (well, all until the ) to make the filling easy. Most European pens had screw or
pump plungers (,
etc) while the American pen companies preferred rubber sacs with different
solutions of levers or plungers. These rubber sacs inevitably rotted
away in time due to the acid in the ink. When this happened a lot of
clothes got destroyed and the pen companies all had special departments
that delt with paying for clothes ruined by their product. Parker developed
a sac in a tough plastic material, called,
that had a life expectancy of 30 years, but are now going on 60. This
sac was also in a see through material which allowed one to see how
much ink that was left in the pen. This sac was encapsuled inside a
metal tube on which a metal pressure bar was mounted. To reveal this
filling mechanism one had to unscrew the entire body cover from the
section ring and back. The text on this metal tube was:*
In the part of the body imprint was deleted.
The barrel colours were:
- Parker produced a pen
in all aspects like the ordinary 51 but made in clear plastic, showing
the workings inside the pen, primarely made for pen sellers. These
pens were not produced in the Demi-style and are quite rare.
The was introduced in all GF cap and barrel with vertical
lines. Changed name to in
The was introduced. It was in solid gold. The pens were not made in this style.
From the single "year" digit on the
body became 2 digits.
MADE IN U.S.A. 50
In
the was introduced.
This pen was made of steel with GF trim and survided until The
pens were not made in this style.
In the late 's the gold cap ring was
deleted from the pen.
another was added to the series, the. This had the
filling system but in the manner of the with a U-shaped pressure bar and the imprint said: *. The big difference was that it sported an octanium
(eight metal alloy) nib rather than one made of gold and it came with
a shiny chrome cap only (the were made in a matte chrome design). The cap jewel or clip
screw, was made in black (while the
had a pearl coloured plastic)The
initially came in four colours, Green being a later fifth addition to the line.
In
the engraving was added to
the back of the cap.
In the ink
engraving on the metal filler sleeve with filling instructions was
replaced with ink.
Introduced but this was really only a renamed .
Phased out in
In Parker tried a filling system
on some 's with a cartridge or
a convertor but this didn't sell well at all so it was discontinued,
only to return on the in .
In Parker deleted the year of making
on the nib and body on European made (and Canadian?) pens. The same
year the additional logo with the arrow through a circle was added
to the cap, aka the "halo" logo.
In
the imprint was added to the cap
lip.
Had a smaller,
more conical cap, quite similar to the , sporting the same clip. Section ring became thinner. Intro
colours was . The biggest difference
between this and the was that
the didn't have the arrow
set in the plastic on top of the section just behind the nib.
Still
looked a lot like the . Cap screw
now in metal, section ring wider again.
he
became so popular that all the
other American pen companies were forced to adopt the hidden nibs.
The became such a status symbol
that the company used to get large orders for caps only. The costumers
wore the caps in their pockets with the clips visible to let believe
that they actually were proud owners of that very popular but also
very expensive fountain pen...
It is to this day one of the most collected
fountain pens and one can still find them relatively cheap at theflea
markets. The beauty and wide variety of colours and design, together
with the functionality has made it a real classic indeed.
In Parker
launched a retro model, the Parker 51 Special Edition in one of
its rarest finishes, the Empire State Building etched cap.
