Parker 45 Flighter - Early Variants

[ray501]

I have some early P45 flighters. What I would like to know is the approx date and sequence of the types with the end of barrel fitting (black,chrome or gold).

 

I think the flighter was launched around 1962 and went to to the one-piece barrel around 1980. I have seen chrome trim flghters with both black and chrome barrel ends - which came first? (dates?). When was the gold variant produced, or was this a form of the coronet and not regarded as a flighter?

 

Did the gold trim flighter ever have a black barrel end, or was it only gold through its life? I wondered about this as I have seen all gold insignias with black end barrels.

 

Thanks

[nxn96]

Parkerpens.net has a pretty extensive writeup on the 45. I'm not sure if it addresses your specific questions concerning the Flighters, but it might be worth a look.

[ray501]

Thanks for the reference - yes there is a load of nice info there but not the anaswer unfortunately. The P45 has had such a long life it's a pity that some more of it's key dates are unclear.

 

Quite a few people I think are now realising that the earlier or rarer models are collectable so any new info would be appreciated.

Edited August 18, 2010 by ray501

[MSA]

I have a made in England 45 flighter, with a shiny chrome tip at the end of the barrel. I wonder what time frame this came out. To me it looks very sharp.

[nxn96]

I have a made in England 45 flighter, with a shiny chrome tip at the end of the barrel. I wonder what time frame this came out. To me it looks very sharp.

 

I have a couple of GT 45 Flighters with the gold tip, as opposed to the black tip at the end of the barrel. I agree that the tip matching the trim gave those pens a much sharper/elegant look than did the black tip. I'm not sure why Parker put the black tips on what they seemed to be marketing as a more upscale pen.

[ray501]

I have a made in England 45 flighter, with a shiny chrome tip at the end of the barrel. I wonder what time frame this came out. To me it looks very sharp.

 

I have a couple of GT 45 Flighters with the gold tip, as opposed to the black tip at the end of the barrel. I agree that the tip matching the trim gave those pens a much sharper/elegant look than did the black tip. I'm not sure why Parker put the black tips on what they seemed to be marketing as a more upscale pen.

 

I quite agree - that's why I was trying to find an answer. The gold and the chrome barrel ends I think look MUCH better than the plastic tips, yet plastic tips were put on all gold insignias. So was the plastic variant the early type replaced at a later date?

[eli]

I know this is an older thread but as I just received an English 45 Flighter with a black barrel end, I'm curious as to what the answer to the original posters question? I also would like to know if the English pens only carried English nibs as this pen sports a U.S.A. steel tip?

 

The pen shipped from India if that means anything.

[diplomat]

I know this is an older thread but as I just received an English 45 Flighter with a black barrel end, I'm curious as to what the answer to the original posters question? I also would like to know if the English pens only carried English nibs as this pen sports a U.S.A. steel tip?

 

The pen shipped from India if that means anything.

 

Best place I've found for 45 history is this: http://www.ehow.com/how_5336429_date-parker-fountain-pen.html

 

It confirm my reasoning was that the black tip P45 should have been the first because in 1964 it better identified the 45 compared to the more upscale 61 flighter. Also interesting that the guy in the link says that a gold trim black tip model exists. I've never seen it so far.

Ciao,

[jeronimo]

I know this is an older thread but as I just received an English 45 Flighter with a black barrel end, I'm curious as to what the answer to the original posters question? I also would like to know if the English pens only carried English nibs as this pen sports a U.S.A. steel tip?

 

The pen shipped from India if that means anything.

 

Best place I've found for 45 history is this: http://www.ehow.com/how_5336429_date-parker-fountain-pen.html

 

It confirm my reasoning was that the black tip P45 should have been the first because in 1964 it better identified the 45 compared to the more upscale 61 flighter. Also interesting that the guy in the link says that a gold trim black tip model exists. I've never seen it so far.

Ciao,

 

Greetings - just wanted to add a small footnote, that I just purchased that elusive "gold trim black tip model" flighter. While I'm similarly having difficulty coming up with a solid year for its manufacture, it has a caged aeromatic squeeze sac as does my 1960s-era made in UK 45 flighter. Not really adding much solid info to this ongoing "45" discussion I realize, but just thought I'd just chime in....

[streeton]

I also have a gold trim black tip model but unless you know the provenance of a particular pen there is no certainty that it hasn't been made up from numerous parts as all parts are interchangeable from modern to vintage - that is both a strength from a user viewpoint and a weakness from a collector viewpoint.

[nxn96]

Interchangeable parts is always part of the fascination/frustration with particular Parker models; particularly frustrating for those collectors who obsess over such matters. As the 45 was one of Parker's most versatile models, with offerings from quite inexpensive to pretty deluxe, coupled with a lifecycle of well over 40 years, it was very susceptible to this ability to "mix and match". While I have never seen a GT Flighter with a black plastic barrel end, I have the parts available here to construct one in about a minute or two. That's the way it is with 45's.

 

With the usual caveat that this is a guess on my part, I wonder if the Flighters with the black-tipped barrel were the earlier ones, and would have gotten phased out in favor of the metal-tipped ends sometime in the 1970's, after the Coronets were introduced (which also had a metal tip). The reason I say this is that the Insignias all seem to have had the black plastic tips, and somewhere along the line, Insignias seem to have gone away in favor of the Coronets. At some point, the Coronets disappeared, leaving Flighters as the only higher end 45 left, and the metal tip was a way to further dress it up. Again, a guess based on observation; nothing more.

[Ernst Bitterman]

I've got a black-tip gold-trim flighter, of which I've thought nothing until reading this thread beyond, "AH, well, that will be older than the untipped one with the 1997 date code, then." As mentioned previously, the provenance is lacking, apart from fairly consistent wear from cap to barrel, and if it was composed out of other parts it wasn't done with an eye to getting a pile of money-- mine came of eBay for under $20 including shipping.

Edited October 29, 2010 by Ernst Bitterman

[nxn96]

I've got a black-tip gold-trim flighter, of which I've thought nothing until reading this thread beyond, "AH, well, that will be older than the untipped one with the 1997 date code, then." As mentioned previously, the provenance is lacking, apart from fairly consistent wear from cap to barrel, and if it was composed out of other parts it wasn't done with an eye to getting a pile of money-- mine came of eBay for under $20 including shipping.

At $20 delivered, I'd say you got the better end of the bargain, irrespective of the provenance.

[ray501]

Interchangeable parts is always part of the fascination/frustration with particular Parker models; particularly frustrating for those collectors who obsess over such matters. As the 45 was one of Parker's most versatile models, with offerings from quite inexpensive to pretty deluxe, coupled with a lifecycle of well over 40 years, it was very susceptible to this ability to "mix and match". While I have never seen a GT Flighter with a black plastic barrel end, I have the parts available here to construct one in about a minute or two. That's the way it is with 45's.

 

With the usual caveat that this is a guess on my part, I wonder if the Flighters with the black-tipped barrel were the earlier ones, and would have gotten phased out in favor of the metal-tipped ends sometime in the 1970's, after the Coronets were introduced (which also had a metal tip). The reason I say this is that the Insignias all seem to have had the black plastic tips, and somewhere along the line, Insignias seem to have gone away in favor of the Coronets. At some point, the Coronets disappeared, leaving Flighters as the only higher end 45 left, and the metal tip was a way to further dress it up. Again, a guess based on observation; nothing more.

 

My original post was along the same lines - I have a gold insignia with a black plastic tip, and I have never seen one with a gold tip. I have some Harlequins with a solid SS barrel and they are all date coded as 1980/81 so my best guess is that around the early 70's the chrome tipped flighters were substituted for the black plastic ones. The gold tipped flighter varieties seem to be less common but the date of introduction is not clear. Perhaps the originating country of manufacture might be a factor, too, as the UK made flighters all appear to have solid barrels post 1980. I was speculating that the gold tipped flighter might have appeared at the same time as the gold tipped coronets.

Edited November 8, 2010 by ray501

[mitto]

What about a 45 insignia without the end plastic tip? I have one which ,instead of the black plastic end piece , has a plum/burgundy jewel at the barrel end and ,thus, it is shorter in size than any other 45. The pen is USA made with no date code.

 

Any suggestions / information would be appreciated. Forgot to mention i have two 45 insignia with the normal black plastic end piece.

[Captivelight]

I've never seen an insignia made after Parker stopped using the end cap, although I think there was something similar made in Argentina with no end cap and the Parker 61 style arrow on the clip.

 

I wonder if the tip got broken off (either accidentally or deliberately) and was replaced with a jewel? I have seen a fair number of broken ones that had been "fixed".

 

Do any of your end capped insignias have a number stamped into the side of the clip screw?

[mallymal1]

http://pencollect.co.uk/45timeline.htm

 

 

Any help?

[Captivelight]

I decided to give Parker 45's their own little mini site here: https://parker45pens.wordpress.com/ which is a little more up to date then PenCollect

[mitto]

I've never seen an insignia made after Parker stopped using the end cap, although I think there was something similar made in Argentina with no end cap and the Parker 61 style arrow on the clip.

 

I wonder if the tip got broken off (either accidentally or deliberately) and was replaced with a jewel? I have seen a fair number of broken ones that had been "fixed".

 

Do any of your end capped insignias have a number stamped into the side of the clip screw?

Here are my 45 Insignia and Customs.

 

And here is the barrel end jewel of the shorter insignia without the black plastic end piece.

 

 

 

And, I couldn't see any number on the clip screws of my black plastic ended isignia/custom 45s.

Edited June 24, 2015 by mitto

[mitto]

Best place I've found for 45 history is this: http://www.ehow.com/how_5336429_date-parker-fountain-pen.html

 

It confirm my reasoning was that the black tip P45 should have been the first because in 1964 it better identified the 45 compared to the more upscale 61 flighter. Also interesting that the guy in the link says that a gold trim black tip model exists. I've never seen it so far.

Ciao,

 

Yes. I have both the chrom and gold trim black plastic tip flighter 45s in my collection. Also , I have a gold barrel end gold trim flighter 45.

Edited June 24, 2015 by mitto