Your Rarest Parker Pens And Your Favorite!

[penmanila]

here's one of mine--a candystripe vac that i found in an ebay lot from ireland:

 

 

[mitto]

That is really a beautiful pen, penmanila.

[Brian-McQueen]

Wow! Thanks for posting this. I've been interested in Vacs for years and have gathered a mini-collection of the usual suspects with chrome trim (my focus). But I never even knew this strange creature existed!

 

edit: Curious, why has it garnered the name of the the filling mechanism's inventor?

According the the Vacumatic book by Parker, Shepherd, and Zazove, "12 were made to acknowledge Arthur Dahlberg's contribution to the pen's development." I believe they were all different plastic patterns. The pen I have the one pictured in the book.

[ink-syringe]

Rarest:

 

AF Denmark Duofold Oversize that is fatter than than the Duofold Maxima. I have never seen another in my life. I have been told to my face that such a pen doesn't exist. But I indeed have one.

 

I also have a Maxima and the cap from the AF swallows the Maxima section up. The AF (a button filler) is shorter (the Maxima is a very long pen) but the pen itself is the same size as a MB 146 and the OS Balance. In fact my OS balance cap nearly threads on it.

 

I never heard of this pen before. It is a mystery to me, and I have been told by collectors that they have no idea what I am talking about but I have one right in front of me.

 

So there was, in fact, an Oversized AF filler, Denmark only, as far as I can tell.

 

Anyone else have one? Mine needs a restore badly. It fills but the button is hard to push, and the nib has a bad foot worn it to it. The nib is incredible and there is enough tipping left on there that it just needs a grind to even it out. I wish I knew who I could send it to for both a restore and nib work. Not keen to spend $120 on two trips around the globe.

 

Best:

 

1942 Vac. Old. Worn. no double jewel. Not oversized or anything. No gold plate left all brassing. Probably my best pen. The pen I'd grab first (along with my OS Balance) if the house were burning.

[benbot517]

My rarest would be a 20 1/2 I found at an antique shop. Great writer in pretty good shape!

[Diabolical_Engineer]

My rarest is probably the black set in thic picture. There's a Streamlined Standard in there as a nice comparison. It's a bit special.http://i.imgur.com/PLYLVl0l.jpg?1

[coinlvr]

Besides my Parker 51, I love my vintage teak UK made Parker Maxima Duofold with no. 50 nib. Simply amazing and reliable workhorses.

Edited October 28, 2016 by Penlvr

[mitto]

Besides my Parker 51, I love my vintage teak UK made Parker Maxima Duofold with no. 50 nib. Simply amazing and reliable workhorses.

 

What about the nib-feed gap problem in your Maxima? Solved and how?

[Effin1]

This all silver P51 set is probably my rarest. I think they were only made in England. My favourite to write with is a P Slimfold with bbb nib.

[thx1138]

Not much rare in my collection other than maybe 3 Parker 180 which might be prototypes or very early production models as the tassie on the barrel does not have the flare on it to hold the cap.

 

Favorite is probably my graindorge 180 with broad nib.

[mcorrea]

I don't have any really rare pens. I believe this might be the least common I have:

 

It's the OMAS Club pen. It's a special edition and mine is number 640. It's probably close to the total quantity made. It's also a factory italic nibbed pen.

 

Cheers,

Matias

 

 

[ink-syringe]

It's the OMAS Club pen. It's a special edition and mine is number 640. It's probably close to the total quantity made. It's also a factory italic nibbed pen.

 

 

 

Absolutely lovely pen. Any Parkers? I think this thread is specifically for Parkers but still nice to see a bright red Omas.

[mitto]

I don't have any really rare pens. I believe this might be the least common I have:

 

It's the OMAS Club pen. It's a special edition and mine is number 640. It's probably close to the total quantity made. It's also a factory italic nibbed pen.

 

Cheers,

Matias

 

 

Beautiful pen. But has it anything to do with Parker?

[mcorrea]

I'm afraid I had not realized this thread was about Parker pens. Sorry.

 

The nib does have engraving reminiscent of Parker arrow clips though. but as you can see in this page (from nibs.com) OMAS used this engraving in most of their nibs.

 

Thanks for your comment.

 

Matias

Edited October 31, 2016 by mcorrea

[ink-syringe]

The nib does have engraving reminiscent of Parker arrow clips though. but as you can see in this page (from nibs.com) OMAS used this engraving in most of their nibs.

 

 

Actually I did notice that. I have that arrow on my 555/f and it looks like reminiscent of a Parker vac nib.

You'll have to go out and get a Rage Red Parker 51 to go with that Omas. Enjoy.

[Estragon]

Finally got around to snapping a photo (L to R): Televisor & Vac Std. (favorites), Vacuum Filler w/ reverse trim (rarest).

 

http://i.imgur.com/4TCIlK7.jpg

 

 

BrianMcQueen, on 23 Oct 2016 - 11:20, said:

According the the Vacumatic book by Parker, Shepherd, and Zazove, "12 were made to acknowledge Arthur Dahlberg's contribution to the pen's development." I believe they were all different plastic patterns. The pen I have the one pictured in the book.

Very rad. Thanks for the insight!

Edited November 2, 2016 by Estragon

[Brian-McQueen]

Those are very nice, Estragon! I like the color scheme going on.

[amk]

Wow, some lovely rarities on this thread. I don't think I have anything that unusual in my collection, though perhaps my Bexleyfied green ripple ebonite Parker 51 qualifies.

 

Favourites? A battered gold filled P51 and a one euro special grey 51, always reliable and fun to use.

[pajaro]

here's one of mine--a candystripe vac that i found in an ebay lot from ireland:

 

 

Very beautiful and interesting.

[penmanila]

^many thanks, pajaro. it was a mess when it came in, but thankfully i was able to restore it with the right parts, while using all of what i had (the section and the blind cap are, unusually, ebonite):

 

 

this was the ebay lot in which i spotted the pen back in 2012; it was pretty blurred so it didn't generate a lot of interest:

 

http://fountainpenboard.com/forum/uploads/1342008834/gallery_171_58_34049.jpg

 

here's a thread from another forum (mods, just delete this portion if it's not allowed) on this very special vac:

 

http://fountainpenboard.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3230-a-candy-stripe-vac/?hl=ireland