Jotter Window Ballpoints

[inkstainedruth]

A week or so ago I ran across something I had never seen before: a Parker Jotter click ballpoint with advertising, and a window in the barrel that had writing showing. Clicking on the button would change the interior writing in the window. I didn't buy it then, but went back to the place on Thursday in order to purchase it. On the way there, I stopped at another place and found a *second* one of these Jotter Windows, with different advertising. The second one I saw was actually the first one I bought. I'm not intending to keep either, but rather to possibly send to/trade with another FPN member. But I thought that people might be interested in seeing something a little different. I'm not sure whether these were handed out to employees (as my understanding of the Esterbrook Bell Telephone "skunks") or to customers, or both.

The first pen I saw has the logo for what appears to be an electronics firm Stromberg-Carlson (apparently for a switch or switching system product called "Crossfeed"), part of which, which according to Wikipedia, is now owned by a company called GENBAND (after previously being owned by General Dynamics); another division was sold to United Technologies, and yet another to Siemans AG. The other pen was from a much better known US brand -- Sears -- for their "Home Fashions Group".

Both pens appear to have their original cartridges (the text on them seem to go with the logos on the barrel). Both pens have interior brass threading inside the caps (although the barrels and their threading are plastic). I haven't tried the pens to see if they still work, and I don't whether a regular refill fits inside them.

There are slight differences in the Parker imprints on the caps between the two pens; I don't know enough to know whether this was due to major differences in when the two pens were manufactured.

This is the Stromberg-Carlson Pen pen:

The blue end cap on the insert may be removable in order to put in refills (but I haven't tried for fear of breaking it).

 

I'm not sure the order of how the interior text for the window should be read (this is just a conjecture, based on what's shown when the pen is in writing more (vs. when the point is retracted):

 

 

 

 

This is the Parker imprint on the cap:

 

 

This is a shot of the brass threading insert in the cap:

 

This is the Sears pen:

 

 

It came in what I presume was the original box (although there was no paperwork); I can't tell if the cutout along the edge of one side of the box's lid is original.

 

 

Unfortunately, the interior logo text on the cartridge doesn't line quite up with the window when the cap is completely screwed on (although in this pen it's easy to identify the order of the text captions):

 

 

 

 

 

I discovered, however, that when I didn't screw the cap back on 100% tight, the text DOES line up correctly in the window:

 

Like the Stromberg-Carlson pen, the Sears pen cap has interior threading of brass:

 

but it has different imprints on the cap:

 

 

Interestingly enough, there are also imprints including some sort of numerical code on both cartridges (I didn't get photos of the imprint on the cartridge for the Stromberg-Carlson pen but the code is different, being what appears to be "152" so the code may refer to the specific individual product (i.e., the Stromberg-Carlson vs. the Sears pens).

 

 

Hope these photos have proved interesting. I guess other people were aware that Parker made the advertising Jotters with the window in them, but they were a new one on me (the Stromberg-Carlson pen was in a large cookie tin full of mostly ballpoints and mechanical pens, along with a no-name mottled hard rubber pen/pencil combo with a missing clip). But I spotted the arrow clip and got curious.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for formatting issues

Edited September 9, 2018 by inkstainedruth

[y_bauluck]

Congratulations on finding these Jotters.

 

Never saw a jotter in that olive green or ivory colour scheme any more than one with a window. Suffice to say that those pens are very interesting and original.

[aih]

Thanks for posting.

 

Makes me think of the '60s and a time when gas was 20 cents a gallon and gas stations gave little things away to customers.

[Charles Rice]

Very Interesting. What a cool idea.

[JotterAddict62]

I have plenty of advertising Jotters in my collection. Will have to ask Ruth if she wants to trade? I have come across

some interesting advertising Jotters and have a collection of 100 +. When I see an advertising Jotter I ask how many did the

customer order? How many are still around? Is the company still around? That is why I like collecting them, it is a window to the past.

 

I must go through the collection and sort them some how in categories like food & drink , transportation , power & light and so on.

 

A few years ago I lost out on a Parker advertising lot of the NFL teams with the helmets on the Jotters. Now these were from the early 1070's

before Seattle & Tampa Bay joined the NFL. I only have two so far from the Green Bay Packers. I am always on the lookout for the rest of the league.

 

I once talked to a lady who found a Jotter with the Hamm's Bear on a Jotter. [ Like to see that one ]

 

There are Jotters with calendars on them also with advertising. Some advertising, the imprint is hot stamped. I have a pair that are hot stamped with my Grandparents name on them. [ With not common colors ]

 

One Jotter that I am looking at this time has the U.S. Marine logo on it and below states

 

3D Marine Div., FMF Vietnam

1967

 

 

I should start a network of searchers to find advertising Jotters for me. [ Just a thought ]

 

 

Ken

Edited September 9, 2018 by JotterAddict62

[inkstainedruth]

A few years ago I lost out on a Parker advertising lot of the NFL teams with the helmets on the Jotters. Now these were from the early 1070's

before Seattle & Tampa Bay joined the NFL. I only have two so far from the Green Bay Packers. I am always on the lookout for the rest of the league.

 

 

I suspect that you'd be hard pressed to find a Pittsburgh Steelers Jotter. The Dallas Cowboys may have claimed to be "America's team" at one point -- but I'll bet there's a Steelers bar somewhere in that city (there's apparently even one in Rome, Italy). And I suspect that there aren't any *Cowboys" bars here in Pittsburgh....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Although I never set out to collect Jotters as such, I have quite a few, as they used to be my favorites before (fanfare) I started using fountain pens.

 

A couple of those demonstrator advertising Jotters are in the group. One is for (I think, it's a bit worn) a "Larson carriage company". The original refill had the addresses of four different locations at the 90º points. It has a red Space Pen refill in it now. And I have a Rotary Club one (not a member) but the original refill is long gone.

 

Interesting pens, but I imagine that it was always a challenge to find the "correct" refill for a particular one. For those who do intentionally collect them, do you just keep the original refill in there after it's run dry?

Edited September 13, 2018 by ISW_Kaputnik

[JotterAddict62]

Interesting pens, but I imagine that it was always a challenge to find the "correct" refill for a particular one. For those who do intentionally collect them, do you just keep the original refill in there after it's run dry?

Yes I always keep the original refill for all advertising window Jotters.