Help identifying an early Parker pen

January 2, 2022

Greetings,

This pen has been in my collection for several years, but it was only recently, when a friend noticed it in my collection and tried to conclusively identify it, that my curiosity has been kindled. At first we thought this was an early Silver Dollar pen. but upon checking pictures on ParkerPens.net, I don't see anything quite like it, so I am not sure. It looks sort of similar to the second pen on http://parkerpens.net/luckycurve.html but the bottom of the barrel and the top of the cap are different.

The barrel has the following markings that I have tried to capture in the pictures, although the third line is very faint. It has the following imprint: 1st line THE GEO.S. PARKER FOUNTAIN PEN, 2nd line JANESVILLE WIS. USA, 3rd line PAT. JUNE 30,91. JAN 9, 94. APL 4,99. (I think, the last 99 is very faint).

The nib is likely not original.

Edited January 2, 2022 by AgedAndFine

January 3, 2022

Absolutely no expert on early Parker pens, but I did a quick search and found some pens at David Nishimura that looked similar: https://www.vintagepens.com/catill_Parker_1.shtml

It's mostly the pens, that are called jointless, but one would need more photos, especially of how the pen opens and what the feed looks like to make a better identification. You could also send a mail to David, who might identify it for you.

January 3, 2022

Can you find (traces of) a model number imprint on the top of the barrel?

Your pen could be a Jointles #18, #20 or #23 or #24. See page 8-9 of the 1900 Parker pen catalog that is available in the PCA library:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17C44m3-vGormCSuTEKuY2ROAmDO4rKaK/view

The circular gripping lines on the barrel front are shown on the screw joint pens of this era (page 11-12) although I do not see a joint on your pen.

January 4, 2022

Thank you ever so much Nethermark and Joss. I appreciate your input immensely.

I looked at the top of the barrel and couldn't find any markings. It does indeed look close to a jointless #18. However, I'll send an email to David and see what he says and report back. I'll also post some more pics with a better camera in the next day or so.

Its particularly gratifying (and somewhat unreal) to know that the pen is close to 120 years old. Just imagining who and how many people could have used it blows the mind.

Edited January 4, 2022 by AgedAndFine

January 6, 2022

David got back to me. Its Parker Jointless 020, from around 1903. Thanks all.

January 7, 2022

What a beautiful pen!

January 18, 2022

Thank you. Its definitely growing on me. Writing with it was a surreal experience.

January 18, 2022

Wow. The concept of writing with something that is more than a century old is just mind boggling. The oldest pen I own, AFAIK, is a 1926 Duofold Lucky Curve ringtop that I haven't tried (mostly because I almost didn't buy it -- the cap looked a little on the fragile side). But the discounted price when I went back to the place I saw it (more than 50% off the ticket price) after coming on FPN and saying "What can people tell me? It said 'Lucky Curve' but I'm not seeing anything remotely like it on the relevant article on Tony Fischier's site!" And people told me that it was actually a Duofold, and the date quoted was due to the fact that it ONLY says "Lucky Curve" on the imprint. So I went back the next week and the price got dropped more than I expected (I figured maybe a couple of bucks -- NOT roughly 60%!).

But a pen from *1903*? That can still be used? Great find!

Someday I'm really gonna have to get that Lucky Curve up and running but of course that's NOTHING compared to that Jointless for the coolness factor!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth