New Parker 51

[Beechwood]

2 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

 You have a pen set from George V?!  WOW!  Consider me duly impressed.

I don't even have a real family heirloom pen.  The closest was my grandfather's pen/pencil combo that I lost when I was about 8, after finding on top of my dad's dresser; followed by my husband's grandfather's Sheaffer Balance Oversize that when my mother-in-law gave it to me a few years ago.  It had the cap for HER Eversharp Skyline jammed on to it so tightly I was afraid of breaking both trying to get the cap off, and had to have someone at a pen show take section pliers to the cap.  I was able to get a replacement cap and that's the pen I want to someday give to someone in the next generation or so, to keep "in the family" (like one of my husband's niece's kids when they get older).  Once that pen got restored including the replacement cap, it turns out to be a nice writer -- and not heavy for its size.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Hi Ruth

 

King George V used to give fountain pen sets as Christmas presents to all the staff at Sandringham and Buck House, his preferred maker was Wyvern and they made a gold box for the king. My set was overtightened by some ham fisted oaf and there was a crack through the cap threads, a difficult repair but Eric Wilson rose to the challenge and fixed it around 2009.

 

By coincidence I found another Royal set, a year later. You might remember former FPN member Sumgaikid in Tampa, he did me a great favor when I was looking for a Vacumatic clam shell box, he sent one  over to me and in return I sent him the second Royal set, from memory,  a toffee colored Wyvern set in a cross hatch design, all in the original gold box.

 

I have to admit that I have a soft spot for pens and pen sets that have a provenance.

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

Yeah, me too.  I don't understand the people who go "Ewww" over vintage pens that have engraving on them.  Unless they're getting something that's NOS, a pen would have been used by somebody.  But if that's going to drop the "value" (and the price)?  So much the better for me.  I always want to try to find out information about the person who's name is on a pen -- who they were, what they did, if they've got any descendants, what caused them to buy that particular pen (or if it was a gift).  Mostly I've not been lucky in that regard, but did find information about one name one time.  I really wish I could track down the descendants of the Red Shadow Wave Vacumatic I got in the auction at a pen show a few years ago, and tell them "I have your [grandfather's/great uncle's/whatever] pen, and LOVE it!"  (That's the pen that I ran for something like 3 years without any sort of flushing or maintenance -- just refilled it as needed with Waterman Mysterious Blue, and one that is in almost constant rotation even now.)

Had an interesting conversation a few years ago with one of the vendors at the Commonwealth Pen Show (apparently he lives in the town when my brother-in-law used to be the Postmaster for, so knows my brother-in-law).  He had a pen that had belonged to some woman who was a WAC or WAVE (forget which now) in WWII and was able to find information about her.

I guess I'm just a sucker for stuff like oral history.  And am sad that I lost the pen/pencil combo that had been my grandfather's when I was a kid after my grandfather died.  I did have to do a oral history project when I was older, and interviewed my grandmother on that side, and her story was fascinating, with details I would not have even known about otherwise (such as that only people in steerage went through Ellis Island when they emigrated to the US -- people who had 1st class (like her rich cousins) and 2nd class berths (like she was) were processed on the boat....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[thx1138]

Thank you for the interesting and thoughtful replies.

As I have quite a number of English mediums the pen will stay new for now.

[VacNut]

Interesting digression from the original topic. It’s very nice to see all the differing opinions.

I don’t really see the difference between a collector, investor, hoarder, or admirer. 
If you like the pen and can acquire it without financial harm, do it!!!

 

Like several people on this chat, I have more pens than I can use, and that’s ok. They were made a long time ago and there is no harm in owing them. I would argue reviving a used pen is more ecological than buying a newly manufactured pen, just like driving a used car.

 

This morning I put on a souvenir tee shirt from Maui that I bought over 18 years ago , and yes it still fits. I was reminded of my daughter when she was that age and what we did on the island. It was a nice reminder of my life.

 

As far as the New 51, I’m good. I have plenty old ones, so will never need to own a new one.

[VacNut]

I guess we don’t even think about it, but I was looking through the pictures on my phone and realized the pictures of people and places were no different than the pens in my collection.

We all keep things that are valuable to us.

[inkstainedruth]

Agreed.  And "valuable" doesn't necessarily mean the price paid for it.  It's for about the what the item means on a personal level.  If you can get something for a great price that is meaningful for you in some way?  That price is just an added bonus!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[fullfederhalter]

I think people choose to collect things for a variety of reasons, but many would likely say that the items they collect are beautiful to them and bring joy by owning them.  In that way a pen which remains never used for its intended purpose is indeed fulfilling another purpose for that person.

I recently completed the conversion of a cabinet to store many of my pens, and I sometimes open each drawer just to admire them.  It always makes me smile.

I write with most of my pens, but there are some which I do not use for various reasons.  It's all a matter of personal preference.

 

 

 

 

[VacNut]

5 hours ago, fullfederhalter said:

I think people choose to collect things for a variety of reasons, but many would likely say that the items they collect are beautiful to them and bring joy by owning them.  In that way a pen which remains never used for its intended purpose is indeed fulfilling another purpose for that person.

I recently completed the conversion of a cabinet to store many of my pens, and I sometimes open each drawer just to admire them.  It always makes me smile.

I write with most of my pens, but there are some which I do not use for various reasons.  It's all a matter of personal preference.

 

 

 

 

👍👍👍

Well said…

[Beechwood]

8 hours ago, fullfederhalter said:

I think people choose to collect things for a variety of reasons, but many would likely say that the items they collect are beautiful to them and bring joy by owning them.  In that way a pen which remains never used for its intended purpose is indeed fulfilling another purpose for that person.

I recently completed the conversion of a cabinet to store many of my pens, and I sometimes open each drawer just to admire them.  It always makes me smile.

I write with most of my pens, but there are some which I do not use for various reasons.  It's all a matter of personal preference.

 

 

 

 

 

There used to be a clique on FPN which would have criticized a comment such as this, I am pleased we have stepped into the light, no one shouts down stamp/coin/art/ collectors for simply wanting to own and admire.

 

Rowan Atkinson has many cars for all manner of purposes. He had one special car, an Aston Martin Zagato from the 1960s, a beautiful car with a multi million dollar price ticket. His pleasure of ownership was to push the car out of its heated garage, pull up a chair and sit and look at the car, he had no interest in driving the car, he had better and newer cars for driving. He was happy to own it and remember how he bought it and how privileged he was to own one of only a handful of Zagatos in the world. He would also incur a $50,000 insurance charge if he drove one inch on the public road.

 

And yet he still had comments from Aston Martin owners saying that the car must be driven otherwise it wasn't a car. I hop that he told these silly men to think again. 

[Estycollector]

3 hours ago, Beechwood said:

 

There used to be a clique on FPN which would have criticized a comment such as this, I am pleased we have stepped into the light, no one shouts down stamp/coin/art/ collectors for simply wanting to own and admire.

 

Rowan Atkinson has many cars for all manner of purposes. He had one special car, an Aston Martin Zagato from the 1960s, a beautiful car with a multi million dollar price ticket. His pleasure of ownership was to push the car out of its heated garage, pull up a chair and sit and look at the car, he had no interest in driving the car, he had better and newer cars for driving. He was happy to own it and remember how he bought it and how privileged he was to own one of only a handful of Zagatos in the world. He would also incur a $50,000 insurance charge if he drove one inch on the public road.

 

And yet he still had comments from Aston Martin owners saying that the car must be driven otherwise it wasn't a car. I hop that he told these silly men to think again. 

Or one could use that Aston Martin to drive to a place of beauty as one could use a pen to write something of beauty to share with others. I make no judgement what people do with their stuff, but stuff is stuff, nonetheless. That all of my vintage pens were once the collections of someone's stuff, like one of the Parker 51's with someone's initials is important to consider. What makes the 27 year old vehicle I drive beloved is the memories of its use. 

[Beechwood]

Chacun à son goût, and for that we can all be grateful.

[thx1138]

Found another NOS Newhaven 51.

[Beechwood]

Very nice Thx, a 51 Medium, perfect and new cap.

 

I sometimes wonder how it has come about that the pen has not been used. I know from my own family that a new Parker was a popular Christmas or birthday present and perhaps the lucky person was happy to continue using the pen that was just 12 months old. 

[Medieval78]

I was lucky to find NOS Parker 51 Aerometric two weeks ago. It looks like it was an old stock from am Italian Jewelry shop.

[Beechwood]

40 minutes ago, Medieval78 said:

I was lucky to find NOS Parker 51 Aerometric two weeks ago. It looks like it was an old stock from am Italian Jewelry shop.

 

 

A stunning example. 

 

This brings the age old debate of what do you do with a new 60 year old pen that may have cost you $300 and have a value of $150 when you fill it.

[Medieval78]

14 minutes ago, Beechwood said:

 

 

A stunning example. 

 

This brings the age old debate of what do you do with a new 60 year old pen that may have cost you $300 and have a value of $150 when you fill it.

 

Thank you. That's a very good question. I also found last year a beautiful "51" Signet/Insignia NOS (Italian version too) with an imprint on the barrel - Made in England 9.

 

[VacNut]

58 minutes ago, Beechwood said:

 

 

A stunning example. 

 

This brings the age old debate of what do you do with a new 60 year old pen that may have cost you $300 and have a value of $150 when you fill it.

I guess it is akin to an expensive bottle of wine, once you open it and take your first sip. Albeit there is no guarantee that bottle of wine hasn’t soured or that 60 year old pen doesn’t need repairs to make it functional.

[Beechwood]

15 minutes ago, VacNut said:

I guess it is akin to an expensive bottle of wine, once you open it and take your first sip. Albeit there is no guarantee that bottle of wine hasn’t soured or that 60 year old pen doesn’t need repairs to make it functional.

 

Your point on the wine is a good one. I had a bottle of 1953 champagne from a good house not long ago, it was nice but no better than a bottle from 15 years ago. At the end of the £250 53 bottle I wished I had kept it as was.

 

Its a personal choice and we are all different. You might have a collection of 51 Vacumatics, you are given a new and unused 51 Vacumatic, stickered, chalk marks and all the tricks. 

 

Do you use the NOS 51 or your regular  daily driver? 

 

We have all seen this debate ad infinitum, the collectors and the users will never agree.

[Glenn-SC]

Would you rather have the original Mona Lisa painting for $1M (or $100M) that you have to keep under high security and special environmental conditions to only view personally or with trusted friends or would you rather have a $15 print from a museum store that you can hang on your living room wall?  Or a $30 knockoff painting?  They are all just pictures who’s purchase is to be looked at.  The print and knockoff may be even have better colors or detail. 

While the original can’t be “used” like a copy or knockoff can, it undoubtedly has a higher value.  

[inkstainedruth]

This is now making me think of going to see a Picasso retrospective with my parents at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC years ago.  My mom didn't think she liked his work at all -- but then saw a painting from the "Rose Period" of two small boys leading a horse (I don't remember the title, and wasn't able to find it in a Google search).  And she just wanted to take the painting off the wall and roll it up under her arm and take it home with her....  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth