My Parker 51 Aerometric - tell me things?

[LandyVlad]

I can't even remember how I came to own my fountain pens, but in any event I have a couple of Parkers.

 

One is this Parker 51 Aerometric.

 

I'd appreciate anything people might be able to tell me about it based on the pictures.

 

(there's two small dents on the back of the lid here - character!) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks !

 

 

[Mercian]

4 hours ago, LandyVlad said:

I can't even remember how I came to own my fountain pens, but in any event I have a couple of Parkers.

 

One is this Parker 51 Aerometric.

 

I'd appreciate anything people might be able to tell me about it based on the pictures

 

Firstly - and trivially - I don't recognise that colour.
But it may just be a version of Parker's 'Teal Blue' (the colours varied slightly throughout time, depending on what colours of plastic Parker could get from its suppliers).

 

Your other photos show that your pen has a filler-shroud that was made at Parker's factory at Newhaven in England, in the 1950s.

The cap may have an imprint on it back that says 'R.G.', or one that says 'G.F.'.
'R.G.' is Newhaven's marking for 'rolled gold'; 'G.F.' is the Janesville factory (in the USA) marking for 'Gold filled'.

 

IMPORTANTLY:

This ↓ photo...

 

4 hours ago, LandyVlad said:

 

 

 

...shows that the feed of your pen has become mis-aligned with respect to the nib and the grip-section.
This MAY result in uneven/inconsistent ink supply.
The rounded 'point' of the feed should be aligned with the slit/point of the nib, and the point of the hood of the grip-section.

 

I advise you to either take your "51" apart and re-align the components correctly (the method of doing this can be found on threads in the 'Repair' forum here), or to pay an experienced repair professional to do it for you.
Given that the alignment of the feed is wrong, other things may well be wrong with your pen 'under the hood'.

I wish you good luck with it

 

Slàinte,
M.

[Mr Gutsy]

4 hours ago, Mercian said:

But it may just be a version of Parker's 'Teal Blue' (the colours varied slightly throughout time, depending on what colours of plastic Parker could get from its suppliers).

 

It's almost certainly a variant on teal blue. I've a similar example in my own collection with the same filling shroud and RG cap from Newhaven.

[LandyVlad]

Thank you all, esp Mercian (evidently an Irishman) for that useful information re the damage/misalignment.

 

I'd hate to screw it up and would be happy to get it fixed but need to find someone reliable locally... 

 

Colourwise - looking at it in person it has a greener tinge than indicated by the photos. The variables of cameras, monitors, colour temperature etc make these things hard to consistently convey. 

[LandyVlad]

20 hours ago, Mercian said:

Your other photos show that your pen has a filler-shroud that was made at Parker's factory at Newhaven in England, in the 1950s.

The cap may have an imprint on it back that says 'R.G.', or one that says 'G.F.'.
'R.G.' is Newhaven's marking for 'rolled gold'

 

It actually appears to say R. GOLD. rather than RG.

Does that still mean Newhaven or is there a third option?

Aside from "51" and R.GOLD I can't make out the rest of it.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 11:19 AM by LandyVlad

[Mercian]

18 hours ago, LandyVlad said:

esp Mercian (evidently an Irishman)

 

Actually, I'm 100% English.

I'm from a part of England that used to be (admittedly, over 1000 years ago) the 'Kingdom of Mercia'.

 

I appropriated my sign-off from my Scottish cousins, out of my love for - and in honour of - their 'Water of Life'

[Mercian]

18 hours ago, LandyVlad said:

It actually appears to say R. GOLD. rather than RG.

Does that still mean Newhaven or is there a third option?

Aside from "51" and R.GOLD I can't make out the rest of it.

 

It says "51" (the trademarked name of the pen includes those quotation marks).

Beneath the "51" imprint it says: 1/10 12ct R. Gold.

I presume (but don't know) that the '1/10' is a reference to the depth/thickness of the 'Rolled Gold' that was impressed onto the cap.

And I further presume that to be 1/10 of 1mm, rather than 1/10 of an inch - a 2.54mm thick layer of 50% pure gold over the entire cap would have a 'non-trivial' cost 😁

[theredfalcon]

Hi LandyVlad,

 

Looks like an early 1950s Newhaven "51"-

 

• most "51"s of the 50s & early 60s have a brushed stainless steel filler shroud with the "Parker "51" " spelled out in double lines. Yours has the polished stainless steel filler with the double lines closer together that Newhaven used around 1950-early 1952.
• the rolled gold cap is also the early 50s Newhaven version (later ones omit the number "51" over the rolled gold line). The 1/10 is the amount of gold by weight so 1/10 (10%) of 12ct (50%) rolled gold means that 5% of the weight of the cap is pure gold.
• can you see if there are any markings around the top of the barrel (they may have worn/been polished off)? Up to around 1956, Newhaven imprinted the barrels with "MADE IN ENGLAND" followed by a date code.
• if you do get the pen dismantled to reset the feed, have a look at the nib as these are date marked up to the end of the 50s

Hope this helps

[Mercian]

12 minutes ago, theredfalcon said:

can you see if there are any markings around the top of the barrel (they may have worn/been polished off)? Up to around 1956, Newhaven imprinted the barrels with "MADE IN ENGLAND" followed by a date code.

 

This is good advice.

 

On one of my own two Newhaven aerometric "51"s (both of which date to 1954 Q3) the imprint got worn off when restorers polished it, and only a few slight impressions of it still remain visible - and even then only with a loupe, under angled light.

[inkstainedruth]

Additionally, I've read that you can sort of figure out the time of production for when Parker DIDN'T do date codes, depending on what it says on the metal covering/press bar over the sac (I think there's details on Tony Fischier's website: Parkercollector.com) where you can narrow down the timeframe somewhat by whether it says to press 4 times or 6, and IIIC, also stuff like what it says to use in the pen (such as whether it says to use Super Quink, etc.).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[LandyVlad]

Thanks this is all great info I really appreciate you all. Meanwhile I found another 51 so about to do a  thread on it too.