Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 67

From a classic Parker fountain pen from the mid-70s (featured in the previous blog post) to some much older classic Parker writing instruments (Vacumatic & Duofold models) recently acquired by longtime VPC member Christopher from another longtime VPCer (David M)...

(all photos courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on images to enlarge)

In Christopher's own words: "The fountain in the snap attached of the Parker Vac set you have seen before, but I did pick up the matching pencil from David and had the right case for the set in my Parker drawer. Needless to say, I am extremely pleased with this now completed Parker Vac set."

Re: the photo above, Christopher writes: "I also picked up the barrel, section, cap and blind cap for the other snap attached. The parts were in desperate need of cleaning and polishing to remove scratches and bring back the sheen, but as you will see, the results worked out well. I had the right button filler mechanism (pressure bar and button) in my Parker parts along with the correct period and size Duofold Canadian nib/feed and was able to have a great working and looking addition for my collection."

...and last but not least - a lovely gift from his wife (Chris)...

Christopher: "The other photo is of my birthday present from Chris last month. She just asked me what I wanted most in the way of a fountain pen and could I ask for more. The Birks box was what my father’s Parker came in as a gift from my Mum. The pen is long gone, but the beautiful box came to me. By the way, the pen is mint and also came from David."

Many thanks to Christopher for sharing his new acquisitions with us!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 66

A few days ago, honourary VPC member Glenn from Australia was kind enough to send photos of his newest acquisition. Glenn had also purchased the silver-plated version of the pen, and it arrived a few days later, so he sent the photos and text below. Both are lovely examples of the Parker '75' (which was first introduced in 1963) - a classic that many consider the last vintage/first modern fountain pen...

(all photos courtesy of Glenn ~ please click on images to enlarge)

Glenn: "This latest acquisition is a French made Parker '75' in silver plated/CT Prince de Galles pattern, with 14 kt fine nib, slim aerometric converter, a standard dished barrel tassie and a fairly rare opal cabochon on the cap. The pen’s in excellent condition, apart from needing multiple cycles in the ultrasonic cleaner to clean out the old ink."

"It’s quite a challenge to find any additional information. Although there is no date code on the cap, Lih-Tah Wong dates the Prince de Galles pattern from 1976, which is consistent with the plain, white-metal section band."

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"I hoped the cabochon would help confirm the production date, but http://www.parker75.com/ provides only a photo without further information, and http://www.parkerpens.net/parker75.html doesn’t mention it at all. The opal is a beautiful blue & green with a flash of red; my photo, unfortunately has reflections in it, but the colours are well represented. "

  "I presumed it’s not a solid opal, because one displaying those colours would be rather valuable, so it is more likely to be an opal triplet. I’m glad I don’t have to dunk it in the ultrasonic cleaner like its GP sibling last week, because triplets are not waterproof and it would be ruined. (An opal triplet is composed of a thin slice of crystal opal sandwiched between a transparent top and a backing made of black potch or man made resin. Older style triplets have quartz or glass caps to protect the triplet, but today plastic resin tops are used.)"

Glenn concludes: "And thank you Maja, for these additional leads. A FPN conversation from 2013 confirms that the cabochon is indeed a triplet, sold as a reasonably priced accessory by Parker Australia for customers to dress up their pens, perhaps for gifting: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/254536-check-out-this-parker-ballpoint/. The few pens found in the available sources are in different patterns/finishes and made in France & USA, not just those “made” (assembled) in Australia, but because opal is our national gemstone, one seller thought the cabochons might be intended to mark our Bicentennial in 1988 - https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-opal-topped-parker-75-219762919. Personally, I think that 1976 is way too early for that to be reasonable, so the more general marketing strategy does seem most feasible."

It was a pleasure doing some "pen detective" work for Glenn :) Many thanks to him for sharing his recent acquisitions with us here on our pen club blog, and to all the other VPCers who sent in their contributions for our online "show & tell". Cheers ~Maja

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 65

Earlier this month, Stuart swung by The Vancouver Pen Shop and bought three pen-related items (none of which were fountain pens!) ...

(all photos courtesy of Stuart ~ please click on images to enlarge)

Stuart writes: "At Van Pen yesterday, I got a glass pen made by Janelle Tyler. It's great - so easy to sample inks with it, and it writes beautifully. I chose a Medium-Fine point, and the pen has a spiral handle - if you rotate it, it can just about hypnotize you!"

 

Stuart: "I also got a bottle of one of the latest Robert Oster inks, Australis Rose, a lovely dusty rose, the nearest thing I’ve seen to Sheaffer’s old Persian Rose, a much-coveted colour.  I filled my VPC Leonardo with it, and the stub nib gives the colour nice shading and depth."

 

Stuart: "I bought a bottle of another SE (Special Edition) ink from Montblanc - it goes with a pen that’s an Homage to Moctezuma I, ruler of the Aztec empire.  The ink is called Pierced Sky, interestingly.  It’s a lovely turquoise that leans to the green side of that shade of blue, so it’s a nice companion to the blue-er Maya Blue turquoise that came out earlier."

Stuart - thanks very much for sharing your new purchases with us :)
VPC members - if you have any new pen/ink/paper-related acquisitions you'd like to share with us on our club's website, please email your photos and text to me and I'll post them here as part of our ongoing virtual "show & tell". Thanks in advance!~Maja

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 64

Honourary VPC member Glenn from Australia was kind enough to send us some photos of his recent pen-related finds, including this beautiful Parker fountain pen....

 (all photos courtesy of Glenn ~ please click on images to enlarge)

Glenn: "The gold-plated Parker '75' in Prince de Galles pattern with F nib and the later Mk 2 section, dates to 4th quarter 1980, and is generally in reasonable condition for a 40yo pen; there are marks in the middle of the dished tassies, but the rest of the pen has just normal wear."

"When it arrived some barrel pattern lines did seem rather dark compared to those on the cap, and this proved to be the result of oils & skin cells from years of handling accumulated in the grooves. Three cycles in the ultra-sound cleaner with warm water and a drop of dish detergent restored it to a state that now matches the cap. I have a silver-plated version of the pen coming, when Australia Post eventually gets its act together (holding your breath is not recommended!), and it will be interesting to see if it too needs a bath."

 

 "Lih-Tah Wong's Parker75.com was especially useful for identifying the pattern, given that the Ecossais pattern is very similar; indeed, that's what I thought this pen was, and I already had a 75 in that pattern, so I nearly missed out -  http://www.parker75.com/Reference/Parker75_Ref.htm "

What a gorgeous pattern on a classic fountain pen! Congratulations on your new acquisition, Glenn, and thanks for sharing your purchase with us :)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 63

A few months ago, Stuart acquired a couple of lovely vintage Sheaffer desk sets, however, both of the desk pens needed refurbishing. The pens were recently restored, so Stuart sent me photos of the restored sets for our pen club's online "show & tell"...

(all photos courtesy of Stuart ~ please click on images to enlarge)

When the set above arrived (back in February), Stuart wrote: "Another desk-set landed today, with a gorgeous oval green onyx base, smooth-finished, and a lever-filling pen. It’s another “staple” pen and also has a $5.00 price code on the barrel, which makes it a little later than I had supposed it to be, late ’30’s - early ’40’s."

 

"When dipped, the nib writes a hairline, super-fine, and smooth. It’s a Feather Touch #5. When I poked a wet Q-Tip into the holder, it came out with residue of what I think is Arabian Rose ink, a mauve-pink shade! It’s a shame Sheaffer doesn’t make it now, it would be popular."

"The base is one of the loveliest I’ve seen, great colour and patterning and an elegant shape."

(above) Another beautiful Sheaffer desk set--this one from the 1930’s, with a triangular brown glass base, matching socket and desk pen. Stuart commented that "(he hadn't) seen one like this before."

The set came in this lovely Art Nouveau-style packaging...

Stuart thinks the desk set was NOS (New Old Stock)---stored away and never used----due to the condition of the set and packaging...

Many thanks to Stuart for sharing these great vintage finds with us!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 62

From budget Cross pens to one considerably more expensive -  Jerred's handsome Cross 'Peerless 125' fountain pen...

(all photos by Jerred ~ please click on images to enlarge)

Jerred: "This is a Cross Peerless 125. This is Cross's current flagship pen, and is named for the 125th anniversary of the first Cross Peerless, released in 1889. The finish here is Titanium Gray Lacquer, and the pen has a series of lines inscribed the length of the body and cap, giving a somewhat unique design element."

"The pen is larger in size, similar to the Leonardo Memento Zero that was the 2019 VPC pen, though with an oddly bulbous cap. The pen is somewhat on the heavier side at 44g capped/posted and 28g uncapped, but not quite as heavy as you might expect for a metal pen of this size."

"The real star of the show here, however, is the nib. The nib on the Peerless 125 is made by Sailor. While this may seem a little surprising, Cross has had nibs made by the likes of Pilot (Verve, Solo) and Pelikan (Townsend) in the past. The nib is 18k gold and rhodium-plated on this trim, and is roughly #6 sized. The gold content is actually a little surprising, as I am unaware of any current Sailor pens that use 18k gold nibs."

"The nib was an absolutely lovely writer out of the box. It was smooth with just a touch of feedback, moderately wet, and slightly bouncy. Even though I generally prefer glassy-smooth nibs, the nib is such a joy to write with I haven't bothered to do any work on it."

Congratulations on your new acquisition, Jerred, and many thanks for sharing it with us :) 

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 61

The newest additions to my little Cross 'Bailey Light' family of writing instruments...

(all photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)

 

Cross 'Bailey Light' fountain pen in coral and ballpoint in teal

 

 

(cloth mask courtesy of my talented mother-in-law :)  

On stopping by my local Staples store last week to pick up the coral fountain pen above (which I'd ordered online), I noticed a two-sided cardboard floor display for Cross writing instruments. I was delighted to see that the display included all the Cross 'Bailey Light' fountain pen and ballpoint colours (grey, teal, black, white and blue--no rollerballs, though), so I took advantage of the opportunity to purchase a teal ballpoint to go with the teal fountain pen I bought this Spring. 

Both the coral fountain pen and the teal ballpoint write smoothly, have no startup or flow issues, and are a delight to use (I think I'm developing an addiction to these pens ;) For my mini-review of the grey Cross 'Bailey Light' fountain pen I also bought this Spring, please check out this post on our pen club blog (photos of the white fountain pen version I bought in June can be found here). 

 Stay safe, everyone!
~Maja

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 60

sub-brand: A companion brand associated with a first-tier manufacturer; typically used on pens sold at a price point lower than the primary-brand products. Used most frequently to allow a manufacturer to penetrate the entry-level market without diminishing the stature of its primary brand; in some cases used as platforms to test unproven features or technologies without risking the primary brand’s reputation for reliability. (definition from Richardspens.com)

A few weeks ago, we featured a vintage sub-brand in our pen club's virtual "show & tell" - René's vintage Epenco fountain pen. Here are two more nice examples of sub-brands - René's vintage WASP 'Addipoint' lever-filler fountain pen and WASP 'Clipper' mechanical pencil:

(all photos courtesy of René ~ please click on images to enlarge)

 

  

René:"These two aren't a matching set, but I thought I'd include the two together because they're from the same family. WASP is a sub-brand of Sheaffer's from the mid-30s to about 1940, Depression-era pens that serve to supply pens to people whose cash flows have dwindled but still need to write."

 

 "WASP stands for W.A. Sheaffer Pen, so named to separate them from the still higher-end Sheaffer pens that they still sell, though they were still well-made pens that live up to the Sheaffer philosophy of providing the best pens for the money. It's also a brand that they can use to sell pens made of materials that are less 'serious.'" 

"The fountain pen is a lever-filler Addipoint WASP in a beautiful swirly pearl grey, with an original, stiff, WASP 243 Manifold Medium steel nib, and black, shallow conical tassies."

 

(Above: closeup of the fountain pen's WASP 243 Manifold Medium steel nib)

 

 (Above: closeup of the mechanical pencil's Lahn material-- U.S. Patent No 2,081,538, owned by the Celluloid Corporation)

René:"The mechanical pencil has its inscription at the top end that says, "The Clipper / WASP Pen Co. Inc." The material is called, "brown Lahn," and is made of gold-coloured, metallic strips set in transparent celluloid, which gives is a beautiful glitter effect. The metal front cone on this one had lost most of its gold-plating. The pencil takes 1.1mm leads and is fed from the front, twisting the front cone extends the lead out or pulls it back in."

"It's ca. 1938, and I got it from a lot of "junk" fountain pens, ballpoints, and mechanical pencils I got three years ago from e-Bay and mostly forgot about. I came across this one again recently and saw the inscription opposite the clip, and polished the plastic, and revealed the beauty of the material. "

"Here's a good link to a page for further info on WASP pens:"
https://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Sheaffer/SheafferWaspAddipoint.htm

Nice finds, René! Thanks again for sharing all your newest acquisitions with us :)