Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 259

As promised, here is Christopher's other recent vintage acquisition--a handsome all-black Parker 'Vacumatic' fountain pen...

(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

 Christopher: "Admittedly, for years when I was first collecting vintage pens, I avoided the black ones. They just did not seem to have the magic that the other coloured pens had. Still, and in time, I did a complete 180 and began to welcome the jet coloured pens completely into my collection. Case in point - an exceptionally smart Parker Vacumatic US Major which just came my way. Over and above the condition of this pen, which is no less than spectacular, the make up is everything I could want. Offsetting the black finish, this pen has beautiful 14K Gold Filled fittings. The cap sports a clip with the Blue Diamond warranty well in place and, just as a finishing touch, the cap has a flawless black matching jewel. Further down on the barrel, it is marked with a clear and sharp Parker Date Code of the first quarter of 1946. Also to note, the long matching blind cap hides a clear plastic button topped Vacumatic filler. The transparency on this pen is red ambered but impressive. Needless to say, you sure know how much ink you have in the pen once it is filled.

That takes us to the nib, which was a real surprise. It seems when Parker was phasing out their Duofold line of pens, in support of the original Duofold warranty servicing, they produced a special replacement nib. This nib looked like a Vacumatic nib to the untrained eye, sporting the Parker Vacumatic arrow but devoid of the Vacumatic branding. Also, the feather configuration on the arrow was different and below a Parker Date code number, was the letter R for replacement. All of these features are in keeping with the nib in this pen and as a writer, it is medium and as smooth as glass. I took the liberty of resetting the nib quite far out on its feed and out of its grip but well within the realm of acceptability and proper capping. The letter R on the nib is usually hidden under the grips section of Duofolds, but I wanted mine to show on this Vacumatic. Over and above personalizing this particular pen to my liking, I could not be more pleased with it."

Christopher--thank you, as always, for your informative write-ups on the vintage writing instruments you've acquired! For more information on the special Parker replacement nibs Christopher talked about, check out this article by vintage pen expert David Nishimura - 'Replacement Duofold arrow-imprint nibs' article'.