One last vintage find from Christopher's trip to the Aloha State!
Christopher writes: "My fourth and, for that matter in my opinion, the best
score in the tropical paradise Islands for me was a Parker, which I also
did not have in my collection. And what a pen it is, the Parker 61 Custom Insignia, Circa the first year release 1958."
(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)
He continues: "The Custom 61 Insignia is finished at least regarding its barrel and cap in 1/10th-14K gold filled, while the quite long Parker arrow clip is finished in rolled gold. The cap, which sports a pearl coloured Jewel like the end of the barrel, is finished in vertical chased lines which Parker referred to in their catalogue as the ‘chased finished’ cap. Fine Barley, Waterdrop and plain were also optional Insignia cap finishes at that time.
The pen is definitely a first year, Circa 1958 and after cleaning with a good flushing of the amazing Parker capillary filler and a similar cleaning of the feed/collector and nib, this pen came back to life in a very satisfying way. Over and above, I was informed by my good friend and fellow Vancouver Pen Club member, Rene that the reason why Parker changed their name for their gold finished fountain pens, was because of a patent infringement which put the Parker Signet name behind them and introduced this new name in 1958, the Parker Insignia. I must admit that this pen really caught my fancy and still does. It will be another great part of my vintage pen collection."
Many thanks to Christopher for another great contribution to our pen club's virtual "show & tell"!
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