Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 390

One more marvelous vintage Parker fountain pen, courtesy of Christopher! This one is his Parker Oversized Silver Pearl Vacumatic, Circa: 1936

 Christopher writes: "By far my favourite vintage fountain pen has to be the Parker Vacumatic, and right at the top of my list is the first generation Oversized model. This is a very big pen, both in overall size and girth. In fact, there is little reduction in the size from stem to stern. Brought out by Parker in 1933, it retained its consistent tubular shape until it was streamlined in 1937 when Parker tapered both ends of the pen to create an entirely new look. Also, the triple cap banding was changed to a wider single band and the well-established lockdown Vacumatic filler was replaced with the second generation Parker Speedline Vacumatic filler. So, the Parker oversized Vacumatic lasted five years but coupled with a much higher price, which was and is not in everybody’s pocket book (both for the original buyer and more currently for the vintage pen collector), to my mind makes it somewhat of a rare item."

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

"Other impressive feature regarding this fine writing instrument are the matching finish on the barrel, cap, blind cap and double jewels. In the US, these pens also had a matching finish on the grip but in Canada where this particular pen hails from, the grip section is black. Jumping out from this jet section is one big two tone Parker 14K gold arrow nib. It is interesting to note that the Canadian Vacumatic nibs were somewhat more elongated in shape over their US counterparts. This Oversized Parker nib definitely is a medium broad with a flexy delivery and truly a joy to write with.

Finally, yet one last interesting feature, in that the Vacumatic lockdown filler tube is not the commonly made aluminum one but nickel plated. This in itself is a blessing because the aluminum lockdown filler notch tends to wear down more often, thus not allowing the filler to lockdown as it was intended. The nickel plated version is a lot stronger to stand the test of time. As for size, this pen posts at 6 13/32^nd inches but caps back to 5 13/32^nd inches with a wide girth of 17/32^nd inches or (0.53”). Is there any more that I can reflect about this wonderful vintage pen other than it will be in my weekly pen round up on a most regular basis."

We'll be back with a modern pen-related new acquisition on Friday. Until then, our thanks to Christopher (and everyone else who has sent in stuff for our blog) for sharing!