Hope you're enjoying this nice late Summer weather :) Here's another great vintage find courtesy of Christopher for you to enjoy!
Christopher writes::
"The standard of excellence at the British Parker plant in Newhaven, East Sussex was admirable. Case in point: this Deluxe Insignia 61 from the mid nineteen seventies. I don’t think much could be faulted for its smart appearance or, for that mater, the way it was put together. The pen comes from a line which featured a capillary action Parker filler. But in time, it proved just too challenging for its users to cope with. And when numerous 61 Parker pens were returned to be sorted out, the decision was made to replace the capillary action filler with a cartridge converter filler. It was in fact, the last Parker fountain pen to be modified with this filler and from then on, most of Parker fountain pens came with cartridge converter fillers.
(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on images to enlarge)
This is a Parker 61, Mark 3 model and had a number of changes made to the cap from the previous 61 models. The cap jewel was duly changed from the original pearl gray plastic to a gray metal and the clip included a thin washer. The Custom Insignia finish on this pen’s cap and barrel features long vertical chased lines, which extend to the end of the cap and pick up without a stop, down the length of the barrel. To my mind, I think it really complimented the overall gold surface. There is a small gold content shield marking 1/10th, 12K gold --and in this case rolled gold-- on one side near the open end of the cap, and on the other side, is the ‘Dynamic of Chicago’ designed for Parker in 1958, modernized Parker logo --a logo which incorporates two ‘P’s’ back to back surrounding a vertical arrow shaft, giving the appearance of a central halo. It was to be the symbol of the Parker Company ongoing. As with the Parker 51, the 14K Gold nib in this 61 pen sits almost hidden under a jet black hooded section, sporting a 14K Rolled Gold miniature arrow. Moving south and under the barrel, is the extremely dependable Parker cartridge converter filler, also carrying the same Parker branding logo. What is extremely impressive about this pen, is just how smoothly the cap slides over the section and on to the barrel. Smooth, might I add, as glass.
To
put the proverbial icing on the cake, this pen sits on a creamy beige
satin insert pillow, in a British Parker presentation case. This pillow
is, in turn, grooved out to hold the pen in place. Above, the inside box
lid is also finished in the same satin cloth, but holds the scrolled
text, Parker 61
and above it, the same Parker branding logo is featured in a gold foil
oval. Closing this very attractive presentation case, it is finished
with a cream covering lid, complimented with small jet black dots. While
on the right side of this lid is, once again, the Parker branding Logo
in gold foil and embossed. To offset this cream covering, the bottom of
this box, is actually the reverse in covering, with black overall
complimented by cream dots. The overall design effect brings this
packing together and provides both an attractive and safe haven for this
superb writing instrument. I have always admired the Parker 61 but, in
this case, it will be a vintage fountain pen I will be very proud to add
to my collection."
Thank you, Christopher, for this review! I had no idea that the Parker '61' fountain pen was produced so late into the 20th century until I read this write up. If you want to read more about the Parker '61', there are a couple of informative articles here and here.
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