Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 560

Back to vintage Parker fountain pens we go, with Christopher's review of an all-time classic!

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

He writes:
"A must for any vintage pen collector has to be the Parker Chinese red Senior Duofold, especially as it was first presented in hard red rubber. But the story of just how the Parker Duofold came about is, in fact, an interesting one. George Parker, the president and founder of the Parker company, had a very strong sales force, but for one western-based salesman, Lewis Tebbell. Mainly based in Spokane, Washington, Tebbell had the lowest sales in his department and was on George Parker's radar for termination. At the same time, George took a sales and marketing development trip to Europe and the Far East, but was determined to deal with Tebbell when he returned. But Tebbell had come up with an extremely good idea involving the development of a new Parker pen and, in contacting the main Parker plant, persuaded one of the Parker machinists to make a prototype of his pen idea. 

Years earlier, Parker had using red rubber to come out with a huge fountain pen model branded the 'Red Giant', but the model had been prone to open end cap cracking and, in turn, was taken off the market. Tebbell's idea was to incorporate this red hard vulcanized rubber with the Parker 26 Jack Knife model, but keep both the clip screw and the blind cap in their original jet black. Tebbell tried to interest the Parker board, but being old and conservative men and with George Parker's absence, they turned Tebbell down flat. So Tebbell took a step up and, in turn, approached Kenneth Parker, who was fresh back from a year in the advertising business. Kenneth immediately saw the value in Tebbell's pen, which Tebbell had branded the 'Duofold', and let's say the rest is history. The Parker Duofold pen went on to be one of the Parker company's biggest sellers. And Mr. Lewis M. Tebbell won the respect of his boss."

"Still, the Duofold I am featuring in this article originally came out all of four years after the Duofold's inception. It is the largest pen in the line and branded (accordingly) a 'Senior'. The finish material is Chinese Red hard or vulcanized rubber and the inscription on the barrel, referred to as medium sized, indicates that this pen dates Circa 1924. The raised rolled 14K Gold cap banding, also qualifies that dating and both this fitting and the rolled 14K Gold ball ended ring clip, compliment the red and black rubber finish to perfection. One very nice additional feature to this Parker pen is that the barrel threading was designed with a three-point starter, so that the barrel logo could be lined up with the cap clip accordingly. This is a brass button filler, with very strong ink drawing power and, the overall size of the barrel being quite substantial, is capable of providing ample room for a very large ink sack. The jet-black section sports a very interesting Parker Duofold nib.

Late in the day, when Duofolds were returning to Parker for nib replacement, the company designed a very handsome 14K Gold arrow replacement nib. Often confused with the Vacumatic arrow nib, with a similar arrow engraved on the surface, the feather configuration of this Duofold replacement nib is indeed different; if you remove these replacement Duofold nibs from their sections, there is an 'R' engraved at the inside end to represent replacement. In my Duofold, this replacement nib is an extra fine model, but in writing with it, its performance is impressive.

Last, but far from least, is the pen part that this nib sits on. In a good number of Parker Lucky Curve feeds I have run across in disassembling these pens, the curved down back end of the feed has been cut off to provide ease of removal of the feed and nib. So, to have one hundred percent intact, and in the largest Parker Duofold Lucky Curve feed, is definitely a coup. And to put the so-called icing on the cake, this is what is referred to as a 'Christmas Tree' or Spearhead feed. Brought to bear in 1905 by George Parker, and called as such for its barb-shaped notches, which increase the capillary action to draw ink into the pen, this type of feed was just a blessing. Admittedly. I do have several Chinese red Senior Duofolds, but all from different periods of this Parker pen line. Subsequently, this pen will be a welcome addition to my vintage pen collection."