Vintage Sheaffer military-clip fountain pen

It's not a new acquisition, but I thought Stuart's WWII-era Sheaffer fountain pen would be the perfect pen for today's blog post, today being the 77th anniversary of D-Day. D-Day was, of course, the start of the Allied invasion of Normandy, and what many consider the beginning of the end of World War II. 

Forgive me for drawing a parallel to a very different kind of war...but, to me, this month finally feels like it just might be the beginning of the end of this global pandemic...at least for those of us who are fortunate enough to have access to the vaccines against COVID-19. I hope it is, so please continue to stay safe, everyone, and enjoy Stuart's photos along with a bit of history relating to the special playing cards shown in them.
Take care,
~Maja

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

Stuart: "My military-clip Sheaffer vac-filler with original WWII aircraft spotter cards and their box. As you can see the cards are a well-played deck and authentically old!"

From The Georgia Historical Society's website:

During World War II, Spotter Playing Cards were created for the enjoyment and training of the enlisted men and the civil defense. These playing cards look like the standard 52-card deck, but the difference is the faces are the silhouettes of an Allied or enemy aircraft instead of the Ace, Jack, King, or Queen. Each card contains a silhouette of the front, side, and bottom of an aircraft along with its name so that one could identify whether an aircraft in the sky was friendly or not.

Many thanks to Stuart for the photos!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 206

When I first started collecting fountain pens (about twenty years ago), my interest lay mostly with vintage pens. My collecting focus, however, has changed over the years... so much, in fact, that the pen below is the first vintage fountain pen I bought since the pandemic started. It's a model I'd had my eye on for many years (but somehow never got around to acquiring until late 2020) - a lovely Parker 'VP' fountain pen which I acquired via eBay from longtime vintage pen collector Pearce Jarvis (eBay username: "penpalace") in Toronto (Mississauga)...

(all photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)

My Parker 'VP' fountain pen and a new pen roll I recently acquired (more about that later...)

The 'VP' model was only made for two years (1962-1964) and, likely due to its short production life, only came in four colours (black, grey, blue and red) and two cap types (gold-plated and Lustraloy - Parker's name for their brushed stainless steel). My particular 'VP' is blue (more of a "petrol blue", as Pearce described it) with a shiny gold-plated lined cap - a great colour combination.

The Parker 'VP' model was the predecessor of the iconic Parker '75' fountain pen and shares many design features in common with it, such as....

(note the index points - marking the nib rotation selected by the user - stamped at the nib end of the section)

 ....that distinctively-shaped nib, the ribbed triangular gripping section, and a nib assembly that can be rotated to adjust to the user's preferred angle of writing. This latter "personal" feature gave the model its name - "VP" , which stands for "Very Personal" - and shows how forward-thinking Parker was in designing a fountain pen with this ergonomic feature; as far as I know, no other manufacturer has made a pen with a nib that can be adjusted by its user. The grip section of the 'VP' is gently-rounded and wider than the section on the Parker '75', which makes for a pen that is very comfortable to hold and, with its adjustable nib, a real pleasure to use. 

The 'VP' was offered with fifteen different nib choices (all in 14K gold), including some exotic nibs such as Music and Arabic. The underside of my VP's feed is stamped "66", which indicates it came with a Medium nib (there's a scan of a 1962 Parker 'VP' pamphlet here that outlines all its design features).

The photo above shows my 'VP's' filling mechanism--a removable filler called the Parker Clean Filler. This filler was designed to be pulled out of the section, dipped in ink, squeezed several times to draw up the ink, and then replaced in the section --- no nib-wiping required! I didn't want to remove the filler for the reasons mentioned in the next paragraph so I just left it in place (and no, my VPs nib isn't bent --it's just shadows)

So, with all of these cool features, why was the Parker 'VP' only made for two years?
Answer: The VPs filler was made of a brittle plastic, which made its "neck" (not visible in the photo above) prone to breakage. Parker's service department became flooded with VPs with broken fillers and this, sadly, lead to the end of the 'VP' in 1964. The 'VP' was replaced by the hugely-successful Parker '75' model (which used the more robust cartridge/converter filling mechanism) the same year. Both the '75' and the 'VP' were designed by Parker's chief designer Don Doman, who also designed Parker's famous '45' ,'61' and 'T1' models.

Tip #1: If you do find a used Parker 'VP' fountain pen for sale, make sure to check/ask if its filling mechanism is intact--spare 'VP' fillers are almost impossible to find, and the cost of a reproduction filler runs upwards of $65 USD at the time of this writing (Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens makes them-link).

Tips #2: If you have a Parker 'VP' with an intact filler, you can still fill your pen without removing the filler -- simply unscrew the barrel, fully immerse the nib in bottled ink, squeeze the filler 4-5 times, wipe the nib, and screw the barrel back on! 

As fortunate as I was to find a 'VP' with an unbroken filler, my 'VP' did come with a short, tight barrel crack near its threads. I suspect that this happened when someone over-tightened the barrel, because there is virtually no pressure exerted on this area if the pen is held as it was intended (with one's fingers on the ribbed part of the section). I'm fairly confident that this small flaw won't be a problem for me down the road. Pearce did mention the crack in his eBay auction description and I think that's why I got the pen for such a low price ($50 CAD incl. shipping) - an undamaged 'VP' would cost a lot more. The 'VP' is a great vintage fountain pen, so it's sad to think that its fragile filler survived for 60 years, but that its barrel might have cracked from something as easily-avoidable as over-tightening :(

Onto happier thoughts now --- my new pen roll! (shown above)

I was surfing on eBay for pen rolls and came across this one. It looked beautiful and the price was right, so I quickly used the "Buy It Now" to purchase it as there were only two left at the time. The roll appears to be made of heavy cotton and holds ten large fountain pens comfortably. The name of the fabric used to make it is called "Golden Wave", and I absolutely love it.

(Above: a closeup of the beautiful "Golden Wave" fabric)

The gold-coloured threading is eye-catching --but not garishly so-- and the bright colours of the waves really "pop". I'm no expert but the pen roll seems to be very well-made, and at $16.49 CAD including shipping (from eBay seller "kakapenstoreo"), was an amazing bargain. The seller eventually sold out of this design, but it was back in stock (and for the same low price) when I checked today.

Lastly, some outdoor photos of my Parker 'VP' fountain pen that show its true colour a bit better:

 
For more information on the Parker 'VP' fountain pen, I highly recommend reading Richard Binder's excellent profile of it here, as well as Tony Fischier's entry on his extensive Parkerpens.net site (link).

A side view of the pen (below) showing that its nib isn't bent ;)

(Below) A closeup of the nib in better lighting. You might be able to see the section's index marks a bit better ( to see enlarged images of the photos, left-click on a photo to enlarge it, then right-click & select "View image" or "Open image in new tab", then left-click again.):

Sorry for the long blog post!  I didn't intend to write that much about the 'VP', but it has so many cool features.

~ photos & reviews by Maja ~

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 205

Today's featured new acquisition is one that brought back happy memories of a fountain pen Christopher used when he was a schoolboy. I'll let him tell the story now...

Christopher:"I picked up quite a nice Sheaffer and thought I would give you a heads up. Actually, I had this same pen back in 1957 when I was attending private school in Grade 5. Loved the colour and the filler was just such a change from prior school pens that were a familiar item in my blazer pocket. It was also the year that I first started using Sheaffer’s Skrip Peacock Blue ink, which quickly became my favourite colour. I really don’t think that the fact that my Sheaffer Cadet Tip-dip had a medium steel nib really made much difference because it would definitely be a while before I had the option of a gold point."

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

 "Regardless, I truly loved this pen and you know I even remember where it was bought for me by my Mum. We had a local drugstore down the street from us at 57th and the Blvd and they, amongst other pens, carried Sheaffer. There was a revolving countertop rack at the front of the store at the checkout, that held a variety of these Sheaffers in different colours in blister packs on Sheaffer backing cards. I had a very bad habit of losing pens - some left on the bus home, some left in our prep room study hall and at least a few which I lent to classmates and just forgot about. Still, I remember having this particular Sheaffer for quite some time. Strangely enough, my teacher in Grade 5 that year at Athlone Private School in Kerridale was Mrs. Pugh and she was always on to us about our writing. But just applying this wonderful burgundy Sheaffer to paper again, definitely puts a smile on my face."

Christopher---thank you, as always, for sharing your reminiscences with us; I love hearing the stories behind the writing instruments that mean so much to the folks in our hobby :)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 204

Now, here's a vintage fountain pen that might look familiar if you've been following our virtual "show & tell" closely -- we posted its look-alike (belonging to brand-new VPC member Grant) two weeks ago here :) The lovely example featured today, though, belongs to longtime member Christopher...

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

(Above): Christopher's sage green Sheaffer Admiral Snorkel with open 14k gold unmasked nib. Christopher says the fountain pen came "in perfect working condition."

Our thanks to Christopher, as always, for sharing his latest vintage find with us!

Now a word about colours...
The Sheaffer 'Snorkel' fountain pen came in thirteen different colours (actually, sixteen, if you include the brown desk pen, the clear demonstrator and the two shades of burgundy). Among the "standard" colours, the least common are: Vermilion, Fiesta Red, Mandarin, Peacock, Periwinkle and Fern Green (one of our members brought his Fern Green 'Snorkel'  to a meeting a few years ago--it's in the fourth photo down in this old post). The most common ' Snorkel' colours are: Black, Gray, Burgundy, Pastel Blue and Pastel Green. The Sage Green and Buckskin Tan colours fall in the middle, in terms of scarcity (source). Whatever the colour of your Sheaffer 'Snorkel', may you enjoy using "the most complicated fountain pen ever designed"! 

Take care,
~Maja

       (Sheaffer Snorkel Pen Commercial with Vivian Vance - 1953 - YouTube link)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 203

 Stuart's latest visit to the Vancouver Pen Shop (which is now open 11:00 am to 5:00pm, Monday to Saturday) yielded a couple of interesting pen-related finds...

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

Stuart: "I picked up a Parker Jotter FP in orange with a stainless steel cap, a very appealing daily-user pen.The Jotter FP’s come in the same bright colours as the BP’s, and I liked the orange best."

"I bought the Jac Zagoory pen-holder I’ve long admired, the “4th. Monkey” - Write No Evil! The pen-rest is very cool, and carries a great message. I think the Taranis (the Sheaffer 'Taranis' fountain pen above) goes beautifully with it!"

Congratulations on these two great new acquisitions, Stuart, and thank you for sharing your newest finds with us! 

Note: The Vancouver Pen Shop is undergoing some renovations and, according to Stuart, have a bit of a sale going on (they're clearing out some older stock). If there's something specific you're looking for, you can contact the the friendly folks at the shop via Facebook Messenger (link to their Facebook page here), or give them a call at (604) 681-1612. 

Update: according to their FB page, the Vancouver Pen Shop will be closed June 14th, 15th, and 21st, 22nd due to renovations (new flooring being put in).

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 202

Back we go to vintage with this classic Parker fountain pen model belonging to Christopher...

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

Christopher: "This is a Parker Emerald Green Streamlined Duofold Jr. that I picked up about two months ago and, surprisingly, had a full Lucky Curve uncut feed. Admittedly when I got it, I was not familiar about how to reset a full uncut Lucky Curve feed with the nib. But it wasn’t that hard once you have both items cleaned and ready to reinsert. The feed gets loaded in to the section from the back and the nib on top of it from the front. I have an original Parker fitting block which was a birthday gift from Chris and Mark. So with that tool I can reset the nib to original Parker specs. But once the pen was restored, serviced and inked - Wow what an incredible writer. The nib has so much welcome flex it is just a joy to write with. Can you beat a vintage Parker?" 

Many thanks to Christopher for the photo and write-up about this lovely vintage fountain pen!
To see more of Christopher's vintage Parker Duofolds, you can check out these older posts from our virtual show & tell:
•Parker Streamlined Duofold Chinese Red Senior pen & pencil set
•Parker Duofold Jr. in the Chinese Red Hard Rubber - various models,
-Parker Short Ribbon Ring top Streamlined Pastel Lady’s Duofold
-Parker Duofold Streamline Senior in Lapis

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 201

And now for something completely different...

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

Jerred: "This particular pen is the Delta WE Aromatherapy. The WE stands for "What Else?" and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what this is supposed to mean. The other pens in the "What Else?" collection had little chili pepper charms that screwed into the clip, meant as a charm to ward off the Evil Eye."

 

 
"The Aromatherapy series is a little different. Instead of a chili pepper charm, the pens carry a small wood diffuser in the clip."

 

"The pen also includes a bottle of scented aromatherapy oil as well as spare diffusers and holders should one become lost. It's an... interesting pen, to say the least."

"The pen itself is made of an orange-veined, dark brown acrylic and is the "energy (soil)" model. It's one of Delta's smaller models, and has their classic hand-carved sterling cap band and 14kt, #5.5 sized nib. The nib is, as is often the case with Delta's later pens, a lovely writer.

Unfortunately the box I received was for the "harmony (sea)" model, and thus contains the wrong accessories. That said, the fact that I was able to get a bottle of the oil at all is rather rare."

 

"The pen also comes with an instruction manual and some rather amusingly translated promotional materials."

"As always, Delta's design philosophy was just a little bit different than anyone else."

Another handsome addition to Jerred's Delta pen collection (and a very interesting one at that :) Our thanks, as always, to Jerred for his great photos & write-ups about his newest acquisitions!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 200

Since April 2020, I've been posting our members' newest acquisitions on this blog every other day like clockwork, and I can't believe we're already up to post #200! Wow, that was fast...

And speaking of fast...here's Trevor's newest pen-related acquisition...

 Obsession, Passion, or Dysfunction?
By Trevor Johnson

"Anyone who has known me for a while learns that when I’m into something, I’m REALLY into it. Whether it’s toys, or shoes, or guitars, or cars, or pens, I tend to find a corner of it and latch on. For example, I have a love of Japanese made Ibanez guitars from the late 1980s. At one time I had 25 of them, mostly from 1986. Lately, that latched interest has been Italy. A couple of years ago, and especially since the pandemic has provided more “free” time, I have taken to Italian wine, like Ruffino Moscato d’Asti, and Roscato Rosso Dolce. I’ve been working on perfecting my pasta and sauces, I’m considering learning to speak Italian and of course, as I have since I was a boy, I love Italian cars, especially Ferrari. Being of modest means like most of us, my ownership of Ferrari has been limited to models and licensed products, so I have Ferrari Puma shoes, Bburago die cast models, Lego Speed Champion Ferrari sets and the latest add…a Sheaffer Intensity Ferrari Fountain Pen:

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

"I had seen some Ferrari branded pens on Facebook Marketplace and considered them but found that they just weren’t interesting enough. Researching them online, I found that they were an off brand, poorly made/reviewed and pricey. So I moved on and kind of forgot about the idea for a time. Fast forward to April 2021. With the expectation of a pretty nice income tax return and bills caught up, I decided to treat myself to a new fountain pen. Something nice. Something elegant. Something that would look great in my collection along with my Parker Urban in Vibrant Magenta .

I wandered around Amazon as I typically do, looking at Parker, Cross, Waterman, and other fine brands when my mind drifted to those Ferrari pens. “There must be better ones!” I thought. So I looked and sure as rain in Vancouver, Sheaffer Ferrari pens. Gorgeous! Red, Yellow, Black, Chrome! So many to choose from! But then the sticker shock… $150 to $300ish… I was brought quickly back to Earth. As I’m scrolling, I spot a lone White model. $38? Really? Listing shows one left… In the cart… I almost start second guessing it. I don’t even know why. You’d think it was a no brainer. Part of that journey was also to find a nice black ink. So I left it in the cart and started looking at ink. A few minutes later I found a nice black from Diamine and put it in the cart too. That’s when I remembered “Only one of that pen left! Better snag it!” Did the check out and the 1 left became “We will let you know when we have a delivery date.” What?! That’s dirty pool… Thinking I can cancel if I can find it elsewhere, I soon realize that it was half the price of regular, and some of them even get up to $130. I decide to be patient.

During what seemed like an eternity between ordering and receiving, I took the knowledge of Enzo Ferrari used purple ink in his Montblanc fountain pen when signing deals, very well documented surrounding the Ford/Ferrari merger that was being discussed in the 1960s, and figured maybe I could find some of the same one he used… no… searches of blogs, fountain pen enthusiast and Ferrari enthusiast forums only found speculation. The only thing that I could really find was that it was a French made Violet that was brought in once per year by a small pen shop near the Ferrari factory. They would acquire a litre of it to gift to Mr. Ferrari. The shop is still there, but the staff don’t have a record of what it was. I figured, as tribute to the man who made the cars that captured my heart, I would at least use a French Violet ink, so I bought a bottle of Herbin Violette Pensée. I was ready!

Finally on May 12, 2021, I hear what sounds like a dirty gym bag being hurled at my door and 2 solid knocks. I open the door and find 3 Amazon pouches on my doorstep. Ooh! It’s like Christmas! I grab the parcels and rush back inside. I opened the pouches… First I find a Parker Jotter in Royal Blue I snagged for Shanin. Every time my Jotter folder is open she comments on the Royal Blue being her favourite. Now she has her own. (I’ll get her into this obse.. er.. hobby eventually). Second Pouch is a pack of Silk handkerchiefs. Very nice. Allergy season is upon us, can’t be too prepared! The third pouch… a beautiful Red Box with the Prancing Horse Emblem:

"Inside the cardboard is a vinyl covered gift box in the same red with the same emblem. Wow. I’ve seen fine jewelry that doesn’t come in a box this nice. I open the hinged box and am greeted with the dazzling white lacquer and chrome trim of this Sheaffer. The clip adorned with the same Ferrari crest. The chrome trim around the base of the lid proudly states Scuderia Ferrari. With trembling fingers I lift the pen from its bed of velvet. It's heavy. 40 grams according to my kitchen scale. The cap is 17 of those."

"The feel in the hand is superb. It’s balanced, so the weight doesn’t bother. I filled the included converter with the Herbin ink (It also came with 2 ink cartridges, blue and black Sheaffer Skrip) and gave it a try. The medium nib is smooth and not too wet. When posted, the pen becomes back heavy, so I won’t be using it that way."

"I must say I am impressed with the modern Sheaffer pens I’ve been getting lately. As a long time NoNonsense user and someone who leans towards “They don’t make them like they used to” in some ways, I have been pleasantly surprised. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more Ferrari Sheaffers. Another win for the collection!" 

 
Congrats on a great deal, Trevor! Many thanks for sharing this handsome acquisition (and the story of how you acquired it) with all of us :)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 199

Today's newest acquisition is another great vintage Sheaffer desk belonging to Stuart!

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

Stuart: "Here’s some shots of the desk-set that arrived from Colorado. Needless to say, I love it!"

 

"The base is bronze with sterling silver trim. In the August 1941 Sheaffer catalog (ed. note: pg. 21 of catalog + scan at the end of this blog post), one of the ones in the reference you sent me, it’s listed as set R425 BAGDW, and sold for $15.00."

 

"The pen above is the one the set came with - it’s a Touchdown filler, but not working."

Stuart: "I’ve equipped the set with a TD Triumph pen (shown above), which fits the socket perfectly."

"This is an impressive set. The finish shows oxidation to the silver, and patina to the bronze, which is to be expected after all these years. If the open-nib pen is original to the set, it may be from the late 40’s, so the base may have been offered for a number of years. So another wonderful addition to my collection!"
 

Here's Stuart's desk set in the 1941 Sheaffer catalog he referenced in his write-up---it's the middle desk set in the bottom row (click on image below to enlarge):

 (scan courtesy of Pen Collector's of America Reference Library)

As always, our thanks to Stuart for sharing his latest finds! There are scans of many other old pen catalogs here on the Pen Collectors of America (PCA) website. Enjoy!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 198

Earlier this week, we featured one of Christopher's lovely vintage Parker 'Duofold' fountain pens on our blog. When I posted his review, I forgot to mention that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the 'Duofold', a classic fountain pen that made a big splash with its bold two-colour (bright red and black) design when it hit the market in 1921.

A very brief history of vintage 'Duofolds':
Early 'Duofold' fountain pens were initially full-sized button-fillers made of red and black hard rubber, but smaller 'Duofold' models (e.g. the "Duofold Jr" & "Lady Duofold" ringtop) quickly followed in 1922. Around 1925, Parker switched to using celluloid material (Parker's name for the DuPont celluloid they used was called ‘Permanite’) for the 'Duofold' and subsequently, more colours were added to the lineup. In 1929, the 'Duofold' was redesigned with tapered ends and dubbed the 'Streamlined Duofold'. Eventually Parker stopped producing the 'Duofold' in the U.S, but production of the pen continued in the U.K and Canada well into the 1940s.

The modern 'Duofold;
The year 1987 saw the arrival of the first modern 'Duofold'. It was called the Duofold "Centennial" model (named in anticipation of Parker's 100th anniversary in 1988) and was followed by the slightly-smaller-but-noticeably-thinner Duofold "International" model in 1989. Both models were initially produced at Parker's factory in Newhaven, U.K, the site of Parker's headquarters. The earliest examples were made in three colours - black, marbled blue and marbled maroon. Parker took a great deal of pride in the production of their newly-resurrected flagship model (from Parkerpens.net): "It was to be the most modern fountain pen to date. With a ten day computer-controlled manufacturing process, and made from over 130 components, it was subjected to 100 quality tests."

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to buy a used "International" model from Doug Vicary (a longtime pen seller on Pentrace who posts as "Doug") for $145 USD including shipping. Meet my new Parker 'Duofold' "International" fountain pen....

(photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)

The pen & its original packaging. The presentation case is one of the heaviest non-wood cases I've ever owned.

 

 It does a great job of cushioning this little beauty, though, which arrived in excellent condition, as promised...

 

 

Data for the Parker 'Duofold' "International fountain pen ca. 2000:
(my model was made in 1997, but it's from the same generation)

Capped Length :                     13.2 cm
Posted Length :                      16.4 cm
Barrel Length:                       12.4 cm (includes nib length)
Barrel Diameter:                   1.19 cm
Barrel Diam. at threads:     1.09 cm
Pen Weight:                           22.25 grams (with empty cartridge) (data courtesy of this useful document )
My particular Duofold "International" is a "Mark II", which came out in 1996. It has "MADE IN U.K." very faintly stamped on its barrel (just below the lower barrel ring) and a date code of "IIIP", which indicates it was manufactured in the first quarter of 1997. It was made at Parker's factory in Newhaven, a small ferry port just east of Brighton, England. In 2010, the Newhaven plant was shut down, and production moved to Nantes, France. Happily, the 'Duofold' writing instrument line is still in active production as of this writing.

Although it's not one of the colourful modern Duofolds, I think it's a very handsome (and well-proportioned) fountain pen, with its classic 'Duofold' styling, iconic Parker 'Arrow" clip, glossy black exterior and shiny 23K gold-plated trim. Like other modern (non-metal-bodied) Duofolds, it was made from a solid block of hand-cast acrylic, and finished by hand.

 

You can use it posted, but it's long enough (for my hands, anyway) to use without its cap on. Its section does taper down from the barrel threads, so that's something to keep in mind if you grip your pens further down the section (vs. at the barrel threads like I do, in this case). 

 

I love the design of its two-tone 18K gold "banner" nib (which was only made from 1993 to 2006). The nib (a Fine) has zero flex to it---it's been described as nail-like--but I wasn't surprised about this as I'd done some research before purchasing the pen from Doug. 

 Note: The nibs on the Duofold "International" models (like mine) are markedly smaller than the nibs on the larger "Centennial" models, so that's one way to tell the two pen models apart. If you don't have the luxury of seeing the two models side-by-side before buying one online, there's a video on YouTube with a very handy tip on determining which model you're looking at (skip ahead to the video's 5:30 mark if you just want to hear the pertinent information). 

Another look at the presentation box, which came with an instruction booklet, as well as a Parker "Platinum Club" membership booklet (more on that below). Modern 'Duofolds' are all cartridge/converter-fillers, but mine didn't come with its converter (this was noted in the sales description). The box did contain two Parker ink cartridges with the Parker name in gold letters on them - classy!

As a member of the Parker "Platinum Club", you were entitled to: a complimentary nib exchange (with your choice of fourteen different nibs, including ten non-standard nibs such as italics & obliques), a worldwide full lifetime warranty (ie. for the lifetime of the original owner), and free annual cleanings and servicing (you had to ship the pen to Janesville, Wisconsin, but it would be sent back with a free ink refill pack -- membership has its privileges, lol).

Membership in Parker's "Platinum Club" also entitled you to a complimentary monogrammed cap tassie. I love the coin-like Duofold "banner" tassie (which complements its "banner" nib) that came with my pen ... and apparently many other Duofold owners did too, because I couldn't find a single photo of a 'Duofold' with a monogrammed tassie online! Go figure.

To mark the 100th birthday of its flagship pen, Parker recently released a limited edition (LE) set of three 'Duofold' fountain pens in the three original colours - "Big Red", Black, and Lapis Lazuli. The price? The equivalent of $1200 CAD per pen, and a lot more for the set. Non-LE Duofolds cost considerably less...but they're still quite pricey, so if you want to save yourself some money, try to track down the earlier versions made in the late 1980s/90s/early 2000s. 

If you want to try a vintage Parker 'Duofold' fountain pen, there are plenty to be found on the secondary market (eBay, etsy, Newpentrace.net, FountainPenNetwork.com, et. al.). Keep in mind that unless they've been restored, early 'Duofold' pens are going to need a new ink sac. Yes, that restoration service adds to the final cost of the pen, but I think a vintage 'Duofold' deserves to be in every fountain pen lover's collection :)

~Photos and review by Maja ~