All Pens and Ephemera

To our way of thinking, the Parker 61 capillary filler was the last great invention of the battle to create exciting new fountain pen filling systems. Just dip the Teflon-coated tube in ink for a few seconds, and you are ready to write. Sometimes you need to prime these by dipping the nib in ink the first time you fill it. After that it works great. We flushed out the old capillary filler as best we could with fresh water. However, you never quite get all the old ink out. That is what makes these pens less desirable for people who change ink colors daily. You pretty much need to commit to one color for these pens. Our pen comes with a Parker 61 box numbered 261. We don't know where the matching pencil is. The pen has light wear from use but not cracks or dents. You will write a smooth fine line with its 14k gold nib. 13.5cm capped.

Here it is! The granddaddy of the Jade Parker Duofold Centennial fountain pen. The largest of the modern Duofold line is in nearly mint condition with little to no wear from use...except for possibly a light ring of wear around the center of the golden cap bands. Our preowned luxury pen comes with a working Parker converter. You will write a very smooth, wet fine-medium line with its two-toned 18k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. Our pen was made in the third quarter of 1996--the first year these pens in this color were made. The Centennials were the "oversized" version of the pen at 13.6cm capped. However, oversized might be overstating how big it is. It certainly isn't as fat as a Montblanc 149 or Pelikan 1000.

Jade isn't the rarest color in the modern Parker Duofold line, but it was only made from 1996 through 2001 and was not a big seller. Our jade Parker Duofold International is the more slender version of the pen and was made in the 2nd quarter of 1996, the first year of this design. Our preowned pen is in like-new condition with minimal, if any, wear. When we dipped its two-tone 18k gold nib, it wrote a very nice fine line on what we felt was the dry side. A Parker converter is included with the pen. 13.1cm capped.

Click the headlines for close-ups. You are gonna want to see this stellar Waterman 52 fountain pen in nearly mint condition. It genuinely looks as it must have the day it left the Waterman factory in New York roughly 100 years ago! Deep, clear chasing. No cracks. No scratches. The barrel imprint is a bit weak in the center, but the rest is pretty good. We did not replace its ink sac, but it comes with a working ink sac. You will likely love how its 14k gold #2 nib writes a razor thin line to a shade over 1mm wide with a little feedback. It isn't just museum quality good...it is almost too good for a museum. We think the "Clip-Cap and lever box are nickel trim...not sterling silver. They might have referred to it as "German Silver." 13.6cm capped.

Easily confused with a Parker 51, this Parker 17 is actually a British model. Instead of a metal cap, such as the 51, this one has a plastic cap made of the same lovely green material as the barrel. It also sports a wider cap band and a tail jewel. You will see some scratches that were mostly made by the cap in its closed position. There is a tiny dimple in the wide cap band. The original pli-glass ink sac still works well. We get a kick out of how the sac protector instructs to squeeze the sac 5 times just to fill it. Early aerometric 51s were imprinted to squeeze 6 times and laters ones said to squeeze only 4 times. You will write a very smooth fine line with its 14k gold nib.

The rebirth of the Parker Duofold in the late 1980s as a modern pen with a vintage look was absolute genius on the part of Parker. We especially love that they adapted the vintage pencil look for the modern ballpoint pen. Many colors have been made for the newest Duofold line in the past 35 years. However, one of the rarer, and more collectible, colors is this jade green. Only made for a short while, it wasn't very popular with customers at the time. Now, however, it is a special treat for modern Duofold collectors. Our preowned pen show a little wear from use. There is a 1mm hairline crack in celluloid near the pocket clip and a tiny chip missing not far from it where the celluloid meets the metal topper. The twist mechanism works smoothly. We just installed a new blue-gel refill. 13.1cm capped.

Stately luxury is the theme of this Cartier Gordon fountain pen. Plated in palladium and gold there is a dash of art deco design. A preowned pen, close inspection shows lots of light wear from use but no dents or deep scratches. You will write a nice, fine-medium line with its two-tone 18k gold nib. There is a hint of feedback, but it isn't bad. Our pen comes with a working standard international converter, but it isn't the original Cartier converter. A little heftier than most pens, it measures 14.2cm capped.

The famed Parker Duofold got a fresh makeover in art deco with a Vacumatic filler in the 1930s. Our Parker Duo-Vac, as they are sometimes called, has been fully restored with a new diaphragm. This vintage pen was made in Canada. There are no cracks. It has some wear from use and heavy brassing on the pocket clip. One of the greater features is that it has a semi-flexible 14k gold nib. You will write an extra-extra fine line to nearly 1mm wide. The matching twist-action pencil has the same amount of wear and lots of brassing. Engraved "H. M. Stockder", it is actually an American-made model. There's a hardened eraser under the cap and a .9mm lead loaded in the pencil. Works well.