Vintage Pens

Perfection is difficult to achieve in vintage pens, but this 1940 Oversize Parker Vacumatic gets close. No cracks, only light wear and incredible barrel clarity with celluloid that is on the light orange-dark yellow spectrum. No brassing. A feint barrel imprint. Close to perfect two-tone plating for the 14k gold nib. (Click the headline for a close-up.) YET, as you can see on the main photo, the name "James A. Kunkel" is engraved on the barrel. We looked up the name, and there are too many James Kunkels to know who owned this specific pen. You'll write an extra-fine line that is a bit dry but can sometimes look fine. Restored and in great working order. Museum worthy rare burgundy...yet, still a good writer. 13.5cm capped.

In 1936, Fred & Ginger lit up the silver screen in the classic "Swingtime," King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne to marry an American divorcé, television broadcasts first began, Jesse Owens showed up the Nazis in Berlin, Joe DiMaggio was a rookie, FDR won a second term and this Parker Vacumatic standard set in burgundy was made. It was an elegant era, and this pen in many respects marks the pinnacle of art deco design. This particular set is in excellent condition. No cracks, maybe 1% brassing, no scratches, restored and working. Its two-tone 14k has some cosmetic issues. Click the headline to see close-ups. It writes an extra-fine line with a little flex but not much. The matching pencil works great in excellent condition and comes with spare 1.1mm leads. Pen measures 12.8cm capped.

A brace of woodgrain Wahl desk pens is ideal for the person with the rare 2-pen desk base that is missing its pens. We restored each with a new ink sac, and we are stunned at how minimal their wear is. No cracks, no chips, no scratches! The gold-plated trim rings and levers have some corrosion or gunk or brassing that won't polish out for us. Click their headline for a closer look at the whole pens and the nibs. The more vibrant, front desk pen comes with a 14k gold "Wahl Signature Pen" nib that writes a fine-medium line nicely with a little feedback. The duller-finished back pen sports a "Wahl 6 14k" nib that writes a blissfully smooth wet medium-broad line. The back pen measures 22cm and the front pen measures 21.8cm.