I recently heard that Parker is reissuing the iconic “51” sometime early in 2021. Immediately the conversation began regarding the filling mechanism, the cap and the clip. This got me thinking about where we’ve come from with the “51”. It went on sale to the public in 1941 and was a departure from the other fountain pens available at that time with its hooded nib and sleek design. The original “51” used the vacumatic filling system and the clip of the Parker Vacumatic, a popular pen in its own right. By the late 1940s an aerometric filling system was introduced along with the “feather” clip. Both the filling systems and clips went thru a number of changes over the years. Along the way the “51” was manufactured in North America, South America, the UK and France. Production ended in 1978. Demi models, desk sets, and matching pencils were produced which is why they are so collectible. In 2002 Parker issued a “51” with an Empire cap with a clip reminiscent of the early clips. The filling mechanism in this pen is a cartridge/converter. I blogged about the “51” a few years ago and touched on collecting “51”s with the variety of colors and cap designs. What does the future hold? While there has been some speculation, we will have to be patient and as Parker gets closer to the release date we will know more. For now, there are plenty of vintage “51”s available via eBay, Etsy and so forth. A great source of information is a book titled, “Parker 51” by David and Mark Shepherd. In the first photo which follows there is a vacumatic “51” on the left, an aerometric model in the middle and the 2002 model on the right. The second photo is what the new pen will look like.
Happy Collecting!
Happy Collecting!
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