Birthday Pens

I have gathered a smattering of birth years of LPC members and their related birthday pens, i.e., notable pens, etc… that were introduced at that time.  My reference source for this information is The Chronicle of the Fountain Pen, Stories within a Story, By Joao Pavao Martins, Luiz Leite, and Antonio Gagean.  This book was published in 2007 and is a terrific book for this particular purpose. Each chapter is organized in a chronological manner and includes a time line showing the main historical events around that time together with the models introduced by each manufacturer.  Maja of the Vancouver Pen Club was also kind enough to mention that Richard’s Pens has a similar birthday pen time line here.

I have also taken pictures of these pens from my collection (where I have them) and you will notice that these pictures are not nearly the quality as Rick’s picture of his Parker 75.

Year – Manufacturer/Model

1929 – Pelikan 100, Sheaffer Balance & Waterman Patrician

Pelikan 100

Sheaffer Balance

1931 – Sheaffer launched the Feathertouch nib

1939 – Parker Duofold Geometric (Toothbrush)

Sheaffer Geometric Duofold aka Toothbrush

1940 – Parker Striped Duofold

Striped Duofolds

1941 – Parker 51

Parker 51

1952 – Sheaffer Snorkel

1962 – Parker Very Personal (VP)

1964/1965 – Parker 75 Sterling Silver Cross Hatch or Ciselé pattern

Rick's Parker 75 Cisele

1973/1974 – Montblanc revives Meisterstück 146

Montblanc Meisterstuck 146

1978 – Sheaffer Targa lacquer models (known as Laqué)

Sheaffer Targa Laque Blue Moire Classic

1985 – Waterman Man 200 (a slimmer model of the Man 100)

Waterman Man 200 Rhapsody Orange/Brown Ripple

So, what is your birthday pen?  Tell us, we’d love to know!

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Striped Duofolds

The Duofold was retired in 1932 (while it was removed from the Parker catalog, American production continued until 1937) and reintroduced in 1939 as the Geometric Duofold (aka the “Toothbrush” because of the black patten).  The Geometric was quickly replaced in 1940 by the Striped Duofold, which was eventually discontinued in 1948.  The Striped Duofolds were manufactured using a material that Parker called Laidtone in four colours – blue (blue, silver and black), maroon (pink, silver and black), green (green, brown and black) and black – and eight models (Button filler – Dufold and Lady Duofold, Vacumatic filler – Junior, Sub-Debutante, Major, Debutante, Senior and Ingenue).  Black was not available in all models, e.g., Vacumatic – Major, Debutante, Senior and Ingenue.

I was talking to another pen collector a week or so ago about my set of three striped  Senior Duofolds.  I have a set of three Seniors (Blue, Maroon and Green).  The Seniors can be identified by the Blue Diamond on their clips.

Striped Senior Duofolds owned by MAW

When I mentioned that I owned a complete set of three Striped Duofolds, the other collector told me that there was a fourth colour (the black one) and thus, my set was not a complete one.  I had never heard this before, so the completist ( a collector who attempts to collect an example of every item in a particular field) in me began to hyperventilate.  The anxiety subsided (eventually) and I started researching the matter, beginning with the Parker Duofold book by Shepherd and Zazove.  While the book mentioned black as one of the colours, it did not specify whether it was used in all of the models.  A few searches on Google were not helpful so I turned to the smart people on the Fountain Pen Network, where I posted my picture and asked for help.  David Isaacson of Vacumania.com came to the rescue and provided me with the information concerning the models that used black.  Phew, my Senior set is complete!

Of course, there had to be a bit of a twist as David mentioned that a blue diamond black Duofold does exist – a rather scarce high line desk pen was made in black.  Now, where can that one be?  If you have any information concerning this pen, please send me a note.