Parker 51, 61, VS

When I first collected vintage pens, I have thought that the Parker 51 was produced from the year 1951. The Parker “51,” was ,in fact, introduced in the United States in 1941 and it heralded a new age in pen design. With its streamlined shape like a miniature jet fighter airplane, its hooded nib, and its unique ability to use Parker’s new super-fast-drying “51” ink, it rapidly became one of the most popular pens of all time.

There are a few pumping system for the Parker 51. Until 1948, the “51” used Parker’s proven Vacumatic filling system.

In the previous year, Parker had introduced a short model called the Demi, and in 1948 the Demi was the first “51” to be redesigned to use a new Aero-metric filling system. 

The Aero-metric filler soon became standard across the line and continued in production until the “51” Mark III appeared in 1969. (A cartridge-filler “51” was marketed briefly; it was quickly withdrawn.) The “51“ was famous for its exceptionally smooth performance. It is interesting to note that China made Hero pens have followed the design of the Parker 51.

Parker 61

A Fountain Pen That You Don’t Fill

Profile

In 1956, Parker introduced the first revolutionary fountain pen new filling mechanism that actually fills itself by itself, requiring no action from the user by using the capillary system. No button, no lever, no plunger, no squeeze bar, and no moving parts just unscrew and take off the barrel and put the back end of the Parker 61 into a bottle of ink, and the pen sucks up a fill by capillary action. Advertised as “Unlike any gift in this world…or any other,” the capillary-filling 61 was (and still is) a remarkable pen, but it was ultimately unsuccessful because its somewhat finicky filling system required more care than others. Like the “51” before it, the 61 appeared in numerous variations.

Parker VS

As World War II drew to a close, Parker began thinking about its future product lines. The Vacumatic was quite dated, while the “51” was going strong. To create its next open-nib pen, Parker essentially took the streamlined shape of the “51” and replaced the hooded nib and its collector with an ordinary open nib and feed. The clip came from the striped Duofold line. The result, introduced in 1946, was the Parker VS. The “VS” part of the name is generally thought to have stood for “Vacumatic Successor.” It’s a good looking pen, and Parker did improve the button mechanism to make it easier to work on and more reliable.

(Source: Richards Pens)