Jotter
Encyclopedia
This article is about the ballpoint pen, did you mean Notebook
?
The Parker Jotter is the Parker Pen Company's first and bestselling retracting refillable ballpoint pen
. Later they added a fountain pen
, mechanical pencil
and rollerball pen
that match its design. As with many other ballpoint pens, it can be turned into gel pen
if its cartridge is changed. Since 1954, over 750 million have been sold worldwide. Its refill, called T-Ball (T is for tungsten
), is the first textured ballpoint and is now a standard in the industry. Also, the external design of the T-Ball is a standard design for many brands of refillable pens.
The Jotter is distinguished by a button and cap made of stainless steel
, chrome
or another metal, a stylized arrow-shaped clip, a smooth styrene or metal barrel and a metal nozzle
. If styrene, the barrel originally came in black, blue, green and red. Over many years of production, the jotter has been produced in numerous colors, some quite rare.
One popular version, scarce in early models, is identified as the laboratory or "flighter" version. These pens have an alloy cap with a matching alloy barrel. The all-alloy bodied pens come with a gold or chrome clip. Another version is the clear barreled "demonstrator," usually sold to dealers to show the inner workings of the pen.
The so-called "girl's" Jotter is a smaller version of the original. It was manufactured in the early sixties and was popular for a time.
It came in nine colors (the rarest being brown, yellow and white), as well as a clear "demonstrator." The girl's jotter shares its barrel with the Parker Tiara. Theoretically, both pens came in the same colors. However there is some question whether or not the "girl's" jotter was available in orange, white or yellow. However, such models have been found and were perhaps the result of enterprising Parker employees who took it upon themselves to "create" new colors. This area requires some research and elaboration.
It appears that the employees occasionally experimented with their own combinations of colors. These pens have a marbleized appearance and are the result of cleaning the production machinery. If the production run called for blue, and they had been making gray jotters, the last of the gray plastic would blend into the blue creating what were sometimes called "lunch room" specials. These pens are considered quite collectible, but they are usually not "prototypes" as commonly thought.
Management was always trying to expand the market for this pen and commissioned the design department to explore new designs and materials. Several of these prototypes exist and are also coveted by collectors.
There are many variations of these pens and a large collection can be assembled by the serious collector. The variety is immense if a collector includes the advertising variations. All versions of the pen were used in advertising for an endless list of organizations.
The refill comes in ball pen and gel styles, as well as in three point sizes. The pen also comes in a boxed set with a mechanical pencil which is collectible in itself.
Coincidentally a jotter was introduced with a substantially larger diameter barrel. Most found to date have an unusual moss green barrel. A black version of the jotter with the large diameter barrel has also been found. According to experts, this model was known as the "Industrial Jotter" as opposed to the standard diameter version known as the "Commercial Jotter". Parker's sales staff never liked the original jotter because the grooves made imprints on the barrel impossible and required clip devices if sold for advertising purposes. They were pleased when the smooth barrel was introduced which permitted advertising imprints. Subsequently the marketing department successfully lobbied for a model with a larger diameter barrel which would allow more space for corporate messages. Apparently this version was not popular and was discontinued after a short period of time (est.
The cap-actuated Parker 51
also came out that year.
In 1958, the company added an arrow to replace the ballclip design. The arrow has remained on all production Jotters since then. Occasionally a jotter slipped through with a clip that had no embossed arrows. These are now collector's items. Recent production (English manufacture) have clips in the shape of an arrow, but no feathers. At some period the interior diameter of the Jotter was reduced and a new refill introduced. There are two primary series, the large diameter version and the smaller diameter. Additionally there are several cap variations resulting from changing the imprints on the cap. The period from 1958 to 1973 has many variations making it difficult for the collector to obtain a representative example of each specimen.
Note: Sterling silver Jotters were available in the U.S. in the Seventies. Threads are silver.
There were several barrel colors issued to celebrate the Jotter's 50th Anniversary. The plain anniversary clips have found themselves attached to later barrels, and earlier and later plungers attached to later caps, creating even more variations.
Recently, a series of 24k gold plated models have been distributed in the USA. Both the cap and the tip are plated. There is another variation from England that has gold clip attached to chrome caps. The barrels of these pens have chrome tips. These are in addition to the black version with the gold clip and tip.
Today's Jotters are similar to the popular, "ruggedized" version that first came out in 1954. Over 700 million Jotters have been produced since 1954 and production continued at Parker's plant in Newhaven, England after being transferred there from Janesville, Wisconsin in 1999. In late 2010, the English plant was closed, and Jotter production was transferred to Nantes, France.
Notebook
A notebook is a book or binder composed of pages of notes, often ruled, made out of paper, used for purposes including recording notes or memoranda, writing, drawing, and scrapbooking....
?
Ballpoint pen
A ballpoint pen is a writing instrument with an internal ink reservoir and a sphere for a point. The internal chamber is filled with a viscous ink that is dispensed at its tip during use by the rolling action of a small sphere...
. Later they added a fountain pen
Fountain pen
A fountain pen is a nib pen that, unlike its predecessor the dip pen, contains an internal reservoir of water-based liquid ink. The pen draws ink from the reservoir through a feed to the nib and deposits it on paper via a combination of gravity and capillary action...
, mechanical pencil
Mechanical pencil
A mechanical pencil or a propelling pencil is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a lead . It is designed such that the lead can be extended as its point is worn away...
and rollerball pen
Rollerball pen
Rollerball pens are pens which use ball point writing mechanisms with water-based liquid or gelled ink, as opposed to the oil-based viscous inks found in ballpoint pens...
that match its design. As with many other ballpoint pens, it can be turned into gel pen
Gel pen
A gel pen uses ink in which pigment is suspended in a water-based gel. Because the ink is thick and opaque, it shows up more clearly on dark or slick surfaces than the typical inks used in ballpoint or felt tip pens...
if its cartridge is changed. Since 1954, over 750 million have been sold worldwide. Its refill, called T-Ball (T is for tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
), is the first textured ballpoint and is now a standard in the industry. Also, the external design of the T-Ball is a standard design for many brands of refillable pens.
The Jotter is distinguished by a button and cap made of stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, chrome
Chrome plating
Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...
or another metal, a stylized arrow-shaped clip, a smooth styrene or metal barrel and a metal nozzle
Nozzle
A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow as it exits an enclosed chamber or pipe via an orifice....
. If styrene, the barrel originally came in black, blue, green and red. Over many years of production, the jotter has been produced in numerous colors, some quite rare.
One popular version, scarce in early models, is identified as the laboratory or "flighter" version. These pens have an alloy cap with a matching alloy barrel. The all-alloy bodied pens come with a gold or chrome clip. Another version is the clear barreled "demonstrator," usually sold to dealers to show the inner workings of the pen.
The so-called "girl's" Jotter is a smaller version of the original. It was manufactured in the early sixties and was popular for a time.
It came in nine colors (the rarest being brown, yellow and white), as well as a clear "demonstrator." The girl's jotter shares its barrel with the Parker Tiara. Theoretically, both pens came in the same colors. However there is some question whether or not the "girl's" jotter was available in orange, white or yellow. However, such models have been found and were perhaps the result of enterprising Parker employees who took it upon themselves to "create" new colors. This area requires some research and elaboration.
It appears that the employees occasionally experimented with their own combinations of colors. These pens have a marbleized appearance and are the result of cleaning the production machinery. If the production run called for blue, and they had been making gray jotters, the last of the gray plastic would blend into the blue creating what were sometimes called "lunch room" specials. These pens are considered quite collectible, but they are usually not "prototypes" as commonly thought.
Management was always trying to expand the market for this pen and commissioned the design department to explore new designs and materials. Several of these prototypes exist and are also coveted by collectors.
There are many variations of these pens and a large collection can be assembled by the serious collector. The variety is immense if a collector includes the advertising variations. All versions of the pen were used in advertising for an endless list of organizations.
The refill comes in ball pen and gel styles, as well as in three point sizes. The pen also comes in a boxed set with a mechanical pencil which is collectible in itself.
History
- In 1954, the Parker Jotter had an inverted "V" style clip without the arrow engraving. The 1954 Jotter came with red, green, light gray, dark gray and black barrels, made of grooved nylon, not smooth plastic. The following year, because of the popularity of the pen, the choice of colors was extended to include bright red, mustard yellow, bright green and bright orange. These later colors are more difficult to find. At least one example has been found in white, perhaps a "nurses'" model, indicating that there was at least a brief run of white nylon jotters, a subject requiring more information. Another model was recently advertised on eBay for a substantial sum of money. It was a flighter model with a grooved barrel and cap. There may be other models not commonly known. There are also cap variations resulting from differences in imprints, most noticeably the Parker arrow. These represent different examples making it difficult to obtain a complete set of variations.
- In 1956, the company made the Jotter barrel smooth plastic and changed the clip to the "21" style. This clip used a reversed "V" rather than an inverted one. It incorporated a ball for pocket retention. This clip remained in use for about two years. During the period this variation was in production a metal barrel end was added in response to complaints that the plastic tip broke from pressure. Examples without the metal tip and the "21" clip are relatively rare. There are also some examples of the grooved nylon barrel being mated to the "21" clip and the inverted clip being mated to smooth barrels without tips. One can only conjecture that this was an effort on the part of the factory to use up surplus parts from different series. Barrels and caps all interchange during this period.
Coincidentally a jotter was introduced with a substantially larger diameter barrel. Most found to date have an unusual moss green barrel. A black version of the jotter with the large diameter barrel has also been found. According to experts, this model was known as the "Industrial Jotter" as opposed to the standard diameter version known as the "Commercial Jotter". Parker's sales staff never liked the original jotter because the grooves made imprints on the barrel impossible and required clip devices if sold for advertising purposes. They were pleased when the smooth barrel was introduced which permitted advertising imprints. Subsequently the marketing department successfully lobbied for a model with a larger diameter barrel which would allow more space for corporate messages. Apparently this version was not popular and was discontinued after a short period of time (est.
The cap-actuated Parker 51
Parker 51
The Parker 51, introduced in 1941, is a famous fountain pen. Parker’s period advertising called it “The World’s Most Wanted Pen,” and this assertion was true although a little deceptive; the U.S.A. entered World War II in December 1941, and the War Production Board placed severe restrictions on...
also came out that year.
- In 1957, the company launched the T-Ball refill, which contained reformulated ink and a textured tungsten carbide writing ball.
In 1958, the company added an arrow to replace the ballclip design. The arrow has remained on all production Jotters since then. Occasionally a jotter slipped through with a clip that had no embossed arrows. These are now collector's items. Recent production (English manufacture) have clips in the shape of an arrow, but no feathers. At some period the interior diameter of the Jotter was reduced and a new refill introduced. There are two primary series, the large diameter version and the smaller diameter. Additionally there are several cap variations resulting from changing the imprints on the cap. The period from 1958 to 1973 has many variations making it difficult for the collector to obtain a representative example of each specimen.
- In 1962, the company launched the cap-actuated Parker 61.
- In 1965, the company launched a Jotter desk pen in brushed chrome.
- In 1973, the company flattened the dome-shaped button and put there the Parker imprint.
- In the 1980s, the company changed the inner cap threads from brassBrassBrass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
to plastic. At this time they introduced a date code on the cap. From about 1979 through today there are at least four cap variations for each year of production. This adds to the challenge of collecting an example of every Jotter. To further complicate matters, some later barrels have a small extraction chip on the rim of the threads, while others of the same color do not. It appears that all of the Jotters currently in production in England have this chip. Also be aware that some older style plungers are mated with later caps; creating yet other variations.
- In 2004, the Jotter's Jubilee, the company released limited edition designs in boxed sets. The dome shaped button was restored to its original rounded shape that it had prior to 1973 when the flattened dome shaped button took over. The sterling silver Jotters were made for only one year and that was in 2004.
Note: Sterling silver Jotters were available in the U.S. in the Seventies. Threads are silver.
There were several barrel colors issued to celebrate the Jotter's 50th Anniversary. The plain anniversary clips have found themselves attached to later barrels, and earlier and later plungers attached to later caps, creating even more variations.
Recently, a series of 24k gold plated models have been distributed in the USA. Both the cap and the tip are plated. There is another variation from England that has gold clip attached to chrome caps. The barrels of these pens have chrome tips. These are in addition to the black version with the gold clip and tip.
Today's Jotters are similar to the popular, "ruggedized" version that first came out in 1954. Over 700 million Jotters have been produced since 1954 and production continued at Parker's plant in Newhaven, England after being transferred there from Janesville, Wisconsin in 1999. In late 2010, the English plant was closed, and Jotter production was transferred to Nantes, France.
See also
- Parker 51Parker 51The Parker 51, introduced in 1941, is a famous fountain pen. Parker’s period advertising called it “The World’s Most Wanted Pen,” and this assertion was true although a little deceptive; the U.S.A. entered World War II in December 1941, and the War Production Board placed severe restrictions on...
- Parker 61
- Parker VacumaticParker VacumaticThe Parker Vacumatic fountain pen was launched in 1933, displacing the Duofold as Parker's top-of-the-line product. The pen was originally named the Golden Arrow, a reference to the new arrow clip which would go on to become a Parker trademark, appearing in some form on almost all of Parker’s...
- QuinkQuinkQuink is an ink developed by The Parker Pen Company and Francisco Quisumbing, a Filipino chemist....
- Ballpoint penBallpoint penA ballpoint pen is a writing instrument with an internal ink reservoir and a sphere for a point. The internal chamber is filled with a viscous ink that is dispensed at its tip during use by the rolling action of a small sphere...
- Writing implementWriting implementA writing implement or writing instrument is an object used to produce writing. Most of these items can be also used for other functions such as painting, drawing and technical drawing, but writing instruments generally have the unique requirement to create a smooth, controllable line.Another...