The Parker Vacumatic 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...

 was launched in 1933, displacing the Duofold

Duofold

The Parker Duofold is a range of fountain pens produced by the Parker Pen CompanyThe first model was produced in 1921 and was a large pen, 5.5 inches long when capped, and made of a showy bright red hard rubber and expensively priced at $7.00, equivalent to about $83 in 2009.The original...

 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

Trademark

A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...

, appearing in some form on almost all of Parker’s subsequent pens.

The Vacumatic featured a brand new filling mechanism—instead of the collapsible sac all Parker self-fillers up to that point had used, the Vacumatic featured a diaphragm

Diaphragm (mechanics)

In mechanics, a diaphragm is a sheet of a semi-flexible material anchored at its periphery and most often round in shape. It serves either as a barrier between two chambers, moving slightly up into one chamber or down into the other depending on differences in pressure, or as a device that...

 that expanded into the barrel of the pen. Upon release of the diaphragm a vacuum

Vacuum

In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...

 was created, drawing ink into the barrel. Because the entire barrel could thus be filled, the Vacumatic boasted a much higher ink capacity than the Duofold

Duofold

The Parker Duofold is a range of fountain pens produced by the Parker Pen CompanyThe first model was produced in 1921 and was a large pen, 5.5 inches long when capped, and made of a showy bright red hard rubber and expensively priced at $7.00, equivalent to about $83 in 2009.The original...

 it replaced.

Although the pen came in many sizes and colors, the most widely recognizable Vacumatics featured alternating horizontal bands of pearlescent and clear celluloid

Celluloid

Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents. Generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic, it was first created as Parkesine in 1862 and as Xylonite in 1869, before being registered as Celluloid in 1870. Celluloid is...

. These clear bands allowed the user to see the level of ink in the barrel.

Several generations of Vacumatic were produced. Early patterns found without the typical latitudinal stripes often command increased collector attention.

The pen remained Parker’s top-of-the-line product until the launch of the 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...

 in 1941, but remained in production until 1953. The English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

-market Duofold

Duofold

The Parker Duofold is a range of fountain pens produced by the Parker Pen CompanyThe first model was produced in 1921 and was a large pen, 5.5 inches long when capped, and made of a showy bright red hard rubber and expensively priced at $7.00, equivalent to about $83 in 2009.The original...

used the same basic design up until the 1970s.

External links

• Vacumania.Com - Internet site for discussions about the Parker Vacumatic.