Parker 51

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The Parker 51, introduced in 1941, may well be the most famous fountain pen ever made. 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 production of pens for civilian sale. Parker's continued advertising during the war created a demand that took several years to fulfill after the end of the war. The pen was developed for use with Parker's revolutionary quick dry ink, whose high alkalinity and isopropyl alcohol content were fatally corrosive to the pyralin then used for the bodies of most pens (including the Parker Vacumatic, the company's flagship pen during the 1930s). Making the pen's body and inner cap of a new plastic called Lucite, just coming into use for airplane canopies, solved the corrosion problem. The pen and the ink were both named "51" to mark 1939, the company's 51st year of existence, during which development was completed (U.S. design patent No. 116,097). By giving the pen a number instead of a name, Parker avoided the problem of translating a name into other languages.

With various refinements, the "51" stayed in production until 1972. The most significant design change came in 1948, with the introduction of a much improved filling system. At the same time, Parker reformulated its ink, reducing the alkalinity, adding a selection of brilliant colors, and calling the new product Superchrome.

The "51" is among the most popular pen models sought out by pen collectors, and in 2002 Parker issued a lookalike model called the 51 Special Edition. The elegant design is practically timeless, and in 2004 it resurfaced with the release of the Parker 100, a larger, heavier pen with truly modern styling that is unquestionably a tribute to the looks of its forebear.

The "51" was revolutionary at the time, with its hooded, tubular nib and multi-finned collector, all designed to work in conjunction with the pen's proprietary ink, allowing the nib to stay wet and lay down an even line with either the ultra-fast drying ink or more traditional inks. The design is so robust and practical that most "51" pens made since 1948 that are "found in the back of a drawer” can be filled with ink and used immediately because of their revolutionary Pli-Glass sacs, though earlier Vacumatic-filling units may need restoration to make them operational due to their rubber diaphrams.

The pen's resemblance to the sleek fuselage of the P-51 Mustang, a fighter plane used extensively during the war, had no bearing on its name; but Parker took advantage of the coincidence by comparing the pen and the plane in its advertising. Additionally, a pilot who is suspected of falsifying flight records in his logbook in order to overstate his actual experience is said to have logged "P-51 hours," relying on the ambiguity of the term "P-51" to avoid directly confronting the suspect.

[edit] External links

• Parker 51 (Review of book about the Parker "51")
• The Parker 51 Website (Unofficial fanpage with very much information)
• Parker 51 Special Edition (Originally official site for limited reissue of Parker 51, but seems to have other news about Parker pens, too.)
• Pen Lovers: Parker 51 Collection (Many photos of Parker 51)
• Profile: The Parker "51" (Profile of the Parker "51" including information on dating and colors)