Product Description
Type Vacumatic filling fountain pen and pencil set.
Product Name Imperial, full size
Manufacturer and Year Parker, USA -- 1937. The date code is a little perplexing, since this model debuted in 1940 and the barrel of the fountain pen has a crystal clear 7, with no dots. Parker did experiment with this design as early as 1936, which might explain this early date copde. The pencil has a date code 0, indicating that it was made in 1940, which is more along the lines of what we expect to see.
Length Both pen and pencil are 5-1/4" long,
Filling System Speedline Vacumatic filling system. We have fully restored it with a new diaphragm and it's working perfectly. Pencil takes thick 1.1mm leads.
Color Black striped with 1/10th 14k gold filled cap and trim. Black jewels on both ends of the pen, and on the pencil's cap. Wavy line pattern on cap.
Nib FINE two-toned gold Vacumatic style Parker USA nib. It's smooth with excellent tipping, no flex. Feed is marked A, indicating that it's suitable for accountants to write numbers in their ledgers. Some of the masking has been polished away, which you can see in the pictures below.
Condition Excellent condition. The fountain pen's cap shows some light handwear, but no dents, dings, or scratches. There are small spots of brassing on the edge of the cap. No cracks or chips in the plastic. The barrel looks great with excellent transparency and a crisp imprint. On the pencil, the nose cone has some plating wear and there are definite signs of hand use. There are several shallow scattered dents on the cap, especially in the personalization space (cartouche), which we've highlighted in the pictures below. The pencil probably had personalization in the cartouche polished off. (The fountain pen does not have this removed personalization .... which suggests the two pieces were combined and not originally part of a set.) The imprint looks great. Both pieces are fully restored and working well.
PENCIL CARTOUCHE .... removed personalization?