Did Parker Make a Pocket Pen--The Almost 61s that Were Not

[Farmboy]

Since the other forum is broken and I owe Proteus picture or two, I'll start a thread about some '61 like' pens. Parker certainly called them 61s but they are not your parent's 61s. In another thread I spotted a pen named 1-L-712 and made some cryptic comments. Some numbers were tossed about and I mentioned I have handled perhaps a dozen or so similar pens.

I do not believe I have shared these pictures elsewhere and I do not expect more than a select few have seen the pens in person. I am in the select few that has handled them up close. I would consider these true prototype pens made in the Arrow Park (Janesville) Model Shop. The dates the pens were ordered are engraved on the pens. I'll hunt down the shop tag pictures and post them if I have them.

Enjoy (the AD FREE experience--lets get some content flowing here. Thanks to Eric for the play ground.)


I have uploaded hi resolution images into the attachments folder if you can figure out how to down load them I'm fine with it.

Proto61s_closed-FPG.jpgProto61s_open-FPG.jpg

[stub]

Wow, those are crazy looking. They look more like 70s Pilot pens than Parker. Fascinating. Thanks for that.

[Farmboy]

Wow, those are crazy looking. They look more like 70s Pilot pens than Parker. Fascinating. Thanks for that.

Not sure when Pilot came out with their pens. April 14 and 15, 1954 makes these eligible for Social Security at 64 years old.

Perhaps a casual collector/reader with others will post pictures. I've not seen 1-L-715 assuming it exists. I have not found the images of the shop tags that go with these pens. Will look today after work.

[proteus]

Now this is so very special.

Some Doman Parker 61 protypes.

2 have never been seen before.

Tipping my hat, sir

[penwash]

If I ever attend a Pen Posse meeting in the Bay Area, I would love to see that pen in person. Amazing!

[Farmboy]

And an image of the shop tag:
ShopTag 1-L-712.jpg

As a general note...If you come to the Bay Area, everyone is welcome to a Pen Posse or Pan Pacific Pen Club meeting or we can just have an old fashioned get together in your honor. Just give one of us a heads up. Lets also not forget the San Francisco Pen Event with Show Band and Review the last weekend in August.

[Flounder]

FB, when were these made? I'd find it interesting to compare against what Parker decided to actually put into production at the time - and what they might have cast their eyes over as a design influence.

Also - I'm very confused by those clips!

[Farmboy]

Both pens were ordered from the model shop in April 1954.

Note the front ends are from the original production model 61before the 71 pen became the 61 Mark II.

[Flounder]

Both pens were ordered from the model shop in April 1954.

Note the front ends are from the original production model 61before the 71 pen became the 61 Mark II.

Ah, thank you. I was forgetting the M/D/Y format used out there in the wider world.

[Farmboy]

Both pens were ordered from the model shop in April 1954.

Note the front ends are from the original production model 61before the 71 pen became the 61 Mark II.

Ah, thank you. I was forgetting the M/D/Y format used out there in the wider world.

Damn Yankees...

[Flounder]

This is jolly interesting, thanks for posting. There's a similar long/short style in certain pages of the Jotter book I have saved from somewhere.

[Farmboy]

There was an article on the 61/71 in Pen World a while back. Don't have the reference with me.

I'm trying to pull together a family photo for this thread. Stay tuned.