Nib ID Oddity

[~JJ]

I've acquired a vintage Parker Duofold recently, & hope some of you Parker gurus can help me tie down the vintage. It was made in England, & has a 14K gold nib, stamped with the #s: 35 9 .

I know the 35 refers to the Senior model (which it is), but as for the 9 (year of mfr) something seems amiss.
From what I've been told, English Aerometric Duofolds were made from 1954 - 1958, ie, not fitting the stamped 9 'code'. The 9 would seemingly befit either 1949 or 1959, both outside the stated mfg range of '54 - '58.

What have I got here??

TIA,
~_/.

[jos]

Hi,
Pictures might help but 1954-1958 seems not correct to me for the lifespan of the English Aerometric Duofold. Have you seen/read the Uk Duofold entry at Parker Pens Penography?

[~JJ]

Hi jos,
Thanks, & in fact no I hadn't! Kinda crazy since I had made several Google searches looking for such info, with no mention of the resource you ref'd being mentioned. *tsk tsk*

The date range I expressed in my inquiry was a direct quote from what the seller told me -- I even went back & looked it up in his message to make sure I hadn't typo'd in my notes. I have a couple of more modern Parkers but this one is the most 'vintage' of the three, & I'm no expert on them by far!

But anyway, with that page reference & a little deduction I was able to nail it down to 1949. Now looking for some identifier info on their 'dot coding' to see if I can tighten it even further. Not really needed, just part of the fun of being in this hobby, right? LOL

Thanks again, guy!
~J.

[Penginnin]

That’s a great resource. I was referring to it recently when I was dating my pens.

It has been my experience that many, if not a large majority of online Parker sellers know nothing about the pens. They list thirty year old models for sale new without mentioning their vintage. They give wrong information. They mislabel pen models in their sales listing. It’s a mess. eBay or Amazon. It doesn’t matter. I got a “new” Parker Vector Rollerball off of Amazon last year that turned out to be from 1992! I was so puzzled at the time why its ink cartridge was so dried up.

[~JJ]

More digging let me further refine my first estimate/deduction of 1949 to ~1952. If it'll benefit anyone else looking for such info, here's my notes:
<><><>
++ DATING:: [Esterbrook] never used codes on pens.
*J series pens were made starting in [1943 as twist-filler; by, '44 as lever filler]; [til '60¿]. In 1950, announced as 'Deluxe' series, with metal caps.
Earlier pens used a flat-ended lever; later pens had a round, spoon-shaped lever. *The change was made sometime in the earlier 50s.
R.Binder id's mine as "late transitional", reflecting the final version. : *"The J reached its final form in 1948 with the addition of a jeweled tassie on the end of the barrel to match the cap’s decoration. With this final version there also came a cost-saving change in the attachment of the clip and jewel: the clip was riveted to the cap with a metal grommet, and the jewel was pressed into the center of the grommet." <[mine!]
ie,tassied jewels both ends.
+++ "Esterbrook.net’s*information on the*J Series*got me started. The Double jewel models came out around 1948. And the earliest pens had only “Esterbrook” on the barrel imprint (without the ®). Keep that in mind, it will help later".< [mine has ®] <see image below ]
"This post*and*this post*(on a different*Fountain Pen Network thread) point out that the “fishtail” or “spade” shaped lever* was replaced with a “spoon” shaped lever in the early 1950s. Going by the second post referenced, around 1952." *[ looks like circle with tip cut off, ie backwards letter 'D.
'Fishtail'> D=== Mine's full circle tip> C=== ] <see image below

[5" long, 6.25" posted, 4.25" uncapped, cap 2.25" : my measure].
COLOR: Binder cites 2 grays; lighter Pearl Gray [saw picture] & darker Dawn Gray.
Calling mine Dawn.
<><><>

Now back to the Mabie Todd Swan Leverless, which surprise surprise! I have been advised was made in the good ol' USofA! And apparently this one is unique!

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