1929 Parker Duofold JR *SOLD* ($175 US)

THIS PEN HAS SOLD!

Hello there! Welcome to Inkquiring Minds. My name is Doug, and I’m back with another Pen Resurrection Sunday video.

Today's dead fountain pen on the slab, ready for resurrection, is this a circa 1929 Parker Duofold Jr. Big Red. This is considered a holy grail of vintage fountain pens for many. The Parker Dualfold Big Red was the first fountain pen to come in a colour other than black. Back then, most pens were made of black hard rubber or ebonite, and it was very difficult to make ebonite in any colour other than black. Parker did it in 1921, and it was a big hit. This is the streamlined version that came out in 1929.

This particular model is a junior, measuring around 4 and a half inches capped. I’ve been watching this pen for several years at a local antique store that I visit quite regularly. It’s been in a pen case for the last three years that I’ve seen, and it was marked at a price that I wasn’t willing to pay. Finally, I gathered the courage to ask the vendor if he would accept an offer, and he did! I’m delighted to have this wonderful fountain pen. Of course, it’s in rough shape because it’s very old, and the case is desiccated inside.

THOUGHTS

So, what are my thoughts on this pen restoration? Well, I pined away for this pen for about three years, constantly looking at it and putting it back. Finally, I managed to get the vintage seller to sell it to me at a reasonable price for an unrestored 1929 Parker Big Red Streamlined.

However, there were a few challenges in taking the pen apart and polishing up the beautiful red and black ebonite. Since it’s an unrestored pen, I was concerned about the condition of the nib. Fortunately, I hit the jackpot because this nib writes beautifully. I was thrilled!

The tines were misaligned quite severely, but I managed to realign them because the nib is so flexible. It railroads a bit when you try to push it, but it’s been drying out, so it should be fine now.

The flexibility and bounce of the nib make for a lovely vintage writing experience. All the gold on the pen polished up beautifully, and I was able to stabilize the small crack there.

If you’re considering posting this pen, I would advise doing so very gingerly. There are some vintage wear marks on it, and those gouges are still in the cap. I decided not to destroy the shape of the finial by going any deeper than I did. The same goes for the red ebonite, which has some marks and the cool W27 engraving. I’m convinced that the W27 is the number 27.

So, I’m saying this pen is a 1929, but who knows? It might have been purchased in 1929, or it could have been a graduation gift or the class of '27. I don’t know why they wrote 27 on it, but it’s still there.

The faint imprint of Geo. S. Parker's dual fold made in Canada is still on the barrel. With a new sack, this pen should write for years to come.

If you’d like to own this pen, I’m selling it for $175 US plus shipping. Please drop me a line at inquiringminds@gmail.com with your name and address, and I’ll get you a shipping quote.

So, all in all, this is a very satisfying pen resurrection of a classic pen. Thank you for watching.

And that’s all she wrote.