1938 Parker Vacumatic Speedline Shadow Wave SOLD($260 US) and 1924 Parker Duofold DQ SOLD ($180 US)
- Douglas J. Rathbun
- 17 hours ago
- 4 min read
THE PARKER VACUMATIC SPEEDLINE AND THE DQ HAVE BEEN SOLD
Hello there. Welcome to my channel. My name is Doug, and I'm back with another Pen Resurrection Sunday video.
Those who joined me this morning for my first Saturday live stream know I mentioned I’d start working on this pen today. Before we get to it, I’ll also work on a second one. This one’s been in the works for years.
This is a Parker Duofold DQ from 1924. It’s an ebony pen with a 14-karat gold flexible nib. It’s a button filler, and I restored it a few years ago. You can watch the restoration video by clicking the link. I didn’t sell it because I wasn’t happy with the polish on the ebony. I was still learning how to work with it back then. I also didn’t properly restore the sack. This pen has a unique feed and sack system, along with a pressure bar system. It’s a button filler, but the special curve feed makes assembling it tricky. The sack can get twisted up inside, so I put the pen away for a while. After working with ebony for a while, I decided to revisit it, resack it, polish it, and then sell it. I’ll show you the resacking process and do a short writing sample on the pen. I’ll discuss it further in my remarks.
Let’s take a look at this Parker instead. It’s much younger than the DQ. This is a very special Parker Vacumatic. Typically, stacked celluloid on Parkers features alternating bands of black, transparent and pearlescent. This one has longitudinal stacked celluloid in a beautiful golden pearl brown colour, which is very translucent. You can see bits of old dried-up diaphragm inside the translucent barrel. This is a second-generation Parker Vacumatic.
THOUGHTS
Okay, let’s discuss my thoughts on these resurrections. First, let’s talk about the Parker Duo DQ. This 1924 pen is all ebonite, and it took me two and a half years to restore it. My first attempt was incorrect because I was still learning. Thanks to a gift from Inkquiring Member Bill Peton—the fourth edition of Pen Repair by Jim Marshall and Lawrence Oldfield—I learned proper restoration techniques. Since I’d already done a resurrection on this pen, I didn’t feel it needed a separate video, so I just resacked it. I’ve polished the ebonite to almost new lustre, and the gold nib is incredibly flexible. If you’re interested in purchasing this pen, I’m selling it for $180 US plus shipping. Please email inkquiringminds@gmail.com with your name and address. I’ll provide a shipping quote and instructions for PayPal.
Here’s a special feature of this resurrection: it’s a gorgeous little pen. While many were made, not as many as the third generation. It was produced between the end of the first generation and the beginning of World War II, which ushered in the third-generation Parker Vacumatic. The speed line, especially in the junior size with the first iteration of the split arrow clip, is beautifully polished. I was thrilled to restore this pen because of its beauty, but I thought it might fail for a few minutes. More than a few minutes, actually 24 hours, because I couldn’t get the pump to budge. However, I noticed signs throughout the pen that the previous restoration wasn’t done properly. They shellacked the section down, which I eventually removed. Additionally, they shellacked the pump onto the barrel at the back. I was on the verge of giving up and declaring this pen a permanent eyropper, a complete failure. However, it finally succumbed after nearly reaching the point of melting. This demonstrates the remarkable resilience of these vintage Parkers from the 1930s and 40s.
Despite its small size, it holds surprisingly much ink. Interestingly, this pen predates the official designation of the “debutant size". They called it the “junior.” I particularly adore the delicate, elegant arrow design on the cap band. Initially, the nib was quite rough, but after extensive polishing with 6,000, 8,000, and 12,000 grit sandpaper, it now glides smoothly.
If you’re interested in owning this beautiful 1938 Parker Vacumatic Jr. Speedline Filler in Shadowwave, I’m selling it for $260 US. Please contact me at inkquiringminds@gmail.com with your name and address. I’ll provide instructions on how to pay via PayPal and obtain a shipping quote.
If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe. Don’t forget to ring the bell for instant notifications whenever a new video is posted. You can join my channel as a member for just 99 cents a month. As a member, you’ll receive exclusive emojis, badges, sneak peeks of unboxing videos, instant access to my videos, first access to resurrection videos, and the first opportunity to purchase these pens. Additionally, members at the $5 per month patron level will receive a 20% discount.
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And that just leaves it for me to say thank you for watching.
And that's all she wrote.
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