| Design Features: The Parker Vacumatic |
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Introduction: Parker produced the Vacumatic fountain pen from 1932 until about 1948. In that time, the model underwent several changes, some subtle and some quite dramatic. This article offers assistance in dating your Vacumatic. A technical description of the Vacumatic filling system is given in Anatomy of a Fountain Pen II: The Vacumatic, and hand-painted color samples are shown in Profile: The Parker Vacumatic. (Revised March 2, 2008)
In 1932, Parker introduced a new plunger-filling pen under the model name Golden Arrow. This name may have encountered legal problems, or Parker may simply have decided to emphasize the new filler design. In any case, Parker quickly changed the pen’s name to Vacuum-Filler.
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The Vacuum-Filler’s angled celluloid striations are especially prominent on
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This latter name, rather clumsy and unattractive, was soon replaced for marketing reasons. Thus, by the end of 1933, the Parker Vacumatic was officially in production. Golden Arrow and Vacuum-Filler pens like the one shown here are rare.
Dating the Easy Way — with Date Codes: Parker pens of the Vacumatic era have a date code on the barrel. For instructions on reading this code, refer to Birthday Pens: A Timeline.
Single-digit date codes break down for the years 1938 and 1948, which have the same last digit (8). In this case, you must use the design features of the pen to determine the pen’s actual date of manufacture. The differences between pens made in these two years are quite easy to discern.
The rest of this article discusses additional ways to identify a pen’s approximate age by the features of its design. This can be useful if the date code is illegible as well as for the 1938/1948 case.
The Vacumatic Filler: The Vacumatic filler mechanism consists of a spring-loaded plunger whose end is attached to the end of a sac-like rubber diaphragm. Depressing the plunger distends the diaphragm to expel air from the pen, and releasing the plunger sucks ink directly into the pen’s barrel. This design gives the pen a very large ink capacity. A technical explanation and cutaway illustrations of the filler are in Anatomy of a Fountain Pen II: The Parker Vacumatic.
The earliest filler design uses a plunger made of a metal tube with a gold-plated brass end piece. (Most pens have aluminum tubes, but some of the earlier ones have chrome-plated steel.) Two lengthwise slots are cut into the tube; each slot has a notch at the outward end. Pegs inside the filler ride in the slots to keep the plunger from twisting. This filler model is referred to as a “Lockdown” filler. When the plunger is depressed and turned slightly, the pegs lock into the notches to hold the plunger down. A short blind cap screws onto the end of the barrel to conceal and protect the plunger.
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The Speedline Filler: In 1937, Parker redesigned the filling mechanism so that the plunger does not lock in the depressed position. This change made the filler quicker and easier to use, and Parker marketed the new filler under the name Speedline. The Speedline filler, because it does not stay retracted, requires a longer blind cap; in order to maintain the same profile, Parker reduced the pen's ink capacity by shortening the barrel to compensate for the increased length of the blind cap. Not all Vacumatic models were immediately switched to the Speedline filler; Parker continued making Lockdown-filler pens for an unknown period after the Speedline’s introduction. I have a Canadian Lockdown Junior from 1938, and Lockdown pens are known to exist with date codes indicating 1939 manufacture. Parker also applied the Vacumatic filler mechanism to other models in its product line; the Speedline filler shown below is on a Green and Gold striped Duofold made in 1940.
Early Vacumatics have jeweled tassies on both the cap and the blind cap. In 1942, Parker removed the tassie from the blind cap, creating a more streamlined look and conserving critical war matériel. This change also reduced the pen’s cost.
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The Wartime Filler: In 1942, the United States was at war, and aluminum was declared a critical material. Parker redesigned the Vacumatic filler to use a plastic plunger. This plunger is smaller in diameter, with an end that is flared like the cap of a mushroom. Parker used this new filler unchanged until the Vacumatic model was discontinued, in about 1948. The jeweled blind cap was also discontinued in 1942; thereafter, only streamlined blind caps were produced for the Vacumatic and Duofold product lines.
Clip Designs: Golden Arrow, Vacuum-Filler, and early Vacumatic models were given the feathered arrow clip shown here. This stylish design soon became synonymous with the Parker name.
In about 1938, Parker introduced a “Split Arrow” clip with the name PARKER written vertically. (The pen shown here is actually from the 1940s.) Shortly afterward, some Vacumatics appeared with this clip modified slightly by the addition of a star at its top.
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(Pen lent by David Isaacson) |
In 1939, possibly in a belated response to Sheaffer’s White Dot, Parker settled on the Blue Diamond to denote its lifetime guarantee. The Blue Diamond clip looks like the plain Split Arrow clip except that the PARKER name has been moved downward slightly to make room for a blue-enameled diamond.
The Blue Diamond clip was was applied to pens priced at $8.75 and higher, and it continued in use until 1948, when the Vacumatic was retired from Parker’s product line.
Notes:
The information in this article is as accurate as possible, but you should not take it as absolutely authoritative.
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