To those of you in the US, best wishes for a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!
This is the update after the Chicago Pen Show, a celebrated event in the pen world that took place at the Westin O'Hare Hotel on the first weekend in May. I am fortunate that Chicago is an inexpensive plane ride for me and I eagerly waited for this event.
As reported in the prior month's website update there were two interesting Parker 75 FPs up for auction — a titanium and a sterling prototype with wavy lines. Since I already have several of the titanium, I was more interested in attending this auction for the possibility of acquiring the prototype. Unfortunately I was not able to get my FP. The auction price for this sterling prototype very quickly reached a surprising hammer price of $1600. Considering the buyer's 10%/5% premium charged by the show organizers, this put the total price at $1730. And if the absentee buyer used Penbid, there was yet another 10% in service fees assessed bringing the grand total to about $1900!! Adding shipping, insurance and bank wire transfer fees and the total will come to about $2000 for the Penbid buyer. Amazingly the titanium 75 also attained the very same price. WOW!!
I am happy to report that one of the Chicago show organizers, Mr. Don Lavin, was kind enough to grant me access to this sterling silver prototype 75 for the purpose of photographing it and showing it here. I am even more gratified to learn that Don visits this website and finds the information here interesting. Thanks Don!
Another interesting 75 was found by my friend and long-time contributor Lee Chait. It was in his parts box at last year's Columbus Pen Show that I discovered the lined GP cap that became prototype #9. Thus it was quite fitting that he should find the complete pen which still remains mysterious and unnamed. I think, however, I should move it from the prototype section to the Unknown section. Thanks to Lee you can now see this mystery pattern as a complete pen.
The biggest addition to this reference site comes from a new contributor, Dan Zazove. I met him while photographing the auction prototype, with Don introducing me to Dan, who happens to be another one of the Chicago Pen Show organizers. At that time Dan told me he had a lot of Parker material and I am happy to report that I got a packet in time to share with you. Amazingly almost every page that he sent me was something I had never seen before. Much of it was papers pertaining to the 75 prior to its production and I have created a new folder to show you these papers. One interesting point, Parker considered calling the 75 as the "International"! Thank you Dan!
As always, I welcome your feedback/criticisms on this site. I am always interested in hearing from you, especially if you have some 75 that you don't see here. Even better if you want to sell it to me. Or if you are looking for a particular 75 or have need of parts, drop me a note. I might just have it. Send me email at the LTW@Parker75.com address.
Thanks for visiting!
Here are the updates to the Parker 75 Reference section.
Wavy lined prototype 75 FP in sterling silver that was auctioned at the Chicago Pen Show on Saturday May 6th, 2001.
With the discovery of the FP, what I originally labeled as prototype #9 may actually be a real production 75. No one has been able to identify this to date. Thus I am moving this from the prototype to the unknown category.
Parker supplied photograph of the Apollo XV 75.
Ken Parker's cigarette case with the grid pattern.
The US Patent & Trademark Office granted Ken Parker a 14-year patent #205,872 for the grid design as applied to a writing instrument.
Prices in 1965 have been updated to add those for the Vermeil, Spanish Treasure Fleet, and Insignia.
New chapter for pre-production information created. This contains early Research Shop Orders and several early designs for the "International Fountain Pen", the early name for what later became the Parker 75.
New tassie shape was found on a sterling grid BP; it is conical.
Additional pictures to show details of the Cartier 75.