in this issue
Parker 75's
Great writing pens, and very collectable, just ask Lih-Tah Wong (Parker75.com). Introduced in 1964, they were manufactured over a thirty-year period in a number of materials, patterns and finishes, and included a number of Limited Editions.
In 1965 Parker released what was probably the first ever "Limited Edition Pen". It was the "75 Spanish Treasure Fleet", fashioned from silver recovered from the Spanish treasure fleet that sank off the Florida coast on July 30, 1715. The 4,821 pens manufactured were sold in a custom wooden box, and came with a silver coin recovered from the ocean's floor, and certificates of authentication. The original price was US$75, today it would sell for around $1500 if you can find one.
The most popular Parker 75 pattern over the thirty years of manufacture was the original, now known as "Cisele", a checker pattern in Sterling Silver. In 1965 these sold for US$25, today clean examples can be found for under US$200.
More....
Quick Links...
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| Dear ******,
Another year all but over, another overdue website update just completed and online. No new pages, but some interesting additions including two Conway Stewart Cracked Ice Pens, an Executive #60 and a super rare (at least I've never seen one before!) Ink Visible #800.
On a sad note, I have to record the sudden death of "da book" author Frank Dubiel earlier this month at age 56. Frank will be missed by his fellow pen lovers from the US and further abroad including Australia.
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Wait, There's More ....
 Collectible Pencils, another book from Jim Marshall of the Pen & Pencil Gallery in Cumbria (UK), this time with wife Jane and the "Pen Pencil Lady" Sue Courtier. This book is sub-titled "A short guide to vintage and mechanical pencils" and is well illustrated with photographs (mainly colour) and diagrams, with relative price guide covering a wide range of types and styles.
Well researched, by acknowledged experts in their field, the authors have covered the history of the pencil, through anatomy of the various types and manufacturers. This book will be a valuable resource to those collecting pencils, as well as interesting reading for fringe dwelling pen collectors.
Further Information... »
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Pen Repair
 There are many tools that you can manage without, or find a compromise for when repairing pens. I managed without a Sac-Stretcher for the first couple of years, and I can almost hear the late Frank Dubiel saying something like "waste of time", but I wouldn't be without mine. It came to me with a collection of parts and tools I bought from a defunct repair shop, once I tried it, I was hooked.
I recently found a supply of "soldering tweezers", which, now modified, are exactly the same design as the late 1930's one I use almost daily.
Sac Stretcher ...... »
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Pen Shows
MVPs covered seven pen shows this year, with spectacular results at some, and not so spectacular results at others. For 2004, we have booked to attend Los Angeles in February and will consider the others later.
Pen Show Links .... »
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Quotations or Australian Pens (or Not)
People often ask me, particularly at US pen shows, if any writing instruments were manufactured in Australia. Of course, I tell them about DASI, and about Sheaffer's efforts, but it seems that's where it ends. I suggest that perhaps the reason is the alternative instrument mentioned in the second verse of Banjo Patterson's "Clancy of the Overflow".
Read Clancy of the Overflow »
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