Parker - Parker 51 - Pen set

Parker 51 fountain pen and vintage mechanical pencil in laminated metal with yellow gold plating, in perfect condition with no breaks or damage, absolutely like new with the original period case.
The Parker 51 fountain pen first appeared on the market in 1941 (the difficult year of Pearl Harbor and the United States entry into the war) at a price of $12.50, equivalent (at official inflation rates) to about $201 today.
The American company advertised its “51” as “the most sought-after pen in the world,” a slogan alluding to the difficulty of obtaining one due to the notable restrictions on the American civilian market during World War II. The insistence on this slogan turned into enormous commercial success: during the war period it generated demand that would only be satisfied several years after the end of the war.
The pen and ink were named “51” to denote 1939 as the fifty-first year of the company’s activity. Moreover, attributing a numerical designation to this new model inaugurated a new practice: giving new models a numerical baptism avoided translation problems of the names in the many different languages.
With the 51, Parker took the opportunity to introduce a series of important innovations, both stylistic and substantive: in particular the tubular “covered” nib and the multiple-leaf feed, together with the use of dedicated ink, allowed the nib to stay moist and thus leave an even trace even with super-fast inks as well as with traditional ones.
The composition of the dedicated ink proved aggressive toward celluloid: this forced Parker to make an innovation in the very structural material of the barrel: due to its chemical-physical characteristics, Lucite was chosen, a type of acrylic resin (PolymethylMethAcrylate = PMMA) then extremely innovative, whose name derives from its high light-transparency, akin to glass.
Over the course of its evolution Parker moved from the “Vacumatic” filling system to the so-called “Aerometric” system (with the metal converter containing a rubber sac).
The 51, in short, represented a concentrate of innovations all aimed at ensuring flawless and durable operation, at least until production ceased, around 1972.
It seems that it was a Parker 51 (or the wife’s Duofold, according to a less reliable version…) used by General MacArthur (commander of Allied forces in the Pacific) for the signing of Japan’s surrender aboard the battleship Missouri, on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay.
This variant is unobtainable in Parker 51 production, extremely rare.
The length of the fountain pen: 13.7 cm, diameter 1.5 cm.
The length of the mechanical pencil: 11.5 cm, diameter 1.2 cm.
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