Art of Writing: the Parker 51

I’ve been enthralled with this pen since I was a teenager. In college, I had a part-time job selling men’s clothes in an upscale shop on an upscale shopping street. Every day I would wander into this small vintage gift shop across the road and look at the 2 or 3 Parker 51s they had in the case. They seemed complete out of reach, price-wise, for a college kid.

Later in life I saw one that was just beautiful. I should have bought it for myself but I made a mistake and gave it to someone as a gift. I’ve regretted it for years. These pens are just marvels. Its part engineering and part history that make them so “I gotta have it” for me. From its early use of Lucite, to the Tonight, in chatting with one of my bestest pals, I was led to search on them and came across this fantastic website, VintagePens.Com

This site has a lovely collection of pens from all over the world, including a special edition Parker DuoFold I’m now just head-over-heels for.

I bought one of their Parker 51s. **UPDATE** The pen I bought was already sold. Oh well. I’m still looking, but someday I’ll get one.