Parker 51 - the world’s best pen

The Parker 51 pen is the world’s best pen not only because of the number of pens sold but because of its value as a collectible. It finds a place in the Museum of Modern Art’s design collection. The development of the model 51 started in the year 1939 and the pen was introduced in the market two years later. Since its development and introduction, the Parker pen has undergone various changes however, its originality and shape never seems to be outdated. More than 20 million pens have been sold till date.

That pen got its unique name because its developer, Parker wanted a name that would be easy to remember in whatever country the pen was marketed. In addition, he also seemed to have been inspired by the construction of the Route 51, which was built through Janesville after which he named the pen Parker 51. Another theory has it that the pen was developed in the year 1939, which was the 51st anniversary of the company, the Parker Pens.

Parker 51 - the most imitated pen

Being famous also has its drawbacks. Parker 51 was probably the most imitated pen. However no pen manufacturer could come as near as the Parker pen and soon fazed out because they could not compete with the unbeatable technology of the pen, which never stopped working, leaked or broke. The unique design of the Parker pens which have the nib under the hood makes it the best ever design of any pen. The design of the pen was inspired from the thought that the nib being under the hood would not let the ink dry before reaching the paper, which actually was a problem with other pens. The hooded nib therefore avoided the pens from drying up if they were left uncapped or unused for a while.

The fountain pen number 51 was developed in 4 basic styles. The first of these styles was the Vacumatic filler pen referred as the MK I, the Aerometric pen which had the end rounded referred to as MK II, the Aerometric pen that had a squarish end and a plastic jeweled “61” style cap referred to as the MK III and the Aerometric pen with the metal jeweled “61” style cap referred to as the MK IV. However there are other styles of these pens which include MK I-B, which has the vacumatic filler with non-blue diamond cap and a long clip, the MK II-A with a long clip, the MK II-B that had a shorter clip and MK II-C that had a clip which was even shorter and a “halo” logo on its cap.

The popularity of the Pen 51 is secondary to none and at the time it was introduced and marketed in the United States, other pen companies had to give up their designs for the hooded nib design of the famous fountain pen. Not only was the Parker 51 the most popular, but the cap as well got an equal status in terms of popularity. The number 51 fountain pen cap was considered a status symbol and customers hung the caps on their front pockets to show that they were owners of the popular and expensive Parker fountain pens. The Parker fifty one fountain pen is termed a classic and the beauty of design and color remains unfazed even today.

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