The Parker 51 fountain pen is a design classic and much beloved amongst fountain pen collectors.

It has even been given a spot in the museum of modern art’s design collection.
It was first produced in 1941 and was an instant success. It started with a multi-stroke pump filling mechanism which was changed in 1948/49 to an Aerometric filler which was a squeeze bulb filling mechanism.

Even though the Aerometric filler was smaller it was more reliable and robust than it’s predecessor. The Parker 51 series spawned many children including the Dime, the 51 Special, the Signet, the Flighter, the Presidential and so on. Development of the Parker 51 was completed in the 51st year of the companies history and hence the name.

The Parker 51 stayed in production until the 1970s and it featured a tubular, hooded nib and a multi finned ink collector. In 2002 Parker introduced a lookalike which they called the 51 Special Edition.

How To Date A Parker 51 Fountain Pen

1941 models have imitation jewels on the pen cap and barrel end. The vast majority of 1941 models had an engraving around the end of the cap barrel. If this is not present and there are 2 jewels as indicated already then it can be dated between 1942 and 1946.

1950s Parker 51 fountain pen s can be identified by the different pens in the series such as those indicated above, namely the Flighter, Presidential, Signet etc.

1960s Parker 51s have brightly colored plastic barrels and caps and Parker 51s utilizing ink cartridges can be dated to the 1970s.

Aerometric filling system

The Aerometric filling system was a sac protected within a chrome plated protector. To fill you simply pressed 4-6 times on the sac and it drew in the ink.

Parker 51 Special Edition

The Parker 51 Special Edition was introduced in 2002 and was a limited edition pen available in blue or black barrels. The cap is a 2 tone “vermeil” gold plated on white metal on the black pen and the blue special edition sported an all white metal cap.

The nib is an 18 karat gold hooded nib and the pocket clips and trim are 23 karat gold plated. You can use either cartridges or ink converter and this pen is a real collectors item being a reproduction of the legendary Parker 51 which had ceased production in the 1970s. It comes in a beautiful presentation box with a polishing cloth, cartridge converter and an information booklet about the history of the Parker 51.

The filling mechanism is reflective of the advances in technology when it comes to fountain pens and is a twist action refillable mechanism which is a twin channelled ink feed to the 18 karat gold nib.

This Special Edition Parker 51 also boasts the Parker arrow clip with blue diamond insignia which indicates Parker’s lifetime guarantee.

The Parker 51 fountain pen would be a wonderful addition to the collection of any pen lover and a pen collection without at least one Parker 51 would be like a wedding without one of the bridesmaids.