The Parker Duofold Demi, along with the Duofold Standard, was the first aerometric Duofold to be produced. It was made at the Parker Newhaven factory, making its debut in 1953, with production ceasing in 1958.
The Demi is a little shorter than the Standard Duofold, giving the impression, to be polite, of a very chunky pen, I'd call it fat! The Duofold line was made in four solid colours: black, green, blue, and red. The later 'red' duofolds were darker, almost burgundy but this early pen is, unmistakenly, red. It has a wide, decorated, Gold filled cap band and clip. The cap jewel on this pen is black, possibly as a reminder of the ink colour in use. The cap is a smooth and secure screw fittightning with one and a quarter turns.
The pen is 13 cm. in length when capped, and 14.5 cm. when posted with a cap diameter of 1.4cm., normal size in length but oversize in girth. It is a very comfortable pen in use, with a solid, high quality feel.
The pen has been fully serviced and tested and is in excellent condition throughout. It has a first class surface with a good shine and a legible imprint. The Gold filling to the cap band and clip is very bright.
The 14 Ct. Gold nib is straight and secure. It is clearly stamped :
Parker Duofold. 14K. Pen. N.
The 'N' signifies that the nib was made in Newhaven, it is probably an early date as later Duofolds did not show the 'N' but used a number to denote the nib size.
The Aerometric filling system is efficient and easy to use, taking up a good volume of ink. The pen writes with a very smooth, medium line, it isn't flexible but has the pleasant 'soft' feel that Parker managed to achieve in most of their Gold nibs.
The Parker Duofold Demi is not a common Duofold, by any means. It's raison d'etre is something of a mystery, to me anyway, as I have never worked out exactly who it was aimed at in marketing terms. It wouldn't have been a 'ladies pen', it is huge in comparison to the Parker Lady which was released just as production of the Demi ended. I can only think that it is something to do with the depth of jacket pockets, the military in particular seemed to be adamant that a shirt or jacket pocket flap should be fastened, perhaps a standard Duofold wouldn't allow this.
Whatever the reason, judging by the relatively few Demis around, it didn't work out well and the Duofold Demi is becoming very collectable.