The Parker Duofold line was updated to the 'New Duofold' with the introduction of the aerometric filling system on fountain pens in 1953 and a matching propelling pencil.
The pencil is in immaculate, unused condition throughout with the original factory finish and clear imprint. It is finished in red with Gold filled trim and colour matched cap stud. The Gold filling being similarly pristine.
The pencil has a rotary action which is operated by twisting the cap to extend and retract the lead. The cap can be removed to expose an eraser which has seen no use. Shaking the pencil reveals that there are spare leads in the barrel but I have refrained from removing the eraser as they become brittle with age and I didn't want to risk it shearing off.
Mechanical pencils have seen an upsurge in popularity recently with new models ranging from a few pounds to over two hundred. The vast majority of these use a simple and cheap to make 'click action' continuous feed mechanism which depends upon plastic 'catches'. The original rotary mechanism, as in this pencil, is much more robust and is only found towards the top of the price spectrum.
At around seventy years old the pencil is clearly of collectable quality but it would also make an attractive and practical every day writer.