Parker 75 Sterling Silver Flat Top

Regular price

The Parker 75 fountain pen is a remarkable pen. In 1964 it was offered at $25, a staggering price tag for a pen produced for the 'mass market'. On paper it looked doomed, it was nothing like the Parker 51 or Parker Duofold, the most successful Parker pens so far, it was a cartridge/converter filler made from solid Silver, the ballpoint pen was ravaging the fountain pen industry, and the 75 was outrageously expensive. It was a huge success and sold over 10 million units over 30 years!

This pen is an early Sterling silver crosshatch Parker 75 dating from around 1966. It has the original flat tassies rather than the dished design that was introduced in 1970. It is fully serviced and in excellent condition. There is a suggestion of plating thinning at the very top of the clip as shown but generally the plating has held up very well.

The length of the pen, when capped is 13cm. The cap is a push fit which posts securely in position for writing, although many users prefer not to post a metal bodied pen. The posted length is 14cm.

At each end of the pen is a Gold filled 'stack of coins' stud with the early flat top design, this was replaced by a stud without the coin effect in the very late models.

Around the cap band the pen is engraved:

Parker.

Sterling silver.

Made in the U.S.A.

One of the most innovative features of the parker 75 is the adjustable nib, it is also the most underused. The section is moulded in such a way as to have three 'facets' at 120 degrees to each other. Two of the have milled lines to give grip for the index finger and thumb and the third smooth one sits comfortably against the inside of the first finger. A little experimentation shows that, if the pen is to bear correctly on the paper when the section is gripped in this manner then the nib must be able to be rotated. If it didn't then the contoured section would merely be a hindrance. Many manufacturers copied the contoured section but rendered it useless by having a fixed nib. If you are not convinced then try holding the pen in the left hand then transferring it to the right hand.

The nib itself is a very handsome affair in 14Ct. Gold. Parker offered a huge selection of nib types and point widths ranging from 'needle point' to 'double broad' in a range of styles. This particular pen has a 14Ct. Gold 'Normal' Medium nib. It is a superb writer, laying down a smooth, firm, medium line. It is a pleasure to use.

The Parker 75 is a cartridge/converter filler, a most convenient arrangement as it allows for the ease of use of cartridges with the flexibility offered by the use of bottled ink. The pen performs equally well with both filling systems and which one to use is merely a matter of personal choice. I favour using bottled ink, partly because I always have a range of inks to hand but I do enjoy the process of filling the pen and being able to easily flush it between changes in inks. The use of bottled ink is probably a good deal more environmentally sound and is certainly much, much cheaper than using cartridges. This pen is fitted with a modern converter and is supplied with two cartridges so it is ready to write.

The pen is very comfortable in the hand and is a super writer. It is also a very tactile item with an unmistakable top quality 'feel' of solid Silver. The Parker 51 is often referred to as 'the best pen Parker ever made' but I think this is a questionable assertion when it is compared to the fabulous Parker 75.