This pen is now reserved for J.O.
The Parker Duofold AF, for Aluminium Filler, was introduced, in England, in 1948. This is one of a pair of recently acquired new old stock pens, one in Burgundy and this pen in Black.
The pen is in mint condition throughout and needed no restoration, although it was thoroughly checked and a new ink sac fitted as the old one had hardened with age. The 'M/O' sticker, referring to the medium oblique nib, was intended for the use of the retailer and would have been removed at the point of sale. As the nibs are not marked with the width and style the sticker was needed to ensure that the retailer knew which nib was fitted to the pen, it remained intact as the pen was unsold.
The AF Duofolds almost always have a silver coloured filler button but this pen, and the black one, both have the uncommon yellow aluminium buttons, not really surprising as both pens came from the same shop and would have been from the same batch.
The nib is stamped: Parker Duofold 14K Pen N It is interesting that Parker, England, chose the American style 'K' for the gold content rather than the British 'Ct.., perhaps they had to use the American stamping equipment for the nibs. The 'N' stands for the Parker pen factory at Newhaven, England.
I did ink the pen, once, for testing as sometimes even new old stock pens don't write well at first. No such issues here, it is smooth and consistent, the left oblique profile giving a pleasing line width variation with no effort. As a left hander, I usually have to think about writing, if it's going to be slightly better than awful, but this is one of the few pens that do all the work, it 'naturally' writes well.
As with most new old stock pens this one came to me unboxed, the pens are normally boxed at the point of sale. I have provided a high quality new box for the pen, it will serve well for transportation, protection, and display.
At 15.5 cm. with the cap posted, the Duofold AF is a large, attractive, and prestigious pen with an unusual nib style, it would make an excellent every day vintage writer, although a new old stock pen is also highly collectable.