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Hey David,
I was looking at a vac that came in today and noticed there were 8 feathers on the nib. This is on a long Major made in 42. Most of my Majors have the standard 7 feathers. The Maxima has 9. I found a 30's Standard and a Jr that only have 6. Is there any significance to the number of feathers on a nib?
Thanks
A good Parker Vacumatic question whose answer I have not completely fleshed out, though I have enough pens lying about that I should be able to take a stab at it. Nibs for Parker Vacumatic mostly feature an arrow symbol, with feathers extending from either side of the arrow shaft. Certainly, in general, nibs meant for certain models/sizes feature typical feather counts appropriate to pens of those sizes and price points (is that circular reasoning?).
Generally, Vac Major nibs feature seven feathers on each side of the arrow shaft, while Senior/Slender Maxima pens have nine feathers. Ten-feather "arrow" nibs are found as well, generally considered to indicate replacement nibs for earlier Parker Duofold pens, though few seem to object to finding them in Vacumatic Maxima, which they well fit.
I have but vague recollection of seeing eight-feather arrows on some Vacumatic Major two tone nibs from perhaps 1939-42. While my initial hypothesis is that such nibs represent variant Major nibs and nothing more, I will have to keep open mind on this subject. Input is invited.
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Seems to be one of the subjects we all are wondering about but noone has many answers to the question.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteSeems to be one of the subjects we all are wondering about but noone has many answers to the question.
Yep.
Vacumatic collecting, as with the collecting of perhaps all vintage pens, is laden with observations for which formal manufacturer literature is lacking. Keeps things interesting :)
Many of our ideas about old pens come from extensive observation. In this case, a bit more... observation... is required.