, from the 1927-29 catalogues.
[Posted on L&P on Nov 3, 4, 2007, and revised in 2015.]
Here are the Parker Duofold catalogue numbers that I mentioned before, the ones that Derek Lepper posted on L&P in 2007. These turned out to be merely the color designations in the 1927-
to-1929 catalogues. When I re-arranged the list by placing it in numerical order, in groups of four lines, certain patterns emerged. The ones place stands for the size of the pen or pencil, and the higher the digit, the bigger the pen or pencil, and it also stands for the clip-or-ring-top appointments. But the tens and hundreds places seem to stand for the color groups. The first four numbers stand for the red-with-black-tips color scheme, and the rest of the quatrains, in their growing tens and hundreds places, seem to correspond to the chronological or sequential appearance of the various models of pens and pencils in their various colors, first the red, then the black, and then the colorful celluloids. There may be some exceptions to the correct order, but it seems okay. Also, two numbers were left out, 131 and 631, so I re-inserted them.
I had seen similar lists of numbers for Duofolds, Black and Golds, Pastels, Moires, Challengers, and Vacumatics, but Derek’s list added the True Blue and some depression pen numbers as well, which I have left out. I didn’t know what to make of these numbers at first because many of them repeated, or duplicated the numbers in both model and parts number lists. It was probably just a color numbering scheme used in the catalogues sent out to the dealers. This catalogue numbering scheme constitutes yet another numbering scheme that is not compatible with the other two, which at first seemed to be continuous and compatible with one another. Where the early model numbers left off, the later repair parts numbers seemed to pick up and carry on, but they were inevitably irreconcilable. The problem with this Grand Unification Theory is this crossover period of the Duofolds and the Vacs and the depression pens, which had their own, separate numbering schemes. Here are just the Duofold numbers.
Duofold Numbers
1 Duofold Black-Tipped Lacquer Red, Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, clip
2 Duofold Black-Tipped Lacquer Red, Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands with ring-top
3 Duofold Black-Tipped Lacquer Red, Jr., flat-top pen, 2 cap bands
5 Duofold Black-Tipped Lacquer Red, Jr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
7 Duofold Black-Tipped Lacquer Red, Sr., flat top pen, 2 cap bands
9 Duofold Black-Tipped Lacquer Red, Sr., flat top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
11 Duofold Flashing Black and Gold, Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, clip
12 Duofold Flashing Black and Gold, Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, ring-top
13 Duofold Flashing Black and Gold, Jr., flat-top pen, 2 cap bands
15 Duofold Flashing Black and Gold, Jr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
17 Duofold Flashing Black and Gold, Sr., flat-top pen, 2 cap bands
19 Duofold Flashing Black and Gold, Sr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
37 Flashing Black and Gold over-sized pen, lined, #7X nib
71 Duofold Black-Tipped Lacquer Red, Lady, pencil, clip
72 Duofold Black-Tipped Lacquer Red, Lady, pencil, ring-top
73 Duofold Black-Tipped Lacquer Red, Jr., pencil
77 Duofold Black-Tipped Lacquer Red, Big Bro., pencil
81 Duofold Flashing Black and Gold, Lady, pencil, clip
82 Duofold Flashing Black and Gold, Lady, pencil, ring-top
83 Duofold Flashing Black and Gold, Jr., pencil
87 Duofold Flashing Black and Gold, Big Bro., pencil
101 Duofold Black-Tipped Green Jade, Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, clip
102 Duofold Black-Tipped Green Jade, Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, ring-top
103 Duofold Black-Tipped Green Jade, Jr., flat-top pen, 2 cap bands
105 Duofold Black-Tipped Green Jade, Jr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
107 Duofold Black-Tipped Green Jade, Sr., flat-top pen, 2 cap bands
109 Duofold Black-Tipped Green Jade, Sr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
111 Duofold Black-Tipped Lapis Lazuli, Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, clip
112 Duofold Black-Tipped Lapis Lazuli, Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, ring-top
113 Duofold Black-Tipped Lapis Lazuli, Jr., flat-top pen, 2 cap bands
115 Duofold Black-Tipped Lapis Lazuli, Jr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
117 Duofold Black-Tipped Lapis Lazuli, Sr., flat-top pen, 2 cap bands
119 Duofold Black-Tipped Lapis Lazuli, Sr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
121 Duofold Black-Tipped Mandarin Yellow, Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, clip
122 Duofold Black-Tipped Mandarin Yellow, Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, ring-top
123 Duofold Black-Tipped Mandarin Yellow, Jr., flat-top pen, 2 cap bands
125 Duofold Black-Tipped Mandarin Yellow, Jr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
127 Duofold Black-Tipped Mandarin Yellow, Sr., flat-top pen, 2 cap bands
129 Duofold Black-Tipped Mandarin Yellow, Sr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
131 Duofold Moderne Pearl & Ebony Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, clip
132 Duofold Moderne Pearl & Ebony Lady, flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands, ring-top
133 Duofold Moderne Pearl & Ebony Jr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
137 Duofold Moderne Pearl & Ebony Sr., flat-top pen, De Luxe, 3 cap bands
171 Duofold Black-Tipped Green Jade, Lady, pencil, clip
172 Duofold Black-Tipped Green Jade, Lady, pencil, ring-top
173 Duofold Black-Tipped Green Jade, Jr., pencil
177 Duofold Black-Tipped Green Jade, Big Bro., pencil
181 Duofold Black-Tipped Lapis Lazuli, Lady, pencil, clip
182 Duofold Black-Tipped Lapis Lazuli, Lady, pencil, ring-top
183 Duofold Black-Tipped Lapis Lazuli, Jr., pencil
187 Duofold Black-Tipped Lapis Lazuli, Big Bro. pencil
191 Duofold Black-Tipped Mandarin Yellow, Lady, pencil, clip
192 Duofold Black-Tipped Mandarin Yellow, Lady, pencil, ring-top
193 Duofold Black-Tipped Mandarin Yellow, Jr., pencil
197 Duofold Black-Tipped Mandarin Yellow, Big Bro., pencil
631 Duofold Moderne Pearl & Ebony, Lady, pencil, clip
632 Duofold Moderne Pearl & Ebony, Lady, pencil with ring-top
633 Duofold Moderne Pearl & Ebony, Jr., pencil
637 Duofold Moderne Pearl & Ebony, Big Bro., pencil
And later, in the early ’30s, there would also be
the Moderne Green & Pearls,
the Burgundy & Blacks,
the Sea Green Pearls,
and the Vest Pocket pens and pencils.
George Kovalenko.
.
Addendum, posted on FPN Jan 10, 2005, on L&P Aug 3, 2005, and added on Jan 16, 2016.
Parker Duofold Nib Codes
Parker had an arcane system of letter codes on their Duofold nibs in the 20s and early 30s, but no one seems to have cracked that code, yet, not even Michael Fultz, and Daniel Zazove, and all the other Parker experts.
At the height of the Duofold’s popularity, Parker probably couldn’t keep up with the demand for parts produced by their factory, so they had to out-source their nib production. This is just a theory, but Parker must have had to have had a way to distinguish between Duofold nibs made by Parker in Janesville and those made in their foreign factories, and by secondary suppliers. Here’s my list of guesses about this broken English.
P = stands for Parker-made nibsAlternatively, the nib letters may refer to different types of nib tipping alloys on the different batches of Duofold nibs. John Mottishaw in his online article “Where’s The Iridium?” mentions at least 4 or 5 different nib tipping alloys tried out by Parker.
P-C = Parker Canada (or Pfanstiehl Chemical ?)
C = Canada, the factory in Toronto
N = the factory in Newhaven, England
D = the nibs made in Denmark
B = a nibmaker such as Barrett, or Beyer & Hayes (?)
Z = maybe a supplier located in Zanesville, Ohio, in the industrial triangle (?)
Y = and this one stumps me, maybe a company with a name like Yale, or a factory or supplier in New York, since “N” was already taken (?)
This is all conjecture, you understand. Maybe it’s only coincidence. I’m just setting the cat amongst the pidgins.
