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HOME PENOGRAPHY PENOGRAPHY GOLDEN ARROW / VACUUM FILLER / VACUMATIC
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 he Great Depression put brakes to the skyrocketing consumer culture of the 1920s and cut sales for all pen makers dramatically. Between 1929 and 1930, Parker's profits were cut in half. Many smaller companies disappeared altogether. By the end of the depression, the field was dominated by four companies, in order of size, Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman, and Eversharp.Despite hard times, the major companies did not halt innovation or cut advertising in the depression years. Those firms that survived the crash stepped up their efforts to sell pens that were new not only in style but in function. The greatest innovator in the 1930's was without doubt Parker, which rose to the leadership of the industry during the decade. Again, advertising and technology led the way, and once again the technological issue was filling systems. Parker always tried to look forward and anticipate the need of changes. In the middle of the 1920's, while still on the roll with the Duofolds, Parker knew that there would come a time when it had to be replaced with something new. For all it's simplicity and utility, the lever filler did not add to the beauty of any pen and on occasion levers could mistakenly be forced open, creating an ink-mess. For that reason, Parker never adopted the lever for their top quality pens, preferring to use a button enclosed by a blind cap at the barrel end to activate the pressure bar. |
Around 1925, a professor Dahlberg at the University of Wisconsin started working on a new filling system for fountain pens. Within two years he was granted a patent. He was however having trouble with the mechanical details and was also running out of money. He decided to offer the patent to Parker, and although the patent was far from marketable Parker were impressed and purchased the patent. arker then spent five years developing and perfecting the mechanism. They also hired a top designer, Joseph Platt from New York. He did design the Parker arrow - one of Parkers trade marks to this day, but he was also a consultant on the design for the complete pen. Parker then approached the company DuPont for supplying the plastic, they doubted that they could supply the celluloid with the striped pattern requested, but they succeeded in the end. Parker then applied for and was granted a design patent for the new plastic. The stripes are sometimes uneven, both horizontalwise and in colouring. Earlier Vacs were made out of solid rod stock. The reflectivity of the pearlescent material had to do with its orientation as the materal cured. Maximum pearlescence would thus be visible only from two sides and minimum 90 degrees off from that. Later Vacs were made from flat stock wrapped around a mandrel, so max pearlescence went all the way around. |
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A model comparison of the first generation lockdown-filler Vacumatics:
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| arker in the end had spent $ 125,000 and five years developing the container and the new filling system. After several years of in-house development and styling Parker in 1932 quietly began test marketing the novelty pen. The pen was radical in several ways. Parker boasted the model to be the first self filler without a sac, which wasn't entirely true. However the filling mechanism was an innovation. By using a diaphragm rather than a sac, the whole barrel could be used as a reservoir. The principle workings was essentially like that of the earlier button fillers (Duofold) as the depression of the plunger pushed on the rubber sac and forced out the air (creating a vacuum) and when the rubber regained it's natural form the ink got sucked into the pen to replace the air. The outward difference was that the previous button was replaced with a fat (approximately 4 mm) plunger that was used to operate the diaphragm. The plunger could be locked in a down position with a twist of the thumb. (And is referred to as the Lock-Down Fill, or Twist-Fill). A short blind cap that sported a tassie ring and a "jewel" was also fitted, the two jewels (top and bottom) followed the pens colour and was also striped in the same manner.
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Golden Arrow July 1932 — November 1932.
Geo S Parker GOLDEN ARROW Made In USA The test marketing strategy had proven successful during the introduction of the Duofold and Parker quietly began distributing 60 hand made Golden Arrows in a store in Chicago. During the month of July 1932 the store had sold nine Wahls, seven Sheaffers, six Parkers, two Swans and one Waterman. Enter the Golden Arrow.
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Special thanks to Luiz Leite, João Pavão Martins and Eric Wilson |
The colours of the first generation top-line Vacumatics:
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The colours of the first generation bottom-line Vacumatics: (1) Laminated Grey Pearl, opaque with Vacuum Filler-imprint only
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A size comparison of the nibs of the first generation lockdown-filler Vacumatics:
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Most Golden arrows have the 1932-1933 Vacuum Filler nib (right), the one to the left is the 1932 extremely rare arrow nib with the arrow soldered on top (approximation). |
The 1932 Golden Arrows: Junior (122 — 132 mm) with two cap rings: Sub Junior (14mm, 112mm long) Demonstrator was not really a part of the line, but was produced in transparent plastic to allow the sellers to demonstrate the new filling system.
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t this point the sizes didn't actually go by the names Junior and Standard of the later Deluxe/Economy lines, these references came later, they have been used for collecting purposes only. Both the Golden Arrow and Vacuum filler exist in many variations, not subsequently found in the Vacumatic line. There are items with a one piece barrel-section assembly, while most are in two pieces. They exist in both red and white gold trim on black pens alike. Sizes also vary. Items have been found only 109 mm long when closed while others are equivalent to the later 112 mm sub Juniors etc. Since the Deluxe/Economy, (or Top line/Bottom line – see below) differency is not applicable, there are in fact bottom-line style pens with top-line style three rings and vice versa. They do come with the lock-down filler, striped sections, striped or black jewels. Some have top rings, rather like the earlier Duofolds, notably the "Stub" pens, while most have the new arrow clip. Very few Golden Arrow pencils have been found, but these are in most respects similar to the later (pre 1935) Vacumatic pencils, with the addition of the Golden Arrow imprint. The Golden Arrow was only produced for five months during 1932 and was only manufactured to test the market. Hence a Golden Arrow is a rare find indeed.Click on the image for a larger view!
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A model comparison of the first generation lockdown-filler Vacumatics:
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 hen the Vacuum Filler was issued, an insert was added to the products catalogue. The Vacuum Fillers also exist with two or three cap bands and with either a clip or a ring top.
The 1932-1933 Vacuum Fillers : Sub Junior the latter was not really a part of the line, but was produced in transparent plastic to allow the sellers to demonstrate the new filling system. There were also experimental colours produced. These items are however to be regarded as prototypes and may exist in one or two items only. The body imprint was: Geo S Parker VACUUM FILLER Made In USA |
The Grey pens had nickel trim, other colours sported gold-filled trim, a feature that was to follow the subsequent Vacumatic through it's lifetime, although some very rare Vacuum Fillers exist with "opposite" trim.
With the Vacuum Filler Parker had developed a Top Line and a Bottom Line, that continued with the new Vacumatics the difference being mainly price and size, and later also design. The nib on the first Top Line pens had the imprint "Vacumatic DeLuxe". These nibs are rather rare today. The subsequent nibs were made in an innovative two-tone design of gold and platinum, the arrow itself being in gold. The engraving on the nib was USA
Geo S Parker VACUMATIC Made In USA |
n June 1933 also the name "Vacuum Filler" was discontinued, the name didn't have the right chutzpah that Parker was looking for, someone suggested that it too much resembled a certain household appliance, and the "Vacumatic" imprint was adopted.Click on the image for a larger view!
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The colours of top-line speedline-filler Vacumatics:
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A size comparison of the nibs of the second generation speedline-filler Vacumatics:
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 he marketing of the Vacumatic proved successful, and by the end of 1933 Parker sales had increased by 32%, as the company launched a major sales campaign. That year, Parker spent almost half of the money that went to advertise pens in the United States. By the next year, Parker had ads in seventeen national magazines, 155 daily newspapers and 226 college newspapers. Throughout the 1930's Parker marketed its premier line of pens not only to businessmen, but also to students, assuming that those who could afford college education's could afford relatively expensive pens.In one of their early ads for the Vacumatic, Parker explained "Why the Sacless Vacumatic Will 'Take You Places' in Learning and Earning." Similarly, they enlisted Ripley's "Believe It or Not" to conduct a "widespread inquiry among students," which, not surprisingly, found an "overwhelming preference for this revolutionary Parker Vacumatic."
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The Bottom Line models were smaller than the Top Line pens and had only two cap bands. The nib on the first models (1933-1934) had the imprint:
PARKER These didn't have the famed Vac arrow, which looks rather odd. Nor was it in two-tone platinum/gold, but in gold only (the latter a feature that was to remain with the bottom line throughout its lifetime). The two jewels (clipscrew and tassie) were made in black only (while the top line followed the pens colour and design).
Demonstrator pens exist. The more common transparent pen is however not marketed Demonstrator. An 1934 advertisment actually depicts the Crystal as "Transparent Black", but in the products catalogue from the same year it is advertised as being part of the line under the model name Crystal. It was not offered as a Sub Junior. "True" Demonstrators have the additional imprint. |
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A model comparison of the third generation plastic speedline filler Vacumatics:
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The colours of the third generation Vacumatics: (1) Laminated Black
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A size comparison of the nibs of the third generation plastic speedline filler Vacumatics:
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Click on the image for a larger view!
 Images © the Parker Archives, courtesy of Dan Zazove, David Nishimura, Martin Smith, Mark Ashton, and Eric Wilson. |
Parker vacumatic Oversize lockdowns: |
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The 1934 Vacumatics: |
 Image courtesy of The Parker Pen Company Archives. |
Kenneth Parker's personal Vacumatic in experimental colours. Ca 1933. |
*Transparent Black. This pen actually had "windows" on the pen running lengthways showing the amount of ink left in the pen [top]. Unique for this year only.
In 1935 the Crystal was discontinued in the Bottom Line and replaced with the same black transparent "windowed" design as previous of the Top Line. A few months later the very same Black Transparent design was discontinued in the Top Line and was replaced by an ordinary Transparent laminated Black. From this point on all Vacumatics have the transparent feature. While the green Emerald Pearl was introduced in the Top Line the Emerald Green Marble was added to to the Bottom Line. |
A new nib was introduced to the bottom line. It now sported the Vacumatic arrow, although still not in two-tone colours, it had the engraving : Parker
Oversize (15mm, 135 m Long) Slender (12 mm Wide, 125 mm Long)
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y 1935, Parker were selling 325,000 units annually, a figure that levelled off through the depression and into the war years. The Vacumatic and the saturation advertising campaign that supported it touched off a craze for vacuum and piston filling pens, as other companies scrambled to develop their models, none of which were as durable as the Vacumatic. Sheaffer whose sales held steady at about $7,000,000 into 1931, entered the market with its Vac-Fill models in 1935 and added a visual feature a year later. Waterman's Ink-vue model was also introduced in 1936, and Eversharp followed in 1937, trying to beat its competitors with Safety Ink Shutoff, which the Federal Trade Commission forced the company to withdraw the next year.  |
Image pending |
PARKER |
The 1936 Vacumatics: Oversize (15mm, 135 mm Long)
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Image courtesy of The Parker Pen Company Archives. |
A collection of all the Parker golden webs: Pencil, Long Slender Junior, Slender Junior and Junior. |
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The nibs were of the standard size only, except G and H that was also made in the slender size. All these nibs are rather rare.
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The same year, Sheaffer set another new trend with the introduction of its Crest model, which featured gold-filled and white metal caps. A year later all these new pens were of course scooped by the introduction of what would come to be the most popular pen in history, the Parker "51". |
uring the mid thirties a range of special nibs for the Vacumatics were produced, the so called Special Purpose Point. This nib had two identifying stars (very much alike those on the famous "star clips") these nibs came in eight different styles, all denoted by a letter:
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Senior Maxima (16mm, 139 mm Long)  he reorganisation of the Bottom Line took place in 1938. All marble colours were discontinued and replaced by a new design referred to as the Shadow Wave, it was a pattern of wavy, broken, longitudinal lines set on a black (transparent) background. The Black Reticular and the Golden Web were discontinued although the feature with black blind caps survived into the Shadow Wave line. The Bottom Line was still not streamlined. |
Also in 1938 a new model, the Junior Debutante was offered. It was approximately 118 mm long and 12 mm wide. The clip was still like the normal "archers arrow" introduced in 1932 but had the additional engraving "Parker" inside an elongated "V" running down almost to the tip of the arrow, this was in fact the clip later adopted to the Vacumatic filled Parker 51's. The Junior Debutante had a short clip (app 25 mm) as opposed to the "normal" clip (app 34 mm). It also had an engraved cap band (app 3.5 mm) with a pattern of repeating chevrons and diamonds, this pattern was later added on some of the gold filled and sterling silver caps of the Parker 51. Senior Maxima (16mm, 139mm Long)  n 1939 the Bottom Line was restyled in the manner of the Top Line in 1937. The pens became more streamlined and adopted the new Speedline filling system . The new "Parker" Arrow clip was fitted to all Vacumatics, including the Top Line. The Junior Debutante was renamed Sub-Deb and the engraved cap band was narrowed to approximately two mm with no engravings. |
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The 1939 Vacumatics: Senior Maxima (16 mm Wide, 139 mm Long) |
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Imperial Coronet |
The 1940 Vacumatics: Senior Maxima (16 mm Wide, 139 mm Long) |
In 1941 a new colour, the Transparent Azure Blue, was introduced in both lines and the Burgundy Pearl was discontinued. Also the Senior Maxima was renamed Maxima in fact Mark II, to distinguish it from the slender, late 1930's model. The Imperial Signet, the Imperial Debutante Signet, the Imperial Ensign and the Imperial Princess were all discontinued. In 1942 came the last of the Vacumatic filling systems, in all respects like the aluminium Speedline fillers, but since the metal was now needed for war purposes the 1942 plungers were made out of plastic. At the same time the blind caps were redesigned became rounded and lost their tassie rings and jewels. Some pens exist, made in the transition, with aluminium plungers inside rounded blind caps. The cap band of the Maxima was narrowed to the same width as that of the Major (app 4 mm). Before 1942 the Slender Maxima and the Major was virtually of the same size, the difference being the wide cap band, and most important, the nib size on the Slender Maxima. The feed usually has the "W" for wide feed imprint. In 1942 the bottom jewel disappeared and the plastic plunger was added, also the wide cap band on the Maxima was narrowed to approximately 4 mm. The Slender Maxima was discontinued.
(Special thanks to Dan Zazove, Mike Weiss, Lynn Sorgatz, Frederic L. Propas, David Isaacson and Michael Fultz)
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