19 replies to this topic

[BrianMcQueen]

A few days ago, a man in North Carolina posted a topic on the Fountain Pen Network about an old piece of Parker advertising he picked up in the 70s. It was a Vacumatic #949 store display. He asked about the value of such a thing (his wife wanted him to toss it in the trash!) and nobody seemed to have a clear answer. Shortly after that, the item popped up on eBay. I expected this thing to fly way out of my price range, but surprisingly it was within what I was prepared to pay for it.

You can find this display advertised to dealers in the March 1936 Parkergrams. Also, an article about this type of display can be found in the Spring 2007 Pennant. This particular one is well more intact than the one in the Pennant article.
Apparently, the finger is attached to a motor, and moves up and down to simulate the pressing of the filler mechanism. As the finger presses the plunger, lights will light up behind the pen, simulating the pen being filled with Quink.

The auction closed at $177.50 and I am pretty excited for this thing to show up at my doorstep. No matter what the actual value of this piece is, I'm pleased with the price I paid for it. Did I get a bargain, or did I overpay?

Auction Link

Edited by RobertNFrappuls, 11 December 2011 - 06:23 PM.

[david i]

A few days ago, a man in North Carolina posted a topic on the Fountain Pen Network about an old piece of Parker advertising he picked up in the 70s. It was a Vacumatic #949 store display. He asked about the value of such a thing (his wife wanted him to toss it in the trash!) and nobody seemed to have a clear answer. Shortly after that, the item popped up on eBay. I expected this thing to fly way out of my price range, but surprisingly it was within what I was prepared to pay for it.

You can find this display advertised to dealers in the March 1936 Parkergrams. Also, an article about this type of display can be found in the Spring 2007 Pennant. This particular one is well more intact than the one in the Pennant article.
Apparently, the finger is attached to a motor, and moves up and down to simulate the pressing of the filler mechanism. As the finger presses the plunger, lights will light up behind the pen, simulating the pen being filled with Quink.

The auction closed at $177.50 and I am pretty excited for this thing to show up at my doorstep. No matter what the actual value of this piece is, I'm pleased with the price I paid for it. Did I get a bargain, or did I overpay?

Auction Link

Hi,

Valuing pretty pen ephemera and point of sale material can be tricky. This one has attractive graphic. I noticed the sale but did not make play. I do think something is missing on this one, that it was part of a display with big tray on bottom. I could be wrong. There might be image of it or of something similar in a Parkergrams.

I think you did not get hurt by any means. It's big and colorful. I suspect you could resell it without harm

-d

[BrianMcQueen]

I do think something is missing on this one, that it was part of a display with big tray on bottom. I could be wrong. There might be image of it or of something similar in a Parkergrams.

There is a picture of it in the 1936 March Parkergrams. I believe this is a complete display. And I won't be reselling it. The rubber belt will get a little fix, and I'll use it as a backdrop for my Vacumatics...

Edited to correct my horrendous grammar.

Edited by RobertNFrappuls, 11 December 2011 - 07:23 PM.

[david i]

There is a picture of it in the 1936 March Parkergrams. It believe this is a complete display. And I won't be reselling it. The rubber belt will get a little fix, and I'll use it as a backdrop for my Vacumatics...

Then you should be in a quite solid position on it


d

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Nice find indeed

I am intrigued by the red rectangle, to the right [as you look at the item] of the Quink bottle that says 'Write two ways'?
What is that about please?

[BrianMcQueen]

Nice find indeed

I am intrigued by the red rectangle, to the right [as you look at the item] of the Quink bottle that says 'Write two ways'?
What is that about please?

It's advertising that if you write holding the pen in a normal manner, you can write with a fine, medium, or broad point (depending on what your pen is) but if you rotate the barrel 180 degrees in your hand so that the nib is upside down, the pen will write an extra fine line.

[JonSzanto]

You just have to love the concept of disposable income!

[FmrLEO_GJ]

You just have to love the concept of disposable income!

It is a dream / plan of mine - disposable income.
That is why I am at Uni to move into that area of spare funds.

[FmrLEO_GJ]

It's advertising that if you write holding the pen in a normal manner, you can write with a fine, medium, or broad point (depending on what your pen is) but if you rotate the barrel 180 degrees in your hand so that the nib is upside down, the pen will write an extra fine line.

OK

Am I missing something here, or can this be done with any fountain pen, or just the Vac's?

[JonSzanto]

OK

Am I missing something here, or can this be done with any fountain pen, or just the Vac's?

There are a lot more seasoned and smart people around here than I, but it is somewhere between your two choices. I originally thought it was a trait most commonly attributed to Sheaffer nibs, but there seem to be many nibs that have tipping material on both the bottom and top of the nib. No, not all pens exhibit this ability, but certainly a good number do.

Since we're calling out the cognoscenti, I'd be curious as to anyone's thoughts on the origin of the 'reversible' nib.

ETA: Aha... A quick search leads to Mr. Binder's site, bringing up the duo-point concept of a reversible nib, with Waterman having a patent in 1915 for a Duo-tip. More into in his reference pages, but interesting to see how far back this has gone...

Edited by JonSzanto, 11 December 2011 - 11:12 PM.

[BrianMcQueen]

You just have to love the concept of disposable income!

Well... I am young, single, and I don't have enough self control to save my money eBay needs to stop having bargains...

Edited by RobertNFrappuls, 12 December 2011 - 10:43 PM.

[John Danza]

Well... I am young, single, and I don't have enough self control to save my money eBay needs to stop having bargains...

Hey Robert, do what you want with your money. After all, it is yours. You should have a good time with it. You only go around once. When I was in my late teens/early twenties, I would change out the car I was driving every six months. Now's the time for you to build out the expensive part of your collection. You can always add lower cost stuff later, when you've got a wife and kids.

Don't worry, be happy!!

[BrianMcQueen]

I received the display today, replaced the rubber belts which had dry rotted away, and shot this video for you real quick. You might notice the words on the Quink bottle lighting up as the pen fills, as well, though it's hard to see in the lighting I used for the video.

Edit: Video has been moved to Youtube. Check out the link a couple more posts down.

Edited by RobertNFrappuls, 15 December 2011 - 05:38 PM.

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Love it!

Well repaired, and the video is great.
Appreciate you sharing it.
That display is 'too cool for school'

[John Danza]

That's really cool Robert. I love the mechanics and the graphics. You made a great buy.

[david i]

Hi,

That really is spectacular.

Do make sure the electrical connections are not frayed. I always worry about 75 year old wiring.

You'd asked about value. One can well imagine the limitations to judging market value for a rarely traded point-of-sale item, but I'd venture guess at $500+ retail.

Also note that the boardware seems unable to handle the flicker vid directly, but if you were to load this to youtube, we then could use the media icon to load your video in-line without requiring a link.

regards

david

[BrianMcQueen]

Thanks for the compliments, everyone! I really love it. David, I have checked the wiring. The guy who sold it had replaced the old cloth cord in the 70s, and this new cord looks pretty good. The only thing I need to do now is oil up the motor a little bit. There's a tag on the back of the display that says to oil it weekly. Here's a Youtube version of the video. I'll post some better pictures eventually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckERBITe-qk&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

Edited by RobertNFrappuls, 15 December 2011 - 05:40 PM.

[BrianMcQueen]

Here are some images. First, the detail Garth was asking about:



Secondly, another piece of information that helps us date the piece. Note the nib is inscribed "USA Parker" not "Parker USA"

[matt]

Here's an earlier version that just sold on ebay.  I didn't realize that between the Vacuum Filler and the Vacumatic, Parker advertized the Vacumatic Filler. Note the 1933 copyright date and the same wording in the Ripley ad.

 

 

 

 

[FarmBoy]

Some observations from printed ads:

As late as 9/2/1933 Parker referred to the pens as the Vacuum Filler.

As early as 9/30/1933 the name was changed to Vacumatic Filler.

By 1/20/1934 the name was simply Vacumatic.

For a brief period around August of 1937 the pen was referred to as the Speedline Vacumatic only to revert to the simple Vacumatic.  In all the ads showing the name as Speedline Vacumatic, the "Vacumatic" cap band is clearly seen.