Parker Vacumatic was a long running series with many models produced. There are some well known off-catalogue clusters of pens (eg. wide "Jeweler's" cap-band pens) and a litany of progressively esoteric anomalies, many of which do not receive dedicated (collector created) model names, but. some of which... do.
One of the anomalies of greatest collector cachet and recognition is a pen that has come to be called the Overmax-- a name possibly coined by Rob Morrison.
Overmax features:
- Oversize's contour and dimensions. A chunky first generation pen with short blind cap.
- Oversize's (and as seen on Maxima through early 1939) matching striped section and blind cap jewel.
- Late date code for 1940 (always, so far), after the era of the Oversize
- Maxima's wide decorative cap-band.
- Burgundy: the only color seen (so far)
It is not the rarest anomalous Vac. But, it is recognized, it is at root the largest Vacumatmic. And... it is red. The mix of rarity, recognition and visual "oomph" render it one of the most desirable off-catalogue (or on-catalogue) Vacs to be had
We do not know why the pen was made. Later production using residual stock but using the then-current trim? Still, the 1940 pen has striped bottom jewel and striped section, both features gone by mid 1939 even on period-correct Maxima. Presumably, entire pen (cap, jewels, section, blind cap, barrel) were lying about, unimprinted and untrimmed, such that parts of the day were added. Was this a parts blow-out? Special order? Why only red? And so forth...
Here is a glorious Parker Vacumatic Overmax. The cleanest of the 6-7 I've handled, of the 4-5 I've owned, of the couple others I've seen lurking on ebay
But, as we play with Vacumatic anomalies, far fewer are aware of a "reverse" pen, though some might guess at it. A few of us have played with such a beast, and I have posted about it before, though we are overdue for a freshening of the subject.
Instead of Overmax with:
- Oversize's contour and dimensions. A chunky first generation pen with short blind cap.
- Oversize's (and as seen on Maxima through early 1939) matching striped section and blind cap jewel.
- Late date code for 1940 (always, so far), after the era of the Oversize
- Maxima's wide decorative cap-band.
- Burgundy: the only color seen (so far)
- Maxima's contour and dimensions. A streamlined second generation pen with long blind cap.
- Oversize's earlier triple cap-bands
I've seen two such pens so far, both Silver Pearl. I own one. Barrel details are less specific to this as finding a Maxima barrel with Maxima-era date code perhaps is no surprise, or at least less surprising than finding Overmax's Oversize Barrel with later-than-era date code. The reversed Overmax does not appear to be a mirroring the age issue; it seems not to be a very early production of Maxima. It is Maxima era, but with earlier-era trim. Thus, date code is somewhat less key to this item than is finding the anomalously late date code that is part of the Overmax's detail cluster.
I've wrestled with the one I own, wondering if it could have been after-market. But, the cap swaps perfectly with other Maxima parts, the contour is correct, the inside of cap appears normal. The hassle (if even possible) to reshape an Oversize cap to take smaller Maxima clip and to take smaller Maxima barrel threads would be... considerable.
Again, we don't know why this pen was made. Lunchtime fun? Special order? Rare pre-Max-band (pre "Vac"-band) trial for the new generation (noting the barrel with mine seems to be 1939'ish, not 1937 which might be expected for a pre-Maxima trial), niche market piece?
A final issue is what to name a "reverse Overmax".
Per start of this thread, not every anomaly warrants major effort to develop a model/variant dedicated name. But, such effort can be fun.
The Anti-Overmax has a certain charm. Of course, with that, we must be certain never to let the pen touch a regular Overmax. 2 ounces of opposites upon contact would cancel each other, yielding a gamma burst with energy equivalent to 1.2 megatons of TNT. Dangerous.
One could argue that if Overmax has a specific mix of Oversize and Maxima, then if another pen has opposite mix, we can simply rearrange elements of the two names. But, a Vacumatic Maxi-Size sounds suspiciously like a hygiene product. Not good for enhancing the cachet of the model.
I find myself leaning towards Vacumatic RetroMax. A Maxima with retro features. Mellifluous and accurate.
Thoughts?
Oh yeah, almost forgot to post the shots of the the Silver Pearl Retromax:
regards
David