14 replies to this topic

[sloegin]

I didn't win this BIN. I'm kicking myself even more now upon review of the pictures because I didn't even notice the cap band, stupid me.
Ebay auction

Edited by sloegin, 29 January 2012 - 05:29 PM.

[david i]

I didn't win this BIN. I'm kicking myself even more now upon review of the pictures because I didn't even notice the cap band, stupid me.

Nice "Vac-Band" Major. Would not surprise me if you never had chance, that the pen sold via a backchannel BIN offer from what might initailly have been an open auction.

If the cap is clean with good threads, it is an $800+ part.

The replacement nib is... no issue

regards

david

[sloegin]

I hesitated, oh well.

The Christian Olsen part of the imprint isn't interesting?

[david i]

I hesitated, oh well.

The Christian Olsen part of the imprint isn't interesting?

Hi,

I might be missing something

I don't see the Olsen/Anchor imprint on the barrel. The date code of 27 does argues strongly the barrel is original to that cap (a good thing), and-- yeah-- I've never seen the cocktail of a Olsen imprint on the barrel of a Vac-Band pen, of course Vac-Band pens being very uncommon and the Danish import imprint being relatively uncommon, at least in the USA, making such a cocktail rare-squared. There would seem to be no way to say if any of the Vac-Band caps made it to export to Denmark (i've never seen even a Canadian Vac-Band pen, though that's tale for another day). While it would be tough to prove that any barrel started with identical model cap or represents swap, for me, finding a proper date code Danish-marked barrel with Vac-Band cap indeed would be quite convincing. On other hand, I need to review whether the Danish export pens ever had any date codes. Also tale for another day. And, this pen does not seem to have a Danish export barrel.

But, I don't see the Danish markings on the barrel. It looks just like typical USA imprint. Please correct me if wrong.

If the imprint relates just to the nib, then we are a bit stuck. Nibs are fungible. Finding a CO nib in a pen that does not have typical Dainish export markings leaves things wide open.

So, too, you saw the pen when it had not closed yet? That is painful

However, I still wonder if you happened to peek in on a window of a backchannel affair. Fellow made offer. BIN was established, you spotted before the quick close. I cannot say. But, to see a Red Major (with gold nib) never mind Vac-Band show up with a primary BIN of $29 would be... remarkable. But, that's part of the fun

regards

David

[sloegin]

I added a note in the gallery of what appears to me as the CO mark below the 'VA' of the typical vac imprint.

Painful, but nothing to be done about it. It wasn't a backchannel fete. I was frantically googling the idea of a Penol vac when someone else spotted it.

[vintage penman]

Yup. There's an Olsen mark under the VA.

[david i]

Well Gents (assuming all the users in this thread are of the male persuasion)...

I sit cheerfully corrected. Who says there isn't learning to be had on the internet

That sure is the Olsen symbol (smaller than usual vs what I recall seeing) hiding under the Vacumatic imprint on the barrel.

Absent absolutes, here is how I see the pen...

This is the first Vac-Band pen I've seen accompanied by a barrel marked for Danish export. Recognizing again that caps and barrels can be mixed about quite easily with Parker pens, and recognizing that the barrel imprint differs from what I recall having usually seen for Parker Vacs destined for Danish export, the odds of someone after-the-fact coming up with a barrel that has what I consider the most correct date-code for Vac-Band pens (the earliest date code for Major) that also happens to be marked for Danish-export are... small. This would seem to be a proper item.

Suspect there is little to no added dollar value to the pen. The "oomph" of the Vac-Band dwarfs the bonus of the somewhat esoteric finding of Danish markings on the barrel, though as one who cherishes Vacsoterica, the finding of this early date code barrel with Danish markings linked to a Vac-band cap is... charming.

The nib alone would have meant little by itself and still might mean little, though it is consistent with a Danish pen. The barrel finding dominates this picture. I have seen arrow nibs on the Danish export pens, though finding a penol nib done presumably on arrival at the time or as later replacement nib (a likely thing if the pen resided in Denmark) does not shock.

What would be perfect proof that Vac Bands at time of production were aimed at the Danish market? I suppose had the C.O. markings been put on caps all along rather than barrels, there could be no debate if a C.O. Vac-band cap turned up.

Keep in mind, there is no reason to have assumed Vac-Band pens did not go to Denmark. Pens before and after did. It's just that Vac-Band pens are scarce and saw a fairly brief run, so finding an example today among the survivors was unlikely.

This pen seems to change that

It is a bit odd to see the anchor under a routine USA imprint. I'd like to see more of that sort if any of you have images to share. Most I've seen, iirc, have a modified imprint, usually just "PARKER VACUMATIC" with the anchor. No "Geo S. Parker", no "made in USA"

To play with the terms, I'd not consider this to be a Penol Vacumatic. It is a USA made Parker Vacumatic that was imported by Olsen, at least in my view.

Thanks for sharing.

regards

David

[penmanila]

I just got this BIN on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1423.l2649

It's described as being 13.5 cm in length, which (give or take an mm) should make it a Senior Max, yes? The curiosity is what's described as the "unoriginal" Penol nib (which happens to be nice and stubbish, sitting on a W feed). This pen is coming to me from Denmark, so would there be any chance of the nib being original after all? Did Olsen ever use Penol nibs on its Vacs? I don't have the pen yet, so it would be even more interesting to see if it has the CO marking on the barrel as well.

[penmanila]

i couldn't see this well enough on my iPhone (which i used to buy the pen) but it's clear on my computer--the olsen logo on the barrel, but not the other US marks:

 

 

would this make a stronger argument for the originality of the penol nib on the pen?

 

jose

 

PS / some very interesting penol pics here, by the way:

 

http://penol.weebly....arker-pens.html

 

I just got this BIN on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1423.l2649

It's described as being 13.5 cm in length, which (give or take an mm) should make it a Senior Max, yes? The curiosity is what's described as the "unoriginal" Penol nib (which happens to be nice and stubbish, sitting on a W feed). This pen is coming to me from Denmark, so would there be any chance of the nib being original after all? Did Olsen ever use Penol nibs on its Vacs? I don't have the pen yet, so it would be even more interesting to see if it has the CO marking on the barrel as well.

Edited by penmanila, 26 December 2013 - 09:38 AM.

[John Danza]

It is a bit odd to see the anchor under a routine USA imprint. I'd like to see more of that sort if any of you have images to share. Most I've seen, iirc, have a modified imprint, usually just "PARKER VACUMATIC" with the anchor. No "Geo S. Parker", no "made in USA"
 

 

While note a Vacumatic, I thought I would add this pen to this thread. I've owned this pen at least 10 years but never really noticed the Christian Olsen imprint on the barrel until photographing it for the $3.50 thread we have going. The imprint is very worn to the point it can't be photographed, at least not by me, but it's readable under a glass.

 

Anyway, the orange Duofold Special in the photo below has a standard USA three line imprint. The imprint runs "DUOFOLD SPECIAL" on top, "GEO. S. PARKER - PEN - MADE IN U.S.A." in the middle and "PATENTED" on the third line. Then below the third line, there's a "C O" in a circle with an anchor, the typical Christian Olsen imprint.

 

Something strange that I've just now noticed is something else imprinted about a quarter of the way around the barrel from the imprint just mentioned. I've just seen an imprint of "C . O ." It's not centered under the other imprint but is instead is farther up, roughly lined up with the GEO of the first imprint. It's larger too, so it looks like it might have been the initials of the owner. However, these look stamped and not engraved, especially the dots, which seem a space away from the letters preceding them. Sorry their too light to photograph as well.

 

I hope this helps the conversation and isn't thread drift.

 

[Simplo]

Gentlemen!

In 1903 Chr. Olsen obtained the distribution rights for sale of Parker Pens in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Most of the Parker pens imported to Scandinavia bear the Chr. Olsen logotype. 
For some reason these "Vac-banded" Vacumatics are found more frequently in Sweden than other countries.

Over the years I found 6-7 of these pens in Sweden but never in Denmark!
It is most likely that "your" (lovely) vac-banded major was sold in Sweden!

[Peterg]

The nib is stamped Penol Ambassador which I believe would have been made for the later Ambassador pen. However, as they were based on Parker designs the nibs were interchangeable so I would expect it to be a replacement.

[Simplo]

It´ s definately a replacement nib. We often find this type of replacement nibs on Parker pens sold in Scandinavia! For collectors this is very frustrating but for the user it did´ nt mean anything or very little!

Edited by Simplo, 09 February 2014 - 08:07 PM.

[haywoody]

Interesting thread; I managed to miss it the first time around. I picked up a few Olsen-stamped Vacumatics at flea markets in Copenhagen, while I was living in Sweden. The only one still in my possession is a grey pearl Senior Max with a Vacumatic cap band.

 

 

The imprint is light but the Olsen symbol is present below:

 

 

The barrel is stamped "Made in U.S.A." with a date code of 47. No Penol nib here but a flexy two-tone arrow with USA stamp, closely matched date code and a W-stamped feed. Just more data to muddy the waters...

 

[Peterg]

Not for me.

To me it is part of the provenance of the pen. I ride old bikes but fit modern tyres and equipment to keep them going. A nib is somewhere between a consumable and a part of the pen.

But I can see both sides. I see the history of the pen as being part of it. Most of mine have had working lives and their state reflects that so I try to keep them in working order. However, some have seen little or no use and I try to keep them in that state too. In a reference to another topic (on this or another site) you can convert a new/ nos pen into a used pen but you cannot reverse the process.

Edited by Peterg, 10 February 2014 - 10:47 AM.