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Parker Lucky curve with unseen "clip cap"


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#1 Jos

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Posted 22 September 2017 - 07:46 AM

In order not to spoil the fun for the bidders on this pen, I attended auction end before asking a question on this Parker Eyedropper:

 

http://www.ebay.com/...cvip=true&rt=nc

 

Can anybody comment on the cap of this pen: is that "clip" original?

 

gallery_8278_156_502569.jpg



#2 Greenie

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Posted 22 September 2017 - 09:12 PM

I am not the definitive expert. However, the crack at the top of the clip usually indicates that the original clip was broken off.  The current clip (in my opinion) has a homemade appearance to it.

 

There are Parker pens with VV clips, but those have a transverse pin to hold them, and this does not appear to have that type of hole.  Then again, I am not familiar with a long slit like this for any type of clip that I can think of. So that cut in the cap is a bit of a mystery to me.

 

Furthermore, the chasing pattern of the cap does not match the barrel.  In my opinion that cap is old, and a good fit, but not original.



#3 Jos

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Posted 25 September 2017 - 12:39 PM

Thanks for your response!

 

Via your reference to the VV clip I actually found the answer: the clip is genuine Parker and called the "disappearing clip". It is seen in some early ads of Parker Jack Knife pens:

 

gallery_8278_156_54186.jpg

 

 

By the way: there is remarkably little activity on the FPB lately as if the holiday season is extended (or maybe people are tired to teach the ignorant ...).

 

Anyway, I learned something new.



#4 Greenie

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 12:14 AM

That is really interesting and totally new info to me!  Thanks for finding the answer and thanks for sharing it.   

 

So I guess when you post the pen, it somehow pushes the clip into the barrel?



#5 RickB

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 12:31 AM

That is really neat - I've never seen that either.  So why did it not catch on (so to speak), and what's the date on the advertisement?



#6 Greenie

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 02:51 AM

OK - so this is a correct and interesting unusual Parker item.  I am still a little perplexed by what looks to me like different chasing on the cap and barrel. But that is not really important to the discussion of the clip.

 

Now that I have a name for the clip, I have some "quick and dirty" Google results

 

There is a patent date on the clip in one item on ebay in the past

875435946_tp.jpg  I just started looking at that patent date and found some cute things for clipping pens to pencils, but not for this clip yet.



#7 Jos

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 07:21 AM

That is really neat - I've never seen that either.  So why did it not catch on (so to speak), and what's the date on the advertisement?

 

The date of the ad shown above is 1912. In the mean time I found that the 'disappearing clip' is shown in several Parker ads from the period 1912 to 1916. Funny that I never noticed this feature before.

 

This is a 1916 ad:

 

gallery_8278_156_15252.jpg


Edited by Jos, 26 September 2017 - 07:46 AM.


#8 Jos

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 07:29 AM

That is really interesting and totally new info to me!  Thanks for finding the answer and thanks for sharing it.   

 

So I guess when you post the pen, it somehow pushes the clip into the barrel?

 

I have absolutely no idea how it works, it is not shown in the ads either.

 

John Danza holds the knowledge: he commented on the different early Parker clips a decade ago but sadly the accompanying picture is gone:

www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/35595-early-parker-pocket-clips/



#9 Jos

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 07:47 AM

That is really interesting and totally new info to me!  Thanks for finding the answer and thanks for sharing it.   

 

So I guess when you post the pen, it somehow pushes the clip into the barrel?

 

The figure in the ads indeed suggests that the clip lays flush in the cap when the pen is posted.

The picture of the ebay auction then suggests to me that the clip jumps up from the cap when the pen is closed.



#10 John Danza

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Posted 12 October 2017 - 01:35 AM

Sorry to be late to the party.

 

The photo Jos referenced is below. I don't do anything on the Fountain Pen Network anymore.

 

As you guys have already deduced, this is a Disappearing Clip. Parker offered them from roughly 1907 through the mid-teens. They were a $0.25 add-on. They were offered at the same time as the Van Valkenburg clip, but Parker dropped the VV clip pretty quickly because the royalties to Van Valkenburg were steep, while they owned the rights to the Disappearing Clip.

 

The cap is definitely Parker, as that's a very specific slot that the clip goes into. I don't think there's an issue with the cap and barrel going together, even with the chasing going in different directions.

 

I'm not surprised at the crack in the cap. There's a lot of pressure on the cap at the clip pivot point because of the spring that's in the cap that causes the clip to retract (disappear) when the cap is removed from the pen. You'll notice from the auction photos that the spring is missing, as the clip doesn't retract on this one.

 

The clip may be a replacement. The bend on the bottom of the clip is not what I've seen on other clips. The bend is usually a lot smaller and tighter. That could also be how the cap was cracked, during the replacement process.

 

The price was healthy, but I'm sure that was driven by this being a Model 25 as much as the Disappearing Clip.

 

EarlyParkerClips.jpg



John Danza


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#11 Jos

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Posted 13 October 2017 - 10:01 AM

many thanks for including the picture with the three early clips!






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