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| History of the Parker Pen Company |
America’s pen making industry officially started in 1809, but it was many years of development and progress before the fountain pen was born in the 1880s. These early pens were unreliable instruments, often blotting, leaking or drying up. It wasn’t until the Parker Company began that America, and the world, could have widespread access to quality writing instruments.
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| George Safford Parker was born in Shullsberg, Wisconsin on November 1st, 1863. His parents, Norman S Parker and Jane Parker (nee Folsom) were influential members of the emerging Shullsberg town. Parker’s family had originally travelled west from New England and settled in Illinois. When Norman and Mary married in 1847, they moved to Wisconsin to farm its soft land. After giving birth to their eight children, they again moved in 1871, this time to near Fayette in Iowa. |
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As a young boy, George followed the path of most farming children by helping his father in the fields and nurseries during the day. In the winter months though, he was able to attend classes at his local school. As he grew up he realised that he was not suited to the farming life, and that his interests lay with emerging technology and travel. He began to attend the nearby Upper Iowa University in Fayette, and later, after seeing an advertisement for the Valentine School of Telegraphy in Janesville, he again packed his things and moved to Wisconsin.
After he had graduated, and while teaching telegraphy locally, Parker took a sideline job as an agent for John Holland Fountain Pens. He mainly sold these pens to his students, but it soon became apparent that the instruments were unreliable and prone to breaking. They often either delivered too much or too little ink, and George soon found himself spending as much time fixing the pens he sold, as he did selling them. As a result his students trusted his after-sales service and therefore his sales figures went up, but then so did the time he spent fixing them. He became so frustrated after a while that he decided he could build a better pen himself.
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On December 10th, 1889, George Parker acquired his first patent for a fountain pen. He continued the development of his pens, and within eighteen months he had gained two more patents for improved under and over feed pens. In 1892, George teamed up with his friend, insurance worker William F Palmer, and the Parker Pen Company was officially born. |
| The partners went from strength to strength over the next few years, improving and developing their pens intensely. I 1893 they patented yet another feed, this time the forerunner to the famous Lucky Curve pen, patented in 1894. Designed to prevent the ink that had been warmed by body temperature leaking and soiling fingers when the cap was removed, the Lucky Curve employed capillary action and drew the ink from the feed tube. This technical advance was followed by their invention of the Jointless pen and the sip fit outer cap. |
In 1898 they redesigned the lucky curve as an underfeed pen, making it more streamlined and attractive, and by 1899 the Parker company was successfully selling to both the public and the armed forces. At the turn of the century, pens were fast becoming status symbols, and the company grew steadily. Only the educated could read and write so a prestigious fountain pen was a visible sign that the owner was educated. The underfeed style allowed the gold nib to show, and people wanted their pens not only to be seen, but to be seen as expensive. Parker’s sales grew, aided by extensive advertising campaigns.
Between 1900 and 1915 Parker created a number of gold, silver, gold filled or mother of pearl overlay pens, which are now extremely collectible. Coining the high-price market, they created the legendary Snake Pen. It was made of black hard rubber and eyedropper filled, and had a sterling silver or gold-filled snake wound around the barrel and cap. These snakes had either rubies or emeralds for eyes, and are now a favourite of collectors.
During these years Parker also developed the spear headed feed, improved the lucky curve and patented the first safety cap and level-lock clip. All the new innovations allowed the company more money to expand, and in 1903 Parker’s first overseas distributorship was established in Scandinavia, with a Copenhagen shopkeeper enlisted to carry the pens. |
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In 1906 the Emblem pen, the forerunner to what was to become the Corporate Markets division was invented and at first carried the logos of secret societies, for example, the Knights of Columbus. Today the company has 60,000 logos on file, representing anything from small business gifts to multi-national corporations, and can even transfer a photograph onto a pen.
The business continued to grow and in 1914 George’s eldest son Russell joined his father in the running of the business. In 1917 the company landed an important contract from the US War Department. They developed a pen that featured black pigment pellets that could be converted to ink with water in the field, giving the US soldiers a portable ink maker. During the war many American soldiers and Europeans first encountered the Parker pens that they would later prize.
In 1918 the company’s sales figures first passed the $1 million mark, and so the company began work on a five story building in Janesville to house the growing business. George’s younger son Kenneth followed his brother into the company, after a year at the Lloyd and Thomas advertising agency. The time that followed between 1921 and 1940 was a golden era in pen development, with advances in education and literacy, and despite the depression which weakened or destroyed many companies, Parker continued to flourish. By the beginning of World War II it had emerged as one of the US leaders due to its innovation and ability to adapt to changing times. |
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1921 saw the perhaps the most important launch the Parker Company ever made. The daring introduction of the oversized orange fountain pen called the Duofold. Its bright colour and gold point were a confident break from its contemporaries. Most audacious was its selling price – at $7 it was almost twice the accepted price for a pen. Parker selected the bright lights of Chicago as its testing ground, and used the Chicago tribune for advertising. 10 salesmen presented the product to the customers, using product samples, colour posters, testimonial letters and a letter from the Tribune stating their 3 month advertising contract. |
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The public loved it. In one week gross sales of the Duofold exceeded the gross cost of the advertising campaign. Therefore, Parker launched a national advertising campaign, making the Duofold an immediate success. In 1926, the Duofold made Parker a world leader in the high price range, having taken it from a little Wisconsin company to one of international renown. George Parker was now able to embark on a tour of Europe, Australia, India and the Orient to make a network of overseas distributors for his products.
In 1923 the first Parker manufacturing plant outside of America was founded, in Toronto, Canada. In 1924 the first subsidiary in England was established, making Parker truly a global company. 1926 saw the introduction of the first Duofolds in Permanite, a durable form of plastic, which was much more hard-wearing than the previous hard-rubber materials used. Parker increased their 25 year guarantee to a lifetime one, a practice that still continues today. It also slowed for new colours to be produced, leading to wider appeal. The pens were advertised as so robust, that huge promotional campaigns were launched, which included the dropping of Duofolds over the Grand Canyon and out of moving planes to prove their resilience. The appeal of these campaigns led to even more sales of the popular Duofold, and in turn, more revenue for Parker.
William Palmer sold 75% of his shares in the company in 1928, in order to retire. They were purchased by an investment banking house and subsequently traded on the Chicago Stock exchange to the public for the first time. The company continued to invest and develop throughout the depression. The first pen-cleaning ink, Quink, was developed by Parker during this time and the formula was so successful that it has never changed, to this day. Parker also launched a new pen, the Vacumatic, during 1933. It followed the Duofold in becoming highly successful. Its revolutionary features – its vacuum pressure filling system that allowed for more ink to be held and its laminated plastic body overlaid with black and silver pearl – were complemented by the first use of the Arrow clip, the symbol that is now a company trademark. It was designed by New York artist Joseph Platt, and is recognisable worldwide. The Vacumatic remained Parker’s best seller until 1940.
However, George Parker never saw this come to fruition. On July 19th 1937, in Chicago, Parker died aged 73. The family, though, continued to serve his legacy, expanding and reinventing the Parker business over and over again over the years to come. |
| The Parker principle of innovation and quality meant that Parker Pens continued to grow and gain favour all over the world. In 1939 a small blue diamond was added to the end of an arrow clip to signify its lifetime guarantee. In 1941 the iconic Parker 51 was introduced. It had a much slimmer design to previous fountain pens, which had tended to sell due to their capacity to hold ink, and a sophisticated hooded nib. It was made of alkali-resistant Lucite and used a quick drying ink. It was the result of research carried out in Parker’s 51st year, hence the name, and was so unconventional for its time that Parker advertised it as being “like a pen from a different planet”.literally worth its weight in gold. Parker even had to advertise their apology for the delay. |
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Business continued blooming throughout the war and in 1948 the Parker 21, a lower priced version of the 51, was launched and quickly gained 60% of the over $5 market. Parker pens were becoming increasingly popular, and their innovative style was recognised in 1951, when the 51 was awarded the Fashion Academy Award for exceptional styling, precision and craftsmanship.
In 1953 a new 226,000 square foot plant, Arrow Park, opened in Janesville with technically advanced machinery, and automated manufacturing systems. Manufacturing facilities in France and Mexico were also launched, as were subsidiaries in Australia, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, West Germany and Columbia before 1962. During this time, designers continued the advancement of the brand. In 1954, the technically superior Jotter ball pen was unveiled, and was improved three years later with a textured tungsten carbide ball. This rewrote industry standard as the tungsten ball was, and still is, superior in performance to the steel balls used by many other manufacturers. |
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Other pens introduced included the Parker 61 Jet Fighter, the International Jotter, the Parker 45 and the Parker VP.
1963 saw the company’s 75th anniversary and a solid sterling silver Parker 75 luxury fountain pen was made to commemorate the occasion. It had a 14K gold nib, and a cross hatch design which would become yet another flagship trade mark. The 75 still receives accolades for its performance, design and engineering. In 1965 the Parker 75 Spanish Treasure Fleet special edition was launched, alongside its brother. It was made from silver which had been recovered from the Spanish Treasure ships that sank in Florida in 1715. 4,821 only were produced.
More innovations followed, with the introduction of the Classic slim contour line pen in 1967, the mechanical pencil with a capacity to write up to 50,000 words in 1968 and the Classic Atlas Booster special edition in 1969. This had a push button fashioned from the rocket which took John Glenn into orbit – the first man to do so on February 20th 1962. These pens commemorated the ten year anniversary of the US space program, and were not for sale, but were given as gifts to international leaders and celebrities.
In 1970 the futuristic TI line was launched, made purely from titanium components. In 1972 the famous Duofold was re-released in the form of the Big Red, with soft-tip writing modes added. Its colour and styling recalled the jazz era, and it sold millions. In 1975, Systemark, the first Parker Roller ball was introduced. It had the convenience of a ball pen combined with the smooth ink flow system of a fountain pen. By using this capillary system in a new way, it was unlike other roller balls which relied on wick ink systems. Parker had once again invented their way to world leader.
During the late 1970s the dual line fountain pen Parker 180 was launched, along with the Parker 25 line in England, the Parker 45, the Parker 50, the Ms Parker and the swinger neck pen (now called slinger). In 1981 the Arrow gift line was produced, while the Vector roller ball made its first appearance in the UK in 1982, and the Premier collection was launched worldwide. During these extensive advancements in their range, the Parker family decided it was time to sell their flourishing business to pursue other interests. Thus, on February 1st 1986 the Writing Instrument Group was acquired by the Parker UK Managers and investors. It became a privately held company, and over night the headquarters moved to Newhaven, England. Major manufacture in the US ended after this date, and now the US plant sanctions the manufacture which takes part in Newhaven and in Nantes, France.production could not happen quickly enough to keep up, and in countries outside of the US the 51 was |
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In the last twenty years Parker has continued to innovate and energise its lines from its plant in England. In 1987 the Duofold range was reintroduced once more, in honour of Parker’s 100th anniversary. It included a large Centennial pen, the slimmer International pen, a roller ball, ball pen and pencil styled after the 1920s icon. It enjoyed immediate success, leading to a special edition Centennial and pencil being launched in the red-orange finish of the 1921 original. It was very popular, and Parker has retained the Duofold line to this day, adding 23K gold plated and sterling silver versions to the line. In 1988 the popular Parker 88 range, including the Place Vendome pen, was introduced. It was inspired by French fashion, and has been echoed by its successor, the Rialto, in its popularity. The Parker 95 and Vector fashion pens were also revealed.
In 1991 the company set out to revolutionise the gift market with Insignia’s precision collection. Insignia has an ergonomic design and is precisely crafted, and was originally made exclusively at the Janesville plant. It was successfully introduced to the Asian and European markets in 1992. This year also saw Parker appointed by the World Memorial Fund for Disaster Relief to manufacture missile emblem pens. They featured emblems created from the metal of old American Pershing and Soviet SS20 missiles and no more than 10,000 were produced. In the five years since its privatisation Parker had increased its turnover by almost 50%.
In 1993 the Gillette Company, which already owned Waterman, Flair and Papermate pens acquired the Parker Company. This year the technically advanced and stylishly designed Sonnet range of pens was introduced, proving that Parker could again dominate the top-end ranges of writing instruments. The re-introduced Vector range and the dynamic new Frontier range with futuristic finishes also showed that it was paramount in the popular design field as well.
In 1999 Parker prepared for a major re-launch, with a new logo and new products such as the Reflex range. In the year 2000, to go with this new image, Parker again changed hands to a new owner, this time the Sanford group, based in Chicago Illinois, who had acquired Gillette’s stationery products group. This last takeover meant that Parker could truly represent a range of prices and ranges worldwide. In 2002 a special edition of the 51 was re-launched, evoking the Empire State Building and American architecture, while an engraved 23K gold plated Duofold was also created to honour the Queen’s Golden jubilee. Only 2,500 were created and the queen was presented with number 001.
Today, Parker products range from the solid gold Presidential Esparto Duofolds, to the multi-functional Vector 3 in 1 ball pens. Its lifetime guarantee still remains and it now exports to 72 countries, which account for around 84% of its manufactured product. It continues to invent and progress, both in pen design and in expansion of the company. From the time George Parker made his first pen, the accolades awarded to Parker have been enormous, and the pens have been widely used by dignitaries, royalty, world leaders and celebrities. The Parker legacy has endured, and will continue far into the future. |
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Prestige
Since Parker’s origins in 1892 influential leaders, authors and celebrities have been using Parkers, both in the public and private spheres. The prestige of the Parker product has built up over the century, and Parker’s success can be seen on this timeline:
1896 – Giacomo Puccini wrote his famous “La Boheme” with a Parker Lucky Curve.
1899 Feb 10th – A Jointless Lucky Curve was used by Judge Day, President of the American Peace Commission, to sign treaty of peace in Paris which ended the Spanish/American 1898 war.
1922 - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used a Parker Duofold to write his Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. He also wrote to Lord Molesworth, a member of the Parker board of directors, proclaiming “I have at last found my affinity in pens”.
1945 7th May– General Dwight D Eisenhower sent his own two parker 51s to sign the German surrender on the European front.
1945 General Douglas MacArthur signed the Japanese surrender on Battleship Missouri in Tokyo, with own twenty year old Duofold.
1951 – The Japanese peace treaty was signed by representatives of forty nine nations using Parker 51s.
1951 – The Parker 51 gained the Fashion Academy award for exceptional styling, precision and craftsmanship.
1953 – The Korean War armistice was signed by General Mark Clark using a Parker 51 Flighter.
1962 – Parker was awarded the warrant for sole supplier for pens and inks to the Royal British Household. Parkers are still used by leaders and royals worldwide.
1973 Jan 27th – The end of the Vietnam War. The Secretary of State, William P Rogers, signed the Vietnam peace agreement in Paris, with a Parker 75 keepsake pen. |
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1987 – US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev signed the historic Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty with custom made sterling silver Parker 75s.
1990 – US President George Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev used specially made sterling silver Parker 75s to sign the US Soviet agreement banning chemical weapons.
1991 July 31st – The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) was signed by US President George Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev with 75 roller balls.
1991 - Personalised Parker Duofold Black International World Memorial Ball Pens were presented to US Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George Bush at the opening of the Ronald Reagan Library for their efforts to ensure peace.
1992 June 17 - custom made Duofold fountain pens were used by President Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin for a historic arms reduction accord in Washington DC. Both pledged to destroy two-thirds of their country's strategic nuclear arsenals within a decade. After the signing, the Presidents continued the tradition of exchanging pens. |
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