Parker Duofold Special

The Parker Duofold has a long history and many different incarnations. This particular example is a Duofold Special, made in Janesville, Wisconsin, probably sometime in the mid-1920s. There are two ways to determine this. The first is the imprint on the barrel, reading

Duofold Special
Geo. S. Parker – Lucky Curve – Fountain Pen
Janesville. Wis. – – U.S.A. Pat. 4-25-11

This, according to Shepherd and Zazove’s book “Parker Duofold” would date it as a red Permanite pen made around 1927. The second indication is the single-band cap with the large flat top, which was in production from 1923 to 1925.

The pen has the classic notched or “Christmas tree” feeder, but it is not a Lucky Curve feed. Whether it was originally a Lucky Curve and was sawed off in the past (a not-uncommon practice amongst repair technicians in the old days…) or it was originally a straight feeder is unknown…

Total weight: 17.4 g
Body weight: 10.8 g
Total length (not posted): 126.0 mm
Total length(with cap): 135.9 mm
Barrel max diameter: 12.2 mm
Cap max diameter: 14.0 mm