Re: Fountain Pens and XY

[Thomas J Hawley tjh@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from "'A. Joseph Ross'"  on Mon, 7
Sep 1998 00:48:40 -0400 (EDT)

What makes the Parker 51 the XyWrite of fountain pens? Simply put, the way it
writes. Smooth, never skips, puts down just the right flow of ink, doesn't dry
out if you put it down uncapped for 15 minutes.

The 51 was a big seller in the 40's and 50's; Parker used to run full page ads
for it in Life Magazine. You could still buy it for about $25 in the 70's; by
the early 80's, it was no longer on the market but pen shops would make one up
for you out of their supply of spare parts. I got the one I still use in 1980
for, I recall, about $35. The Art Brown pen shop in New York assembled it from
parts.

Today, a used 51 in good condition sells for $150-$250 depending on the style
(gold or stainless cap, etc.)

I own a big Mont Blanc, an Omas desk set, and a fancy Waterman, all received
as well-intentioned gifts. They are nicely made, but frankly none of them
writes worth a damn and I don't use them. The Parker 51 I use every day.

I keep waiting for Parker to start making the 51 again. Like XyWrite, it just
writes well!

While we're on the subject of fountain pens, a remarkably nice writer is the
disposable Pilot Varsity; Staples has it for about $3 in several ink colors.

(My apologies to all for straying off-topic a bit, but it is a holiday weekend.)


Tom Hawley
tjh@xxxxxxxx _________