Pen of the Day: Parker 51 Double Jewel

The barrel code dates this 51 to the second quarter of 1947. That was the year my mother graduated from the University of Chicago. Her father, my grandfather, would have bought this for her as a college graduation present. He had the cap engraved with her name.

My mother died this past year, and my father and I came across the pen when we were cleaning out my mother’s things after her memorial service.

Now it has been beautifully restored by Joel Hamilton of Inkpen. Joel is one of the great people in the pen community. And a wonderful Parker repair person and dealer. I wouldn’t have sent it to anyone else.

I always try to buy one vintage Parker from Joel at every Chicago Pen Show. They are the nicest pens in my little Parker collection. And now this is my nicest 51.

That is the new jewel and tassie that Joel found and installed on the pen body. They look like new. The whole pen does.

But the cap, still bearing some tiny dents and wear — and engraved with my mother’s name — well, that’s beautiful, too. Just in a different way.

As luck or something would have it, this pen has my favorite 51 nib, a fine nib, just a touch on the wet side. The ink is Waterman Serenity Blue. A 51 vac needs an easy-to-clean ink, and Waterman blue is my favorite. So it’s a perfect match for me.