Pentrace Article #092701119 Colors: The Parker Vacumatic

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Colors: The Parker Vacumatic

Hand painted by Michael Richter with additional text by Richard Binder

Colors: The Parker Vacumatic

The Many Hues of Parker: In August 1932, Parker announced the next generation in fountain pens, the Golden Arrow. The pens actually went into production in 1933; the name underwent rapid changes to Vacuum Filler and then to Vacumatic, and a legend was born. The Vacumatic line remained in Parker’s stable until about 1948; as best I can tell, Parker ceased using the Blue Diamond, which indicated a lifetime waranty, and ended production of the Vacumatic at the same time. Over the lifetime of the Vacumatic, a broad array of colors was available; but not all of the colors were offered at the same time. When the Vacumatic went on the market in 1933, the Standard line was offered in black, Burgundy Pearl, and Silver Pearl, while the Junior line was offered in black, marbled Grey or Burgundy, and Crystal. A the end, Vacumatics were available in Emerald Green Pearl, Azure Blue Pearl, Golden Pearl, and Silver Pearl. The information here is as accurate as possible, but you should not take it as absolutely authoritative.

This article shows the striped “Pearl” colors, then the Junior colors (“Golden Web,” marbled, and Shadow Wave), and finally the the black versions.

In addition to the changes in the Vacumatic’s color palette, Parker also made changes in the pen’s design; for more information, including photographs of the external appearance of the Vacumatic, see Dating by Design Features: The Parker Vacumatic. A technical description of the Vacumatic filling system is given in Anatomy of a Fountain Pen II: The Vacumatic.