DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOUNTAIN PEN


Man used his fingers as his first writing instruments and the dirt beneath his
feet as his writing surface. Before the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome,
the stylus was man's "pen" and clay or wax tablets his "paper."

The Egyptians discovered a light, pliable writing surface made from the papyrus
found growing along tlle Nile and applied their written symbols with a fine brush.
Greek and Roman scribes used a reed cut to a point and slit like a pen to record
their thoughts.

Quill pens became popular during the Middle Ages and remained in use until steel
nibs were first "mass produced" in 1845. The first English patent for the metal
pen nib was granted in 1808; the first U.S. patent in 1810. Steel pen production
became standardized by 1845, displacing the quill which finally disappeared during
the 1860s.

The production of gold alloy pens for dip writing began as early as 1825 in England,
and 1835 in the United States. Workable gold alloys were too soft for pen nibs
unless the point was tipped with a hard corrosion-resistant material, and for this
purpose a hard natural alloy of iridium metal found in Tasmania and Russia's Ural
Mountains was first used. While gold alloys were not corroded by writing ink,
they were considered too expensive for ordinary use. As a result, the steel-nib
dip pen was the most popular writing instrument until long after fountain pens
became commercially available in the 1880s.

The slit in a pen point or nib, whether a reed, a goose feather quill, a piece of
steel or gold, controls ink flow to the paper via the degree of capillary attraction.

Capillarity is the action by which the surface of a liquid, where it is in contact
with a solid, is raised. This happens because of the activity of molecules in
liquids. The molecules in a liquid vibrate in all directions but are held together
by mutual attraction. At the surface of the liquid, however, the attraction is
towards the liquid, not towards tlle surrounding air. The collcentration of molecules
of water at the surface, caused by unequal attraction between liquid and air, makes
the water surface behave like a strong film. It is called surface tension and it
enables the surface of water to support water bugs seen darting across a quiet pool,
or a greased needle to float on water.

Capillary attraction is the force that causes a blotter to absorb ink, or kerosene
to flow up the wick of a lamp into the flame. Capillary action allows a pen nib to
retain the ink, and permits the ink to flow down onto the paper only as fast as it
is required to form the letters, instead of running down all at once.

To make a fountain pen, a reservoir of ink must be provided and a means supplied to
conduct the ink to the pen nib at a balanced rate of flow. This is done in most
pens by using a hard rubber or plastic feed bar. The upper end of the feed bar
extends into the reservoir while the lower end presses against the nib, carrying
ink by capillary action in a fine groove to the pen nib.

George S. Parker, founder of The Parker Pen Company in 1888, invented the "Lucky
Curve" hard rubber feed bar, which reduced ink leakage. The first pen barrels
were made of black hard ruhber, the only ink-resistant, easily-machinable material
available at the time. It could also be heated and formed easily. The first
fountain pens were filled by means of a medicine dropper. This arrangement was
replaced by the "self-filling" pen. The most common kind of self-filler was the
sac pen, first used in 1890.

Early rubber sacs had a short life because rubber makers had not learned how to
protect rubber from the oxidizing effect of the atmosphere and from the chemical
action of ink. Rubber compounds and processes were gradually improved and in the
late 1920s a leading rubber company produced a long-lasting rubber sac. Parker
research soon developed even better tubes which would last as long as the pens.
These were semi-transparent, plasticized vinyl resin sacs. They contained no rubber.

Various forms of sac-depression mechanisms have been used: a lever operating
through the side of the barrel, a pressure button located at the end of the barrel
(an invention by George S. Parker), and a U-shaped spring against the sac which
was depressed after removing the section from the barrel, a method used in several
Parker pens.

The first sacless pen, the Parker Vacumatic of 1932, filled with a pump. The
filler was a flexible rubber diaphragm operated by a plunger and spring. To perform
efficiently, the diaphragm had to be free of even the tiniest pinholes. An extremely
high grade of rubber was used to form the diaphragms, and every one was tested for
pinholes with 5,000 volts of electric potential.

Another storied fountain pen was the well-known Parker "51". It was proclaimed
one of the five best designed industrial products ever produced. It uses an almost
instant drying ink, eliminating the old standby, the blotter. Streamlined and
functional, the "51" won high favor during World War II.

The Parker 75 -- named so because it was introduced during Parker's 75th year, 1963 --
provided a new standard of excellence in nib pens. Each Parker 75, as it is produced,
undergoes 792 inspections. The final inspector provides a signed certificate of
quality that is unique in the writing instrument industry. The 75 nib is available
in a number of precious metal and exotic finish pen casings.

One of the 75's most unique features, the sculptured grip, resulted from a research
effort that spanned several years. Parker technicians began with a study involving
hundreds of persons, each of whom was asked to grip a rod of pliable plastic clay
just as he would normally hold a fountain pen. As might be expected, there were
countless variations -- variations produced by subtle differences in hand size,
finger length, and other individual factors. Every rod impression was studied and
compared until, finally, a universal curvature evolved and was applied to the grip
of the Parker 75.

A few years ago, Parker brought back its famous Duofold model, equipped it with
modern ball pen and soft tip refills, and called it Big Red. Every year since,
millions of students have taken Big Red back to school. It is priced at a third
of its cost in the 20s.

The 180 fountain pen nib, introduced in Japan in 1974, is one of Parker's more
interesting "reventions". Offered in markets around the world, the 180 is designed
to write with two different styles from the same point -- one side of the nib
providing a fine line, turn the point 180 degrees, and the other side writes a
bolder, wider line. It is an up-to-date version of pens used a half century ago.

Parker produces all six basic forms of handwriting instruments, from fountain pens
to the newest in liquid ink ball pens. Parker's most recent lines include the
Parker 25 and Parker 50. The 25, made in England, is finished in brushed stainless
steel and in matte black epoxy. It is bold and Spartan in appearance. The 50,
made in the United States, is available in the same finishes as the 25, is trimmed
in 22K gold electroplate, and is characterized by a nib that is part of the barrel
of the pen, providing a clean, tapered look. Both the Parker 25 and 50 use the
efficient ink cartridge or can be filled from the traditional ink bottle.

Parker's elite products today (actually jewelry that writes) are included in The
Heritage Collection -- a limited-distribution gift line offered in the United
States. The Heritage Collection includes the solid 14K gold 75 Presidential, the
sterling silver 75 Ambassador and the French laquered Laque 180. Each pen in The
Heritage Collection is protected by a warranty backing Parker's promise of technical
and design integrity.

Each fountain pen in The Heritage Collection is available with a matching ball pen,
and the Laque is offered with the Parker Floating Ball liquid ink writing mode --
that which experts predict will be the writing trend of the 1980s.

While Parker fountain pens are marketed around the globe, the largest markets for
nib pens are currently in the Far and Middle East and Europe. They are produced
in the United States, England and Meru, France, near Paris. Only two major American
makers produce fountain pens, the most difficult writing instrument to manufacture.

Man's ability to communicate and fashion tools differentiates him from other primates.
His never-ending search for a better was to express himself began early in his
evolution and it still continues. From his own fingers, to the most elegant and
sophisticated extensions of his fingers, man continues to meet the challenge of
effective communication.