Covent Garden market

During my lunch hour I wandered over to the Jubilee Market at Covent Garden. I used to go there quite often in my lunch hour, but as I’ve changed jobs I’m no longer within short walking distance. So my trips there only average about once every six months. On a Monday they have an antiques market. More of a house clearance / flea market actually. There are no specialist pen sellers. There used to be one about five years back, but not any more. The collection she had were not the best quality anyway, and quite expensive. Still it did give you the opportunity to browse some fountain pens in the flesh, a rare joy in the days of the internet. There are however a few pens to be found on the general stalls. Don’t expect to find anything fantastic, I’m sure the specialists get a look at anything before it ends up here. But there are one or two more modern and slightly battered pens to pique your interest. I have bought a few pens from here, and passed on a couple that in hindsight I should have had. Ones that have made it home with me were an Eversharp demi-Skyline set in green moiré. Nice looking and boxed, but the nib was XXF and pretty scratchy. I also got a couple of Parker 51 Vacumactics, £15 for the pair. The body was blown on one, from a poorly replaced diaphragm I guess, but it did have a great gold-filled blue diamond cap which was well worth the £7.50. Today I found a teal Parker 51 special with a good broad nib and a great condition transitional Esterbrook in green for £5, my first Estie. The amusing chat with the stallholder was worth the trip alone.

Great source for vintage fountain pen advertising

Yesterday I was doing some background research for a project at work - looking at the development of a few consumer brands during the last century. In doing so, I stumbled across an amazing resource, The Times Online Archive. If you are not already aware it seems that the Times has scanned in and digitised every single issue from 1785 to 1985 - 200 years worth of newspapers. They've obviously had some very clever opticial character recognition software which means the whole content is searchable too.

I did a search on "Parker 51", as you do, and was presented with an overwhelming number of results for the 1940s and 1950s. Clicking on one of the links takes you to a scan of the relevant page of the Times, allowing you to pan in zoom around. Instantly, I had access to look at some wonderful original adverts, like the Margaret Lockwood advert below from 1956.

Have a look and do a few searches. You need to register, but its very worthwhile. I think I may be busy for a while!

Parker "51" prices on ebay

In the Summer of 2006, I studied the prices of Parker "51"s that were sold on ebay, databasing over 350 sales. Here's the results. They hopefully provide an indication to what you can expect to pay, that is, what is probably the "right price" or what the pen you own is worth. Note, the data only includes pens that have Parker 51 in the listing title.

"51" Grading
Pens are graded according to five levels:

• Poor – Damaged, or serious dings etc
• Okay – Your standard, used Parker "51" shows scratches and some dents
• Good – Reasonable condition. A much cleaner example, with little or no dents
• Excellent – The kind where the cap still resembles a 'frosty' lustralloy
• Mint – Immaculate, usually unused and usually boxed

"51"s with gold-filled caps

• Poor: Average price £17, Minimum £13, Maximum £22
• Okay: Average price £22, Minimum £14, Maximum £31
• Good:Average price £33, Minimum £17, Maximum £67
• Excellent: Average price £55, Minimum £36, Maximum £86
• Mint: Average price £95, Minimum £87, Maximum £102
• Average price overall = £39

"51"s with steel caps

• Poor: Average price £16, Minimum £11, Maximum £21
• Okay: Average price £21, Minimum £13, Maximum £34
• Good: Average price £27, Minimum £16, Maximum £46
• Excellent: Average price £33, Minimum £21, Maximum £60
• Mint: Average price £64, Minimum £56, Maximum £69
• Average price overall = £28

Average prices of "51"s by colour

• Black: Gold cap £41, Steel cap £27, Average £33
• Burgundy: Gold cap £39, Steel cap £33, Average £35
• Teal: Gold cap £42, Steel cap £38, Average £35
• Grey: Gold cap £22, Steel cap £25, Average £25

Prices are generally similar across the colour ranges, but grey seems to be least popular. £25–£30 can buy a good/excellent example. It was noticable that quite a few of the more excellent/mint examples were in burgundy. I wonder if people simply didn't like this colour and consequently didn't use them much originally. Or, whether you just see a lot more of them with gold-filled caps given as special presents, and consequently not used as much as maybe a 'standard' black pen would be.

I've left out the rarer colours, as there wasn't really enough data.

A few other comments
Known traders on ebay (those who sell lots of pens and are recognised for quality) only achieved the same prices as other more casual ebayers. Except, for the higher value, excellent and mint examples. I guess these guys build trust in the quality of their product, and buyers trust that their mint pens really are mint - and will thus pay the money. They also present the product much better, further building trust in what you're purchasing.

Presenting the pen well will add 20–40% to the price.

A box can add 30–50% to the value.

The most expensive pen sold was a pretty standard black "51" from 1952 with a 1/10 12ct rolled gold cap. The key factors were it was absolutely immaculate, included the box and original instructions and was extremely well photographed from all angles. It was also from a well known pen trader on ebay.

Click here for a list of Parker 51s currently for sale over on ebay.