When the Parker 17 first appeared in 1962 it had an exposed nib. Shortly thereafter it was redesigned to have a hooded nib in the style of the Parker 51. There were various levels of trim from the standard up to this deluxe. It is evident that they sold very well as there are many around but, strangely enough, they don’t seem to sell very well nowadays. I see them go through eBay and though they sell they often don’t make much money. That’s a mystery to me as they are attractive pens and all those I have handled were great writers.
This particular example is a bit of an oddity. It has three names engraved around the cap: Allan, Jeff and Jack. There is also the engraved date 3.12.65. The pen has clearly not been used much as the factory chalk marks are still on the barrel. How do we explain this? Did Allan, Jeff and Jack present this pen to someone? Or did someone present this pen to Allan, Jack and Jeff? Did Allan use it on Monday and Tuesday while Jack had it Wednesday and Thursday and Jeff wrote with it Friday and Saturday and no one had it on Sunday? Are you convinced? No. Nor am I.
The lady I bought the pen from said that she had been told it was a demonstrator pen. Clearly, it isn’t in the normal sense, but perhaps it was intended to show the quality of engraving that could be produced.
One thing that puzzles me is the date. The Parker 17 Deluxe is said to be a late introduction in the production run. 1963 seems to me rather early. It may be, of course, that it is simply an example date and not the date the engraving was done.
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Offering a guess here, could it be someone had triplet sons with the names and on the date inscribed and the pen was engraved (and given) as a remembrance?
Yes, it might be that too – I suppose we’ll never know.
I agree the Parker “17” is an unappreciated pen. There are several models of this pen, although I have never seen one without a hooded nib (I would like to see an example of a Parker 17 with an open nib). The model you reference in this post is a “Parker 17 Deluxe”. Since it has a 12ct Rolled Gold cap, the nib should be solid gold to match. The Parker 17 Deluxe models with chrome caps have steel nibs – or is it “Octanium”? Reference the Octanium nib:
http://www.parker75.addr.com/Reference/Nibs/Octanium_nib.htm
I have a “Parker 17 Duofold” which is the lower-end model with the thin cap band. It is a reliable but uninspiring writer. I think these pens sell for a price that matches their quality.
Thanks for the post, David
I’ve had a few Parker 17s of various grades over the years, and I’ve been quite satisfied with their writing characteristics. Each to his own I suppose.
Strictly, the rolled gold cap makes this a 17 Custom. The Deluxe features chrome plated caps with either chrome trim or gold filled trim – CT would have the steel nib & GT the gold. You might also notice that, cap aside, it’s basically the same pen as a 51 from the same period but stamped differently.
Thanks for the information, Frank.