PARKER DUOFOLD

“LE PENNE DI NELLO”
Dalla collezione di Nello

>>>  PARKER DUOFOLD <<<

Duofold history
The Duofold model was introduced by Parker in 1921, but its origins seem to date back [1] to the previous year, when a company representative, Lewis M. Tebbel, managed to have a Lucky Curve # 26 built by a worker using red ebonite warehouse remains. The pen, with the body in red ebonite and the head of the cap and the back in ordinary black ebonite, met with great success with the buyers of Tebbel, who tried to have other copies built, always with great difficulty in getting it accepted for production.

In fact, Parker had already produced the Red Giant in red ebonite at the beginning of the 20th century, with huge drawbacks due to the material that tended to crumble, and consequently high warranty costs. For this reason the management was reluctant to use this material again for an official line; Tebbel managed, however, by contacting Kenneth Parker directly, to overcome the resistance by having it produced as the official line of the company under the name Duofold.

In April 1925, Parker introduced the first celluloid models to the market, renamed by the company as Permanite. However, the first Duofolds in celluloid will be placed on the market only in August 1926. These initial celluloid models, named according to the color (the Black-tipped Jade in jade green celluloid and black finishes is known, see flyer of 1925, which however, it is also found in a catalog of 1927) are substantially identical to the Duofold that will follow them apart from the fact that the barrel and nib are not marked as Duofold, but only carry the wording Lucky Curve.

The pen was modified to take on a slightly tapered cap starting around 1929, with the production of a new version in response to the trend of streamlined lines launched by Balance, called in some advertisements Streamline Duofold. The model underwent several transformations over the course of its history, remaining in the catalog at least until 1935 (there are those who report the date of 1936) and in production also in the following years (models with the dating code of 1938 have been seen).