The Parker Pen Company
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The Parker Pen Company, founded in 1891 by George Stafford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin, is best known for making pens that are among the most prestigious and collectible in the world. [1] (http://www.io.com/~tyrbiter/park.0.html)
George Parker, the founder, had previously been a sales agent for the John Holland Gold Pen Company. He received his first fountain pen related patent in 1889. In 1894 Parker received a patent on his "Lucky Curve" feed, which was claimed to draw excess ink back into the pen body when the pen was not in use. The Lucky Curve feed was used in various forms until 1928.
From the 1920?s to the 1960?s?up until the ascendance of the ballpoint pen Parker was either number one or number two in worldwide writing instrument sales. In 1931 Parker created Quink "quick drying ink" which eliminated the need for blotting and led to the development of the most widely used model of fountain pen in history (over $400 million worth of sales in its 30 year history) the Parker 51. Manufacturing facilities were set up over the years in Canada, England, Denmark, France, Mexico, and Argentina. Parker pens were frequently selected (often as favorite pens of the signers) to sign important documents such as the World War II armistices, and commemorative editions were sometimes offered.
In 1976 Parker acquired Manpower just as the temporary staffing market was surging. In time Manpower provided more revenue than the pen business.
A management buyout in 1987 moved the company headquarters to Newhaven, England. In 1993 Parker was acquired by the Gillette Company, which already owned the PaperMate brand, one of the best-selling disposable ballpoints. Gillette sold the writing instruments division in 2000 to Newell Rubbermaid, whose own Stationery Division, Sanford, became the largest in the world owning such brand names as Rotring, Sharpie, Reynolds as well as Parker, PaperMate, Waterman and Liquid Paper.
Key models in the company's history include: Jointless (1899), Jack Knife Safety (1909), Duofold (1921), Vacumatic (1932), 51 (1941), Jotter (1954), 61 (1956), 75 (1964), Duofold International (1987), and Sonnet (1993).