Collection: QUINK
(PLEASE GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE FOR SALES ITEMS)
A short history of Parker Ink & QUINK
The Parker Pen Co. didn't start making their own ink until the turn of the century (1900). This first bottle (below) was the same shape as those early bottles and I wonder if the No. 4 embossed on the bottom of the bottle signifies the 4th model they created. I reckon it dates from around 1904, which is the same date as the advert shown below.
(1904 Parker Pen Co. Ink)
The Base reads "the Parker Pen Co. - Janesville WIS." with the number "4" in the centre.
1904 Parker Pen Co. advert - showing the same bottle as above.
With the introduction of the Lucky Curve Pens (see PARKER PEN - POST No.1) produced by Parker in the early 1910s and onwards, came the production of an ink to match.
"Parker's Fountain Pen Ink - Lucky Curve"
It came in 3 varieties; a corked bottle, a bottle inside a plain wooden casket and pipette and bottle , inside a red wooden casket. I am lucky enough to own 1½ out of the 3 varieties.
I have the corked bottle with original label, original cork cap and the orignal box. The box is stunning, depiciting the available pens and other ink bottles in the range.
I also have the plain wooden casket, but sadly not the bottle inside.
The labels are quite distinctive, mostly black but with "Fountain Pen Ink" in large white lettering against a vibrant red background emblazened across the middle of the label.
This was a time of simple but stylish design, possibly because manufacturing techniques were still intheir infancy, but also because it was a time of austerity following the Great War.
("Parker's Fountain Pen Ink" abt 1910)
("Parker's Fountain Pen Ink" abt 1910)
In the mid 1920s, with the advent of the New Duofold pens in the Parker range, came the introduction of a new ink.
Parker Duofold Ink.
To start with the bottles were virtually identical to the "Parker's Fountain Pen Ink", with just the label changed (see below).
Soon the range developed and a special travel bottle was designed to fit inside a bakelite travel case, for taking your ink on the move. However, what I thought to be Parker's own innovative design turns out to be the little known work of another manufacturer. Sadly, the name escapes me, something like "Writesafe".
These travel bottles were slimmed down in later years and became the standad travel bottle for Quink, as little as five years later.
Something was brewing in the ink world and was about to set a new standard for ink.
"QUINK" which stands for Quick Drying Ink was developed after spending $68,000 and was launched for sale in the USA on 22nd October 1931.
(½ oz Sample Quink Bottles from the early 1930s)
A mixture of round bottles, with the bottom shelf showing the three sizes.
These bottles came with a "Quink" bakelite bottle cap, but you could take these bottles to the stationery shop and obtain a refill. The shop keeper would replace the cap with a metal one and remove part of the label to show the bottle had been refilled.
If you wanted to use your pen on the move, you had to take your ink bottle with you. Parker created special bakelite "Safety Containers" for the purpose.
These came in a variety of colours and differing labels
Meanwhile, in the USA they had their own bottles and boxes.
(USA 1930s Quink 2oz Bottles and their purpose built display stand)
(The Art-Deco style USA 1930s 2oz Bottle and Box)
(Parker Quink Concentrate for World War II consumption)
In 1941 Parker released a special ink just for Parker 51's (and 21s). It was more corrosive so only the stronger sacs used in the Parker 51 could withstand the corrosive properties of this new ink.
Parker 51 Ink was superseded by Parker SuperChrome in 1947.
Mean while in 1942 Solv-X had been added to Quink to dissolve sediment and reduce clogging. Solv-X was a magic formula indeed as it also had the properties to clean the pen as it wrote.
(A 3oz Bottle of SuperChrome in Turquoise Blue)
An original shop display from the 1950s/60s
A 1960s Quink Filling Station
(A collection of 2oz Quink Bottles all with Solv'x added, the oldest (1970s) at the bottom through to 2010 at the top.)
More photo's and history to follow.
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