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Humans have been writing and making marks as far back as the caveman. It was the ancient Egyptians who were the first people to write on paper. In around 3000 BC the scribes from ancient Egypt used reed brushes to write on papyrus scrolls. The reed pen was used up until the Middle Ages, although the quill pen had begun to replace it as early as the 7th century.

The quill pen is made from a trimmed goose feather whose shaft has been cut into a good writing point. Trimming the quill was a real skill, and a talented scribe could create some very nice calligraphic effects.

The quill pen was first used in Qumran, Judea to write some of the dead see scrolls, and was introduced into Europe in 700AD. It was also used to write and sign the constitution of the United Stated of America in 1787.

The quill pen was replaced by the metal dip pen in the early 19th century. The metal dip pen had a steel nib with various holes to hold the ink. The nib was attached to a wooden handle, and could be manufactured quite cheaply. John Mitchell of Birmingham started to mass produce the metal dip pen in 1822, and by 1850 they came into generalised use.

The dip pen had to be constantly dipped in ink, and it wasnt long before the people demanded a pen which contained a reservoir of ink (a fountain pen). Inventors came up with various forms of the reservoir pen, dating back to the first half of the 19th century. The first few attempts at a reservoir pen were pretty unsuccessful because the ink flow was very inconsistent.

The problem with the early fountain pens was the feed system, which regulated the flow of ink to the nib.

For the best quality parker pens including parker sonnet please go to our website at http://www.penheaven.co.uk/About_Parker_Pens.php.

Humans have been writing and making marks as far back as the caveman. It was the ancient Egyptians who were the first people to write on paper. In around 3000 BC the scribes from ancient Egypt used reed brushes to write on papyrus scrolls. The reed pen was used up until the Middle Ages, although the quill pen had begun to replace it as early as the 7th century.

The quill pen is made from a trimmed goose feather whose shaft has been cut into a good writing point. Trimming the quill was a real skill, and a talented scribe could create some very nice calligraphic effects.

The quill pen was first used in Qumran, Judea to write some of the dead see scrolls, and was introduced into Europe in 700AD. It was also used to write and sign the constitution of the United Stated of America in 1787.

The quill pen was replaced by the metal dip pen in the early 19th century. The metal dip pen had a steel nib with various holes to hold the ink. The nib was attached to a wooden handle, and could be manufactured quite cheaply. John Mitchell of Birmingham started to mass produce the metal dip pen in 1822, and by 1850 they came into generalised use.

The dip pen had to be constantly dipped in ink, and it wasnt long before the people demanded a pen which contained a reservoir of ink (a fountain pen). Inventors came up with various forms of the reservoir pen, dating back to the first half of the 19th century. The first few attempts at a reservoir pen were pretty unsuccessful because the ink flow was very inconsistent.

The problem with the early fountain pens was the feed system, which regulated the flow of ink to the nib.

The Parker 51 is one of the most successful pens ever produced and is instantly recognizable, making it a design icon. It was named the Parker 51 to commemorate the 51 year anniversary of the Parker Pen company, and in a poll by the Illinois Institute of Technology it was voted the fourth best industrial design of the twentieth century.

The Parker 51 was designed to be a top of the range writing instrument which would help re-establish Parker as a leading luxury brand and recapture the gift marker. The 75 was designed by Kenneth Parker, son of the companys founder George Parker, and chief designer Don Doman.

In previous years Parker had tried to take the cheaper pen market with the 21, 41 and 45. Kenneth Parker was not happy as his vision for Parker was a manufacturer of top class pens. Thus Kenneth Parker introduced a new top of the range fountain pen.

The Parker 75 was to be innovative, expensive, beautiful and a brilliant writer. It had an adjustable nib (borrowed from the Parker VP), a cartridge or converter filling system (borrowed from the Parker 45) and a silver hatch finish taken from a cigarette case made by a London silversmith.

The pen was made from silver which had lines etched into it making a criss cross patter. A stain was then added to the cracks to enhance the pattern. This pattern was called Cisele, and is available today in the Parker Sonnet range.

The Silver Cisele 75 was released in 1964 and a few months later a gold version came onto the market. In 1965 designer Don Doman came up with the ides to make a Parker 75 out of the silver retrieved from sunken Spanish Treasure ships in the early 1960s. The Spanish Treasure fleet 75 is an extremely coveted pen by collectors.