Parker pens and pencils : maker of fine writing instruments

The Parker Pen history in parallel with icons of the 20th century

1888 - Smile! The first camera simple enough for anyone to use comes onto the market.

THE Parker PEN COMPANY IS FOUNDED.

1888 - The first sound recording device, the magnetophone, is invented.

THE FIRST Parker PEN IS PRODUCED AND PATENTED.

1896 - Marconi invents 'wireless telegraphy', better known today as radio.

Parker’S FIRST MAJOR INNOVATION: THE 'LUCKY CURVE'. IT GREATLY REDUCES THE LEAKS THAT WERE AN INEVITABLE HAZARD OF USING EARLY FOUNTAIN PENS.

1923 - The automatic self-winding watch first appears on the wrist of its inventor, John Harwood.

THE BIRTH OF AN ICON: THE FIRST Parker DUOFOLD IS PRODUCED. CONSIDERABLY LARGER AND MORE EXPENSIVE THAN PENS OF THE TIME IT’S A GAMBLE - BUT AN INSTANT SUCCESS.

1947 - The cellular phone is invented. But it's another 41 years before there's anyone else to call...

THE FIRST Parker 51 IS PRODUCED. IT WOULD GO ON TO BE A GLOBAL BESTSELLER AND TO BE DESCRIBED AS ''THE MOST PERFECT PEN EVER PRODUCED''.

1954 - The first transistor radios arrive, and make music truly portable for the very first time.

Parker’S FIRST BALL PEN - THE JOTTER. STILL IN PRODUCTION TODAY, IT HAS SOLD AN INCREDIBLE 750 MILLION WORLDWIDE.

1964 - Douglas Englehart of Stanford University developed the computer mouse. Within 20 years the whole world would be clicking.

THE OPULENT Parker 75 BRINGS A NEW LEVEL OF CRAFTSMANSHIP TO PENS OF THE ERA, COMBINING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES WITH TRADITIONAL SKILLS.

1995 - The first DVDs mean videocassettes are a thing of the past.

THE DUOFOLD CENTENNIAL EDITION MEANS THE RETURN OF AN ICON TO CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF Parker. THE NEW DUOFOLD REMAINS A SHOWCASE FOR Parker’S FINEST MATERIALS, TECHNIQUES AND CRAFTSMANSHIP.

2001 - Music will never be the same again as the first hard-disk mp3 player puts your whole CD collection in your pocket.

THE Parker 51 SPECIAL EDITION COMBINES THE CLASSIC FUTURISTIC STYLING OF THE '51' WITH THE VERY LATEST PEN TECHNOLOGY.

2006 - The new Parker website is launched, offering fine writing pen enthusiasts a new level of interactivity.

Parker100 BECOMES THE FACE OF Parker FOR THE 21ST CENTURY - WITH A COMBINATION OF AVANT-GARDE LOOKS AND AN AFFECTIONATE REINTERPRETATION OF THE UNIQUE STYLING OF ITS ILLUSTRIOUS PREDECESSOR, THE '51'.