Parker · 1908-1918
Parker Red Giant
What to Look For
148mm long, 19mm cap diameter. Announced February 1908 as a pen so big it 'guaranteed a broad smile from viewers.' Slip cap with threaded section joint. Lucky Curve Christmas-tree feed in red hard rubber. Optional Van Valkenburg clip (patented 1907, 25c nickel or 50c gold). Barrel imprint: 'GEO S. PARKER JANESVILLE' with Lucky Curve banner. Cap was brittle — the main reason it was discontinued. The #12 nib was the largest standard Parker nib.
Parker’s first oversized pen — announced in February 1908 as a pen “so big and startling they guaranteed a broad smile from viewers.”1
Construction
148mm long with a 19mm cap diameter — enormous by the standards of any era.1 The #12 nib (initially marketed as #10) was the largest standard Parker nib.1 Made in cardinal red (maroon) hard rubber with a slip cap, threaded section joint, and Lucky Curve “Christmas tree” feed in matching red hard rubber.1
Price & Accessories
$10 in 1908 (roughly $340 in today’s money).1 An optional Van Valkenburg clip (patented February 12, 1907) cost 25¢ in nickel or 50¢ in gold-covered.1
Discontinuation
The Red Giant’s cap was brittle — the main reason it was discontinued by 1918.1 The Black Giant (1914) used black hard rubber which was more durable.