Parker releases the “most perfect pen in history.” It’s the Parker 51. Kenneth Parker, who recently inherited his father’s company, is well-versed in the theories of Moholy-Nagy, who distinguished between inevitable and planned obsolescence, which he abhors as unnecessary, but which Parker, as a good American, sees as a profit opportunity. The Parker 51 has a gold- and chrome-plated cap, a body made of a newly developed plastic (Lucite), ink that dries instantly through absorption, a replaceable cartridge, and a tip protected by a ring of extremely hard osmiridium (an alloy of osmium and iridium), later changed to a ruthenium alloy patented by Parker. The 51 will become a status symbol. Eisenhower and MacArthur will use their 51s to sign peace treaties in Europe and the Pacific, respectively. It will be on the market until 1951, and sales will go from 440,000 per year in 1944, to 2.1 million in 1947, although it cost from 12 to 50 USD (from 100 to 400 USD today).
