The Parker Pen Company, which had been a pioneer in commercial advertising and the largest investor in the writing-instrument industry, underwent a striking and undocumented change following the death of Russell Parker, the firstborn son, in 1933. Deeply affected, George Parker withdrew from day-to-day operations, leaving the presidency to his younger son. Almost immediately, all of Parker’s advertisements—previously innovative, bold, and in full color—were published in black and white. It is deduced that this change was made by the company out of respect for its president during his mourning. This visual austerity persisted until after George Parker’s death in 1937, when color advertising was reinstated. This phenomenon has never been documented and went unnoticed.

“After an illness lasting three weeks, Russell Clemens Parker, vice-president, credit and production manager of The Parker Pen Company, elder son of Mr. and Mrs. George S. Parker, passed away on Sunday, January 8, 1933, at his home, 904 Court Street, Janesville, Wisc. The immediate cause of death was pneumonia contracted while fighting the ravages of a rare disease known in medical circles as leukemia. To check this disease, a number of blood transfusions were resorted to. Pneumonia, which developed on January 6, added a fatal complication to an already desperate condition.

Russell C. Parker was born in Janesville, September 15, 1893, the first of three children born to George S. and Martha M. Clemens Parker. The elder Parker came to Janesville in 1888 and founded The Parker Pen Company of which he is president. Russell Parker spent his early years in Janesville, where he received his grade-school in education at the Howe School for Boys, a military training school at Howe, Indiana, afterward graduating from Lake Forest Academy. Soon after graduation, he become associated with The Parker Pen Company, where he early showed marked executive and organizing ability. On the entry of the United States into the World War, young Parker enlisted in the service and was assigned to an officers’ training camp at Madison, Wisc. Later he was transferred to Camp Grant, Ill., but the war ended before he could receive his commission. On being released from the service he rejoined his father’s company, where his industry and ability soon caused him to be advanced to successive position of responsibility. He was one of those responsible for the rapid advance of the company to its present enviable situation in the industry. He was markedly successful in factory management, plant development and personnel, and was regarded with affectionate esteem by every member of the Parker organization.

His abilities were recognized also by friends outside the company. A few years ago, he was made a member of the Board of Directors of the Merchants & Savings Bank, which position he held until his passing.

Mr. Parker leaves surviving his widow, formerly Eleanor Jackson of Chicago, to whom he was married in 1926; one daughter, Patricia Eleanor, and a son, George S. Parker II.“