A Marvelusk Pencil

After spending all day Saturday at the Baltimore show, Janet and I decided to get an early start heading back to Ohio, so that we could enjoy the sights and stop off at some interesting places on the way.  One of the ones we made a point to see this time was the Hancock Antique Mall in Maryland.

Hancock lies right off of Route 68 where it dead ends into Route 70.   We pass by it every year on our way to and from the DC Supershow in August, and every time we see the billboard by the side of the highway, we think that we should stop next time -- because it seems that every time we pass that billboard it's either close to or after closing time.

This time,  however, we were driving past at around noon, so we decided to make a stop of it.    The Hancock exit is an overly complicated affair, and were it not for Janet's GPS, I'm sure I would have stopped more than once to get my bearings and ask for directions.   A few twists and turns later, and we found the large, grey metal building in which the mall is housed.  It even includes a pizza parlor, a couple of professional offices and a flea market, too. 

Well, the flea market and the antique mall were in the same space, with the fleas on one end and the antiques on the other.  The dividing line wasn't as sharp as you'd expect; however, as you worked from the antiques end closer and closer to the spectacle that is a flea market, the goods on display tended to degenerate from antiques to garage sale to, well, fleas.

On that border between the two, in a showcase full mostly of model trains, was this . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company