While Most Pen Companies Dabbled in Pencils . . .

Autopoint was a pencil company.  That's what Charles Keeran set up to create after he was ousted by Eversharp, and that's pretty much all that he was interested in. 

But for a very short time, probably in the early 1930s, Autopoint decided to take a crack at making a fountain pen, and their effort was a little-known but truly spectacular footnote in the company's history.  The Autopoint Tab-Filler was a an impressive, large flattop pen, had a unique filling system, in which a tab underneath a blind cap compressed the internal sac, and they were very well made.  All the ones I've seen were in black and pearl.

They are also extremely rare, and most Autopoint collectors would do considerably more than what they'd do for a Klondike bar to get their hands on one.  So imagine what they'd do for the matching pencil?

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