The Answer that Raises the Question

About a year ago ( http://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-few-good-pencils.html ), I showed off a couple new pencils I’d picked up, including the larger red one shown in this picture:

These were made by Eversharp, as you can tell by their close similarity in appearance to Eversharp’s Doric line of pens and pencils. Close, that is, but not exact: the bands are a little thinner than what you'll find on a Doric, and the cutouts aren't the same, either. If you really know your Dorics, you wouldn’t need to turn over the pencil to see what’s imprinted where you’d expect to see the word "Eversharp" on the back side:

These pencils were made by Eversharp for Montgomery Ward and were imprinted with Montgomery Ward’s "Gold Bond" brand name. This red example has a curious feature, which I had casually noted in my previously article here: it lacks the diamond-shaped cutouts:

I didn’t say what I was thinking at the time. That’s because, with all the conflicting information I had about this feature rattling around in my head, I wasn’t really sure what I thought. All doubt was resolved in my mind with the publication of an article written by David Isaacson in the Fall 2013 issue of The Pennant, journal of the Pen Collectors of America ("Fountain Pens from the Monkey Ward," starting on page 27). This Gold Bond advertisement appears on page 32, dated 1935 by the author.

To learn more, this full article is included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 3, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere else you buy books, or you can order a copy signed by yours truly through the Legendary Lead Company HERE.