More Weird Stuff

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Broadly speaking, there were three transitional periods in Eversharp’s history: the mid- to late-1920s transition from the metal pencil era to the Doric, the late 1930s transition from the Doric to the Skyline, and the 1950s transition to . . . well . . . oblivion. Here’s a few examples of the odd things Eversharp did during that second phase.

From the top and most common is the Air-Lite, a low-buddget line which came in grey, greenish gray and black. Next is a "white star" pencil with an anodized aluminum barrel, exhibiting the mark Eversharp briefly used to replace it’s double-check mark in around 1940. The maroon pencil isn’t to my knowledge a cataloged model, and I’ve never heard a definitive name for it: part Doric, part Skyline, and with a clip not used on any other model – these also come in a demi size and in black, with and without gold seals, and I’ve got two examples that appear to be a very, very deep navy blue. That one at the bottom is an oddball I group with my Coronets.

None of these are exactly on the beaten path. So what would you make of an all-star oddball that has elements from each of these?

One of my readers tipped me off that this one had been listed online - I can’t remember who it was, so if someone reminds me I’ll give credit for the tip. For starters, note that this is an advertising pencil for the "Ladish Drop Forge Co." of Wisconsin, and this barrel appears to be molded with their name and logo, rather than stamped:

At the top end, it has the imprint located where you’d see it on the Air-Lite, and that top button also comes from the Air-Lite line (as well as some of Eversharp’s aluminum-barreled pencils of the era) . . .

. . . almost. Note that for whatever reason, the Air-Lite cap has three lines running around it, while our all-star has four – and more obviously, this is the only time I’ve seen this style button in gold fill over brass as opposed to chrome plated.

And the all-star has two bands that match that oddball Coronet . . .

. . . almost. Different spacing, and no gold filled band at the top. Also, the imprint on the Coronet is on the back of the barrel, opposite the clip:

And then there’s that seal, in the same place as the white star logo and which matches the Doric/Skyline transitional model . . .

. . . almost. Don’t squint too hard, you’re right . . . it’s just a little bit smaller. And last is that clip - the clip I’ve referred to as the prettiest one Eversharp ever made, which matches that white star pencil . . .

. . . almost. Our all-star clip is slightly wider and longer, and look closely at the "feathers" at the top:

Everything about this pencil is almost like something else Eversharp did. But not quite.