Timely Mail Call

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This one showed up in an online auction at a most inopportune time:

Inopportune, that is, because it was won, paid for and speeding towards pencil central as fast as the USPS was willing to bring it – the day before the beginning of the Ohio Show, at which I hoped to share this with people and find something out about who made it.

There was good news and bad news.  The good news is, since I live close enough to the Ohio Show venue that I come home on Thursday night, I checked my mail when I got home and lo and behold, my package made it in time.  The bad news is, after showing it to people Friday . . . and Saturday . . . and Sunday, no one has been able to tell me anything.

When the pencil is disassembled, it’s even simpler inside than it looks:

The inner portion has little nubs which engage the screw threads on the outer shell.  As far as a “mechanism” goes, that’s all there is to it.  The lead is simply stuck in the end of the inner portion.  It’s kind of like a Dow, but with a screw drive rather than a slider.

The pencil is unmarked.  Can anyone shed some light on this?