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The article, “This One Is To Dye For,” (http://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2013/01/this-one-is-to-dye-for.html), explained how Sheaffer, in an attempt to offer new colors during the Depression while minimizing product costs, actually dyed existing black and pearl celluloid stock - as an example, I compared it to a green and black Univer set.
It was a shame I didn’t have a red and black Univer for a more apples-to-apples comparison at the time. I had heard that in addition, these were offered in blue . . . and here they are.
While we are on the subject of weird colors and Sheaffer subbrands – and add a little more red and green for the day – here’s a Craig, which Dan Reppert had at the Michigan show this year:
At first, it looks like something’s gone wrong with the plastic, but on closer examination this is clearly an “end of day” sort of celluloid, with a little bit of green mixed in with the red:
Jade green Craigs I’ve seen. Red ones, never. A bit ‘o both in one pencil? Wow.
1 comment:
The colors aren't mixed, nor are they dyed. It's actually celluloid lacquer that was used, providing a thick and very tough colored coating. If you took that last pencil and put it on a buffer, you'd be able to polish the red layer right off, leaving the green underneath showing.
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