Another Also Ran

This article has been edited and included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 4; copies are available print on demand through Amazon here, and I offer an ebook version in pdf format at the Legendary Lead Company here.

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Last week was exhausting.  After I received the package containing those seven E.Faber “skylinesque” pencils arrived, I started researching Eberhard Faber . . . which led to researching the connection with A.W. Faber . . . which led to where Faber-Castell came from . . . which led to the origins of the ballpoint industry . . . by the time I was done researching and writing that series of articles, I was ready for a long winters’ nap. 

Almost ready.  Those weren’t the only things in that lot which had my interest piqued. There was one that looked kind of exciting in the left of this auction picture, just next to that box of Scripto leads:

Of course, the color was the first thing I noticed, because a nice blue and cream isn’t found that often.

I was thinking this might be a Salz “Classic,” and that’s exactly what it proved to be:

No, I wasn’t channeling Johnny Carson as Carnac the Magnificent . . . there was a clue that led me in that direction:

Those sets of lines flaring out on the cap were a dead giveaway that this was a Salz pencil . . . or a Salz cap, anyway.  Since the auction picture didn’t appear to show a Salz “windowpane” clip, I figured this must have been a “Classic,” which I believe was a lower-priced version of a lower-priced brand.  I thought it kind of unusual to find this cap on a Classic, since it was usually reserved for higher-quality Salz models . . .

Like the one I’ll show you tomorrow . . .