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But a four-color pencil isn’t all that Hicks and Eddward Todd were up to. Check this one out:
That’s a telephone dialer on the top and yes, it’s marked with Edward Todd's hallmark:
This next one is a little beat up, but I had to add it to my collection anyway:
I had never seen a double-ended Hicks family pencil. This one I call “Hicks family” because it isn’t hallmarked, other than to indicate gold filled, and the clip probably isn’t a Hicks clip:
And then there’s this chubby fellow:
Other than the girth, this one looks like any other, classic-styled Hicks . . . until you remove the cap:
Who knew the company made a lighter pencil? And more interesting still, when you pull out the lighter, is the odd bedfellow who assisted in the operation:
The imprint is very, very faint (maybe that was on purpose): it reads “Redilite / Pat. 1820131 Made in USA / B.& B. St. Paul Minn.” That’s right – W.S. Hicks collaborated with Brown and ;Bigelow, makers of Redipoint pencils (and the companion Redilite lighters) to make this one. The patent was issued to veteran Brown and Bigelow inventor Howard Fischler on August 25, 1931:
2 comments:
Jon, that top pencil is clearly marked with the Edward Todd logo.
Fixed - thanks.
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