One That Has Me Thinking

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Another mystery pencil today, one with just enough tantalizing things to grab my attention:

It isn’t working, although something feels like it was supposed to be happening at the nose end.  The top pulls off to reveal a lead magazine:

So here’s the things that I think are interesting.  First, at the nose is a “Pat. Pend.” stamp . . . and rather crudely done:

Then there’s the chasing, nearly identical to what I’ve found on an odd, more lightweight Sheaffer “bowler clip” Sharp Point than the others in my collection.

And that clip . . .

Here’s the mystery pencil shown alongside one of the earliest Sheaffer Sharp Points, with the straight clip mounting.

Have a closer look . . .

These don’t just kind of look similar - they are identical.

Does this mean the pencils is another David J. LaFrance invention?  That’s a possibility, except I’ve never committed to the notion that these clips weren’t jobbed out, since they do appear on several unmarked variations on this theme (none of which I can conclusively trace back to LaFrance).  Also, the only pencil patents LaFrance received were put into production in the DeWitt-LaFrance “Superite” series, including related subbrands.

It could be that a patent for this design that was never issued – perhaps because the unknown inventor couldn’t get the damned thing to work.