Bridging the Gap

This article has been edited and included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 5; 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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Janet and I took our semi-annual pilgrimage to the Springfield, Ohio Extravaganza, the enormous indoor/outdoor flea market/antique show that takes fully two days to see – if, like me, you feel compelled to leave no stone unturned.

Under one particularly fruitful stone, this one lounged in a sky blue plastic Tupperware container:

The seller thought it was “bent,” so it cost me just a buck or two.  It isn’t bent at all, though – that unique shape is intentional and so distinctive I knew exactly what it was:

Here it is, shown next to a Parker bridge pencil.  That’s not a generic name:

The pencil is found both with or without the lettering on its three sides – Jim Carpenito has one sans letters as well, and both his and mine show no signs of wear to indicate that letters were ever present. 

I’ve written about these before – Joe Nemecek’s example was featured in Volume 1, at page 318.  I decided to circle back around to the topic because there was something I left out in that last article:

The “Parker Bridge Pencil and Scorekeeper” was featured in the company’s in-house publication, Parkergrams, on August 26, 1935.  “The lettering is etched in silver and cannot rub off,” the brief summary states, further supporting my belief that unmarked versions are simply unmarked rather than being worn or deteriorated.