Tomorrow Is Always Uncertain

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When I met Margaret Jacoby in Yellow Springs to pick up the rest of Don Jacoby’s collection, one of the standouts in Don’s stuff was this one:

The minute I saw it, I couldn’t wait to show it to my friend John Hall – partly because it’s an outstanding example of an Eclipse, still in its tough-to-find box – 

– partly because of its unusual wide center band, marked “1875-1925 Von Mensoh - 765" – 

– but mostly because of what’s on the top of the cap.

John was a 32nd degree Mason, a facet of John’s personality that was a central part of his adult life (yes, he even owned one of those little Tin Lizzie cars, which he drove in parades).  I planned to surprise John with this in person rather than just send him pictures, because I couldn’t wait to see his reaction.  I was on the fence about whether I would be keeping it or whether this would be a “catch and release,” depending on how much John would be enamored with it.

I didn’t get the chance.  John passed away just a few weeks later.  I’ll keep it now - it’s something I’ll remember him by, even though it represents a missed connection rather than a shared one.

It also gives me an opportunity to clarify a point I made yesterday - that my Fin-Sharp pencils were made prior to 1923 . . . ish.  Let me explain.

One of the most distinctive and recognizable features found on Eclipse pens and pencils during the Golden Age is that clip, marked with a patent date of September 18, 1923:

Flip open your copy of American Writing Instrument Patents Volume 2: 1911-1945, and you’ll find patent number 1,468,025 issued on that date.  It was applied for by David Klein on February 10, 1923 and it was assigned to Marx Finstone:

Apparently, Marx wasn’t happy with the way the 1923 patent clips protrude from the side of the barrel.  On December 23, 1925, he filed a patent application for an improved version of the clip “that will closely hug the surface of the pen or pencil and leave no unsightly gap at the abutting surfaces.”  It was issued December 14, 1926 as patent number 1,610,275:

At any rate, once the flashy new 1923 clip hit the market, Eclipse apparently never looked back, abandoning the earlier Never Dull and Fin-Sharp designs.  According to Google, the Fin-Sharp name shows up in the 1926 Montgomery Ward catalog, but those might have been leftovers.  

Leftovers . . . like the great pencil I’ve got, with the pictures I’ve been able to share here, and the opportunity to explore the Eclipse story a little bit more.  All I’m missing is the opportunity to give John the pencil.

Don’t waste today.  Tomorrow may or may not be what you hope it will be.