Pencil Yahtzee

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Pencil names during the 1920s were a lot of fun.  If you took a pair of dice and wrote words on the faces . . . ever, sharp, rite, ready, point, real . . . and give them a roll, no matter what comes up, you’ll get a known brand name.   Eversharp, Sharp Point, Realpoint.  You can even roll a double and get Rite-Rite.

A few weeks ago I rolled a new one: Ready Sharp.

The listing didn’t contain much information, but I knew more information would be available once I examined what was underneath the pencil in that great box:

It’s a shame this example is a ringtop, because that clip would be the clincher - however, the crown is similar enough to what is illustrated, and that rib near the nose helps, too.  I’m confident this pencil was what originally went with this box:

I would like to see a side-clip model someday, just to know whether that’s an accommodation clip that slips on or whether it was permanently attached.  Good to know where to put the lead (it would have been great if it read “Put it here, dummy”):

What was surprising was the imprint on the pencil.  Nice to see the positive attribution for this brand name:

The American Lead Pencil Company of New York.  

Now, let’s see if I can roll a “Sharp Sharp” . . . or maybe a “Pointy Point” . . .