Conklin Absurdities

 Sometimes, I breathe a sigh of relief when I find that last variant of something I know is probably out there somewhere. This was not one of those times.

I initially rejoiced when I found this red hard rubber Conklin Duragraph pencil:

The Duragraph, introduced in mid-1924, was the immediate predecessor of the Endura line. Conklin’s 1924 catalog makes no reference to the Duragraph, so it apparently was unveiled and discontinued in a matter of mere months. Duragraph pencils are thinner than their later Endura counterparts, distinguished by their hard rubber (and very fragile) nose cones, and I had been looking for the short red hard rubber one for years. It was so satisfying to take this picture:

Red, mottled, and black, all wrapped up in a bow. Assuming, of course, that I leave the monkeywrench out of the picture:

I may wait years before finding the short model with the side clips in mottled and red – if I ever find them at all. These short models are known to occur in both the Duragraph and Endura lines. I have had a short Endura in mottled for years, without finding another. One fly in the ointment, I told myself, is interesting.

But then one comes along in lapis, shown here alongside a Conklin Dollar Pencil:

Leaving me to wonder . . . did these come in all of the Endura colors?

It gets better or worse from there, depending on how you look at it. At the Ohio Show a couple years ago, I think it was Rob Bader who sold me this:

If I thought these letter openers could be found in the other Endura colors, I’d be on a rabid all-out hunt for the other ones.

Sigh . . . I suppose the only thing worse than missing a variant or two would be having all of them and nothing left to look for. Besides, the Conklin Endura spread at the museum, while arguably incomplete, still makes me smile. The oversized ones are not shown, since they are found in the next drawer. 

As I gaze upon this picture, my smile fades a bit. Did the Imperial Blue (bronze and navy blue) come in the other two sizes? Were all four sizes found in both shades of green?