A Few New Pals

I can’t help the fact that I like the Hoge Manufacturing Company’s cheap line of “Pal” pencils. They are just . . . fun. 

In an era dominated by the Eversharp, Hoge’s handy little workaday models were offered in just a few configurations and in just a couple patterns. I still chuckle at Hoge’s weird attempt at creating a fraternal Elk Lodge pencil, as pictured in “And the Award for Worst Representation of an Elk Goes To . . .” (December 18, 2016: Volume 4, page 291).

David Nishimura’s article about the Pal, published in January 2016, remains the most valuable resource detailing the history of these pencils (it remains live here). I last visited the Hoge Manufacturing Company in 2021, after I found and acquired an early 1920s company catalog that answered a few questions and of course, raised a few others. See “One of Us Needed to Do It” (April 12, 2021: Volume 7, page 25). Since then, I have found a couple of examples in their original packaging:

That top example did cost me more than three dollars, in case you were wondering. I’ve left the one wrapped in tissue paper alone, but I did unfurl the instructions included with the other example, just to document them before carefully refolding them and tucking them back underneath the pencil:

The pencil was the usual fare, so much so that I forgot to take a picture of it while it was out of the box. No matter . . . that usual fare is not what I’m excited to share with you today. That early 1920s catalog included all of Hoge’s usual suspects, including these, but one page showed some unusual suspects:

Pal pencils are almost always found in either a silver or gold finish, but this page shows the No. 55 Pal, a utility model with an exposed eraser and offered in several enameled colors.

If these were produced, it must not have been in very large numbers. In fact, I would have doubted they were ever made at all, were it not for something I found at a Don Scott Antique Show – in the first aisle of vendors, and for just a dollar or two:

That long, graceful nose is soooo irresistible to a guy who loves 1920s pencils. And this one adds even more cache to the mix:

The barrel is embossed with lettering reading “Pal Jr.” My 1920s catalog makes no reference to any Pal Jr., but yes Virginia . . . there are Pal pencils out there like the No. 55 with enameled barrels. There’s one other clue worth mentioning in connection with this one: the cap reads “Pat. Applied For.”

I have not yet been able to determine what patent this refers to, if one was ever issued - that might provide further insights as to when it was made and any possible connections with other inventors or manufacturers. Since I haven’t been able to disassemble it (and I don’t want to break the only example I have found), I’ll have to wait for another day to find more answers . . . 

. . . maybe after I find a fully stocked store display of No. 55 enameled Pal pencils. After all, never say never.