A Couple Whoppers

I had a couple more pencils from the Carter’s Ink Company that I did not include in “The Second, Third, and Other Shoes Drop” on October 22. I didn’t forget about them; there was just so much going on in that last article that I didn’t want these two to become lost in a sea of Carters.

This first one came from Terry Johnson’s collection, via Mike and Linda Kennedy. Janet and I made a day trip out of our visit to their Indiana home, and while ostensibly we were there to look, this is one of the items that I wasn’t leaving Indiana without.

Carter adorned some later Pearltex models with shamrocks, and this decoration has been found on all of the Pearltex colors, both pens and pencils. They seem to be more common in the shorter ladies’ models, and they are the least common in this pink. By the time these were made, around 1931, Carter was likely moving out of pen and pencil manufacturing; otherwise, it would have made sense for the company to bring out a green Pearltex for this treatment.

The other example I wanted to show you today came from Gabriel Galicia Goldsmith:

Note the top end – that rounded top with no trim is different from anything else I’ve seen on a Carter. In addition, I don’t believe this color celluloid has been found on any other pen or pencil.

That’s the other reason I did not include it in that previous article . . . all I can do is stare at it, because I don’t have any dramatic words to add.