Another Trademark from the Book

This article has been edited and included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 5; copies are available print on demand through Amazon here, and I offer an ebook version in pdf format at the Legendary Lead Company here.

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Here’s a pair of “Jeffersons” in nicer plastics than you usually find:

Both are marked on the clip, with an intertwined “DK” in a circle above it:

Five years ago I was pretty proud of myself figuring out that DK stood for David Kahn and pinned down both the Madison and Jefferson brands (see “The Wrath of Kahn” at http://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-wrath-of-kahn.html).  Seems silly now, but remember that five years ago, I hadn’t written the trademark book yet:

David Kahn, Inc., located at Grand Avenue and Savoye Street, North Bergen, New Jersey, began using the trademark in November, 1928.  The mark was issued as registration number 350,085 on September 14, 1937.

The Wrath of Kahn

If there’s ever a second edition of The Catalogue, some years down the road, there’s one great injustice in there that I’m going to be sure that I correct. I will need to call one of the most influential men in the American pencil industry by name. After all, he earned it.

David Kahn was a man who arguably holds the title of being the most prolific producer of mechanical pencils in the United States. Although I haven’t tallied how many patents and design patents are credited to him or assigned to his company (David Kahn, Inc.) in George Kovalenko’s book, he’s got to be right up there with Eagle at the top of the "most innovative" list.

And his most recognized brand? Wearever.

OK, I didn’t say recognized was necessarily a good thing, because many of Kahn’s innovations involved ways to make more and cheaper pencils, not necessarily better ones. But not everything that the company made was terrible – at least as far as the pencils went (the pens, however . . . sheesh).
Take this one, for example, from the late 1920s or so . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company