A Rite-Rite Footnote

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A few weeks ago I posted an article (http://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2015/01/straight-from-land-of-shaw-barton.html) about a strange line of Shaw Barton pencils that turned out to be made by Rite-Rite:

Rambling around the local antique show last weekend didn’t turn up much, but I was pleased to find this one:

This one sports a Rite-Rite accommodation clip, but the pencil is otherwise identical to the ones shown in my earlier article:

And I can proudly report to you that the Rite-Rite No. 50 sold for the princely sum of 53 cents:

Straight From the Land of Shaw-Barton

As much as I’d like to say that Shaw-Barton’s pencils were all original, they weren’t. Nearly all of the Shaw-Barton pencils I’ve found were made by Ritepoint, probably supplied to Shaw-Barton with the company’s name on the clips, which Shaw-Barton then screen printed with the customer’s advertising.

Nearly all, that is, except for these:

These translucent pencils don’t fit the mold.

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Shaw-Barton: the Inside Connection

On page 8 of The Catalogue, I illustrate a couple of pencils that were given to me by a friend, Ellen McCoy, who found them in her mother's desk drawer after her mother passed.

What I didn't know at the time the book was printed was that both Ellen's mother, Della Hall, as well as her father Lauress, both worked for Shaw Barton in the 1940s.  At that time, Shaw Barton was the major employer in Coshocton County.  Since I knew my friend grew up in Coshocton, I guess it shouldn't have surprised me to find out that my friend's parents worked there. 

But it did surprise me when Ellen showed up on my doorstep with a couple other pieces of Shaw Barton memorabilia . . .

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

Shaw-Barton Gets Its Due

Shaw-Barton, Inc. was founded in 1940 by a group of investors led by Jay S. Shaw, who formed the company and purchased the calendar and specialty advertising division of The American Art Works in Coshocton, Ohio.

You would think, since Coshocton is only about 30 miles from where I live, that I would have illustrated an extensive group of them in The Catalogue.  Unfortuantely, if you turn to page 134, there's a picture of one lonely example.  I just didn't have any on hand at the time I wrote the book. 

Shaw-Bartons don't get a lot of attention.  They're often written off as "only" advertising pencils, and usually they turn up in dollar boxes at flea markets.  But for what they are, they really are well made, and since the book was written I've made more of an effort to put together a better selection of the different varieties that are out there.

Here's what I've found so far . . .

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