One for the Other Wing

The Raleigh Show in June was a blast. I bought a lot, I sold a lot, I laughed a lot. But let’s get back to that first one.

Rob Bader always has fun stuff on hand, and Thursday morning first thing I noticed this one on his table:

It looks at first a little bit like an Eversharp, but it’s bigger . . . and that goofy nose bit is something I haven’t seen before. I had to have it, so I broke rule number one: there’s no manufacturer’s name on it anywhere, just some really nice engine turning on the barrel and a better-than-average crown:

I unscrewed the top finial to reveal a lead storage magazine, partially filled with different colored leads:

Huh . . . I wonder what unscrewing the part below it does . . . 

Dang. Everything comes out, and once it’s out there’s even more:

Once the barrel is unscrewed, two pencil mechanisms drop out of the tube, each with two leads fitted into opposing ends. Wait a tick . . . there’s something written on them . . . salvation from breaking rule number one, perhaps?

Dammit, I broke two rules with this one: it’s not an American pencil, and the imprints don’t help with my first rule violation, either: “Brevetto Citi” is Italian for “Patent applied for” or something close; at least, “Brevetto” means ”patent” (every time I search for the meaning of “Citi” I find myself at Citibank’s website applying for a credit card). 

Still, I would willfully violate both of my self-imposed rules in order to add something this nice and unusual in my collection. But where to put it? I do have a foreign-made wing at the museum, but I hate to see something this nice languish in one of the lowermost drawers of a printer’s cabinet. I know . . . 

Good thing my duck has two arms . . . er, wings (yeah, I know they don’t have fingers, either).

No, I don’t need more ducks.

A Star Is Borne

One of my “rules” of collecting, and I put “rules” in quotes because I break them so often, is that I don’t buy a pencil unless it is marked with a manufacturer’s name . . . or at least, I can with confidence attribute it to a specific manufacturer.

That went out the window when I saw this one in an online auction:

This is a leadholder: turning the cap one way releases the lead, and turning it in the opposite direction clamps down on the lead to hold it in place. The pattern is very high relief and is worthy of picking up regardless of who was responsible for creating it.

Although there is no name on it, I do believe I have a shot at identifying this one. Both the clip and barrel are marked Sterling with a star afterward:

Here is the new addition shown alongside an Aikin Lambert leadholder – one of the superstars in my entire collection. The mechanisms are the same in operation, the clip is the same shape, and while the patterns are different, both are made in that great naturalistic art nouveau style.

There are many known Aikin Lambert pencils that are marked “Sterling A.,” and the company used many other trademarks as reported in Trade-Marks of the Jewelry and Kindred Trades over the course of several editions. A star by itself? I haven’t found the evidence yet to support that.

Until that evidence materializes, I am reluctant to file this one away with my other Aikin Lambert pencils. But where . . . someplace where I won’t misplace it . . . 

At the Detroit show a couple years ago, Myk Daigle gave me a small rubber duck which was subtly extending a middle finger - that duck has ever since been a fixture on my display at pen shows, an Easter egg that brings a chuckle to nearly everyone who sees it. I noticed a woman staring intently at my table during one show, and when I asked her if I could help her find something, she asked me – as if she herself was unsure – “is your duck . . . giving me the bird??”

At the Philadelphia show last January, Myk doubled down on the duck, presenting me with a more formal version, cast in acrylic and gesturing double-barreled. One duck is enough on my table, so this one sits proudly on display atop one of my printers’ cabinets in the museum. Until the day comes when I can formally trace the pedigree of my starry leadholder, it’s the perfect place for it to reside.

One That Has Me Thinking

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Another mystery pencil today, one with just enough tantalizing things to grab my attention:

It isn’t working, although something feels like it was supposed to be happening at the nose end.  The top pulls off to reveal a lead magazine:

So here’s the things that I think are interesting.  First, at the nose is a “Pat. Pend.” stamp . . . and rather crudely done:

Then there’s the chasing, nearly identical to what I’ve found on an odd, more lightweight Sheaffer “bowler clip” Sharp Point than the others in my collection.

And that clip . . .

Here’s the mystery pencil shown alongside one of the earliest Sheaffer Sharp Points, with the straight clip mounting.

Have a closer look . . .

These don’t just kind of look similar - they are identical.

Does this mean the pencils is another David J. LaFrance invention?  That’s a possibility, except I’ve never committed to the notion that these clips weren’t jobbed out, since they do appear on several unmarked variations on this theme (none of which I can conclusively trace back to LaFrance).  Also, the only pencil patents LaFrance received were put into production in the DeWitt-LaFrance “Superite” series, including related subbrands.

It could be that a patent for this design that was never issued – perhaps because the unknown inventor couldn’t get the damned thing to work.