Zaners on Parade

I should be more dedicated to collecting Zaner-Bloser pencils.  They hail from Columbus, Ohio, my hometown, and they are goofy, which usually puts things squarely in my crosshairs.

But on the other hand, Zaner-Bloser was a one-trick pony when it came to making pencils.  There's one ultra-rare, ultra-desirable variant - the ones made by Parker blending the Parker Streamline Duofold with Zaner's unusual shape - that I haven't been able to track down, mostly because they cost hundreds of dollars when they surface.  I have a picture of Joe Nemecek's example pictured in The Catalogue.  

All the rest are along the same lines.  But lately, I have been finding some interesting variations. 

The examples in this first bunch all have painted wood barrels . . .

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

If only all "Student Pencils" were this nice!

When Carter comes to mind, this is usually what I'm thinking of.  These are the "coraltex" pencils.  Later "pearltex" pencils were every bit as elegant.  But the company also made "student" or utility pencils - here's one shown with a couple of earlier Carter's pencils (the utility pencil is the one on the bottom) . . .

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

The Award for "Least Inspiring Patent" Goes To . . .

One of the early Eagle's pictured on page 45 of The Catalogue is the No. 831 "Spear," a short, simple pencil that comes in black enamel over brass.  Since the book was published, I've run across a couple other variations.   The top one I was really excited to find, since it is the only one I've seen that has a patent date on it, instead of the typical "Eagle Pencil Co. New York" . . .

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

Lovejoy's Requiem

At the Scott Antique Market last month, I was browsing around a table when I found this in a box with a sign that read "$1 each".    It was a pretty slow show, and this was about the only dollar I spent during that visit, but it was a pretty good one.  This is a Dur-O-Lite, and one of the neat things about it is the advertising on the side . . .

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

Less Moore

Here's a picture of the Moore clutch pencil box set, from page 103 of The Catalogue, and Eversharp's adaptation of the same design to the Skyline form, from page 76.    The gold filled examples, and one of the Eversharp plastic ones I have, are marked with patent number 2,358,091, which was issued to Charles K. Lovejoy on January 22, 1944 and assigned to The Moore Pen Company.

The connection between the two wasn't easy to establish, before I'd found the metal Eversharp that was a dead ringer for the Moore.  On the plastic pencils, the last number of the patent is omitted, so it reads "235809."   Was it truly a mistake, or was Eversharp less than thrilled announcing to the world that it had licensed Moore's design?  I don't have an answer to that, but I am skeptical that it was an accident. 

I digress.  This article isn't about Eversharp.

At the Ohio Show last November, I dropped by the Pendemonium booth and found that Lovejoy's design was also adapted to a demi sized pencil . . .

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

One for the Most "Secure" Stockbroker

Stockbroker's pencils are a special breed.  Unlike the giant Eagle pencils, which were a ridiculously large novelty pencil, Stockbroker's pencils are ridiculously large expressions of many power.   They are nearly as unwieldly in the hand, and the lead is bigger than found anywhere else.  Some, like the Mabie Todd example I blogged about recently, are cast out of a brick of 14 karat gold. 

In short (no pun intended), stockbroker's pencils signify loud and clear, that the owner is overcompensating for something.

Which brings us to today's find, which Joe Nemecek turned up at the Baltimore show and allowed me to photograph . . .

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

Joe Beat Me Out This Time

Back on December 9, I provided closer views of the enamel-over-brass checking pencils made by Wahl Eversharp from 1922 until around 1929.   Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to track down a blue one.  However, at the Baltimore show, Joe Nemecek was showing off his loot to me on Sunday, and here's one of his finds . . .

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