With Apologies to Mr. Nishimura

Today’s story circles back around to what has been nicknamed the "transitional Patrician" or "proto-Patrician" I wrote about here back on August 24, 2012 (see https://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-new-discovery-thanks-to-old-book.html):

Shortly after the article was first published, David Nishimura sent me an email to let me know he’d written an article on the matching pen over at his website, www.vintagepens.com,
and that he disagreed with me on one point: I’d written that this pencil was a transition from earlier flattop Waterman pencils to the Patrician, while David believes that these were end-of-the-line Patricians made from whatever leftover parts were on hand.

To learn more, this full article is included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 2, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere else you buy books, or you can order a copy signed by yours truly through the Legendary Lead Company HERE.

Might As Well

"I’m going to try to buy something today," I told Janet as we were heading out to the Scott Antique Market last month. She looked at me a little confused.

"I mean online," I clarified. "There’s something closing today and I put in a big bid on it."

I was half hoping that I would get outbid quickly. My bid was very healthy, more than I usually spend at the Scott Antique Market in an entire day of shopping over there, but still I figured it wasn't enough. Since I didn't feel right blowing that much money in one day between the online auctions and the show, I figured the minute someone outgunned me online, I’d get to relax at the show and loosen up my wallet a little.

The bidding online stalled out at just a hair under four hundred dollars with an hour and a half or so left to go. I wandered aimlessly up and down the aisles at the antique show, afraid to spend any real money until I knew the auction results and making mental notes of the things I’d swing back around for later if I hadn’t already busted the bank for the day. Every time I saw something interesting, I checked my phone to check the status of my bid. Yeah. I was that guy.

But as the online clock ticked down to zero, no one else came forward with another bid. My budget was toast, and for the most part, my trip to the Scott Antique Market was mostly just a leisurely walk around the room. Still, I was very happy.

So what had me stingier than a pre-Christmas Eve Scrooge at an antique show?

To learn more, this full article is included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 2, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere else you buy books, or you can order a copy signed by yours truly through the Legendary Lead Company HERE.

Sharpening My Understanding of the Spear

When Arthur Cox met me at the Philadelphia Pen Show with his boxes of goodies in hand, I found out just how little I actually knew about the Eagle Spear and its variations.

The most "normal" of the Spears Arthur had were these, one in black with gilt bands and the other in the more uncommon red or "russet."

To learn more, this full article is included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 2, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere else you buy books, or you can order a copy signed by yours truly through the Legendary Lead Company HERE.

All I Knew About These Was Just the Tip of the . . . Spear

Back on March 29, 2012, I wrote an article here about the Eagle Spear (http://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2012/03/award-for-least-inspiring-patent-goes.html ), showing of a few examples of the Spear in different configurations.  I thought I had the topic covered.

By the time the Ohio Show rolled around, I’d found a couple of red examples, including the one featured in the "Russet" article here a week ago. A couple weeks after that, Don Lamkin sent me an email to see if I’d like to look at an Eagle "Trumpet" he’d found that was a little rough but still kind of neat. I’d seen a reference to the Trumpet somewhere in The American Stationer and was eager to see it, so Don sent it to me:

Yeah, it is a little dented up, but that’s ok with me – it was the first time I’d seen an all gold plated variation on the Spear, complete with the September 22, 1908 patent date:

To learn more, this full article is included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 2, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere else you buy books, or you can order a copy signed by yours truly through the Legendary Lead Company HERE.

By Way of Introduction

My first conversation with Arthur Cox began the same way a lot of my conversations start with people I don’t know. He’d seen my blog, he had some pencils and he thought I might be interested in them.

Often, when I get these calls people are fishing to see what the things they have are worth – in the most egregious example, after I’d negotiated a price with a caller, he said he’d think about it and the next thing I know, he’d listed the pencils in an online auction with an opening bid of exactly twice what I’d offered!

So I’ve gotten a little skeptical about callers offering to sell me things, but Arthur was different. First, as we talked I could tell he knew a lot about pencils. Second, he was looking to sell duplicates from his collection – a pretty clear indication that he’d been actively seeking them out, rather than having fell into them by accident.

And third, he was calling me one week before the Philly show to see if he could bring some early Eagles with him and meet me at the show.

Sure, I told him – bring everything you want to show me! Since I would have my camera with me, even if we couldn’t come to terms on a price, from what he was describing it sounded like he had some really interesting things I’d want to document.

So on Saturday morning, as I was browsing through Andy Beliveau’s victorian pencils, my cell phone jingled. It was Arthur, calling as promised from the lobby outside the show room, with pencils in tow. I excused myself and went out into the lobby, where I found Arthur with a couple small boxes under his arm. We found a table and a couple of chairs to sit down and talk for awhile.

Arthur, who is quite the salesman, led with his strong suit to hook me in. "Have you ever seen one of these?" he asked:

To learn more, this full article is included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 2, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere else you buy books, or you can order a copy signed by yours truly through the Legendary Lead Company HERE.

A Few More Words About Metal Conklins

I don’t remember where this one came from, but the pencils themselves are so memorable that I did recall having one when the Philly Pen Show auction rolled around (the only reason I passed):

To learn more, this full article is included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 2, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere else you buy books, or you can order a copy signed by yours truly through the Legendary Lead Company HERE.

The Un-Conklins

Long after Conklin had abandoned the venerable crescent filling system in favor of conventional lever filling pens, the company continued to use the Mooney clip, although it was modified and reshaped a few times:

To learn more, this full article is included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 2, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere else you buy books, or you can order a copy signed by yours truly through the Legendary Lead Company HERE.