Just a Wee Bit Different

At the Baltimore show, Paul Erano had this little gem on his table.  What made this pencil stand out to me was the location of the trim bands.  Here is the same pencil shown alongside its closest relatives:

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

I Had to "Point" This Out

At page 46 of The Catalogue, I've shown a group of four Eagle "Hard Rubber and plastic 'Pointers.'"  While some are marked simply "Eagle Pencil Co.," some are unmarked entirely, and none bear the name "Pointer" nor bear the Pointer's patent date of February 7, 1922.   In short, I was sure these are Pointers, but I couldn't prove it.

That is, until this little gem surfaced a couple weeks ago . . .

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

Walpuski's "Ordinary Form of Pencil"

While I was researching the various patent dates found on early Eagle Stop Gauge pencils, I'd mentioned that the most difficult one to pin down was Charles Walpuski's patent from June 26, 1877.  It was tough to find because patent was for a formulation of lead, rather than for the pencil itself, so it wasn't indexed where you would expect to find it. 

Walpuski's idea was a pretty neat one:  if soluable dyes are mixed in with graphite and clay, a pencil using such lead writes normally on a dry surface.  Then, if you wanted to make a copy of what you'd written, all you needed to do was lay a moist piece of paper on the manuscript, which would cause the dyes to dissolve and transfer to the moist paper, which could then be pressed onto other sheets of paper to make copies. 

What is curious about Walpuski's patent is that while his patent has absolutely nothing to do with the pencil itself, he includes a drawing of one anyway.  In the text, he states, "The accompanying drawing represents one ordinary form of pencil in which my invention has been embodied."

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

Another One that Got Away: Mabie Todd Stockbroker

When I think about this pencil, I hope that it still exists . . .

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 That Got Away: Parker Cobra

You can't win them all.

Most of the time, what you see here at the blog are the things that I've successfully chased down.  It's a lot easier to write about the things that are in my collection, since I don't have to negotiate with other people for permission to use their pictures or waste a lot of money shipping things back and forth. 

But sometimes, buying a pencil just doesn't pan out for one reason or another, whether the seller just wants too much money or I've just spent too much money for the day.   In the past, I've just had to content myself with the memory of "the ones that got away." 

I'm trying to get a little better about that.  At the Ohio Show last November, I actually had the foresight to bring my camera with me and thought to take pictures of some of the things that I just couldn't bring myself to take home with me.  No, I didn't have the foresight to photograph Cliff Harrington's Flamingo Deco Band pencil, and I'm still kicking myself that I didn't.

But when a fellow stopped me to show me this one and told me he wanted a thousand dollars for it, I did have the composure to remember my camera . . .

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

Lighter Pencil Week Part 5: Sure Fire

Some of these lighter pencils, like the Lite-O-Rite and the second generation Penciliters, are so graceful and well designed that you'd hardly know they were anything more than a beautiful pencil.  Others, like yesterday's Havalite, obviously have something going on under the top, but still retain some sense of proportion.

And then there's a few that look like a Volkswagen parked on a toothpick . . .

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

Lighter Pencil Week Part 4: Havalite

Sometimes I bid like a girl.  Most of the time, I'm all guy, checking the mechanisms, looking at the design and trying to figure out how it works. . . and then there's times when I just get this huge girly streak and say "oooh, that's pretty.  I don't think I have one in that color."  And I extend my pinky finger and delicately click on "buy it now." 

Today's story is one of those times.  I'll start with the guy part.  Here's the picture of the Havalite that shows up on page 88 of The Catalogue . . . 

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