Big Man

Did you ever see the dramatizations of Rex Stout's detective novels featuring Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin?  In "Death of a Doxy," Kari Matchett, playing a hipster nightclub chanteuse,

sees Nero Wolfe, played by that genius, Maury Chaykin, for the first time and breaks into a beatnik riff on the theme "Big Man."  Later, they bond over food, orchids, and imagination.

I couldn't help but think of that riff when I saw this Wahl Eversharp "75" pencil.  Big Man!

It's a hard rubber case with orange and black wood-grain pattern, called "mottled," by the company.  It was also available in plain red or black.  It has a gold-filled cap, clip, and point, with nickel tip.  The lead is big, too, really big.  The case is thick and hefty; length 5 & 1/4", width 3/8". Cost was $3.

The lead size gave this pencil its model name, the "75," for the .075 inch diameter lead.  It was offered by the Eversharp company between 1924 and probably 1928.  Before this their pencils had been all metal.  "Big Man" has the same cap and clip design as those earlier metal pencils.

But the hard rubber was new and bold.  The size of the pencil made it all the more impressive.
I bet folks seeing it for the first time said whatever was the 1924 equivalent of "Wow."

1925 ad for the "75" with Big Man in the margin