Accessorizing

I love a collecting interest that involves accessories!  There are a fair few things that go with pencils.  It's fun to look for and learn about, for example, pencil boxes, erasers, pencil sharpeners (if you go in for wooden pencils), pencil cases, and pencil holders.

The Germans are mad for pencil cases!  When I lived in Bavaria, I saw pencil cases in every department store, stationery store, and art supply shop.  Of course, I had to have a red one.  I also bought a larger plain one.  They're both made from pigskin, the commodity resulting from all that sausage-eating.  Schmeckt gut!

My favorite sharpener is also German-made.  It is small, simple, easy to use, and sharp.  I don't even bother to use anything else because this is perfect.  I did see a red Bakelite one in the shape of a Scotty dog that was very tempting, though.

Maybe this little pencil box is German, too.  It is grain-painted pine with a glued-on paper top made to look like inlay work. It has a little zinc lock. Goldie owned it and signed it in ink.  The bottom is worn paper thin.  I like to think of how many years it went to school and was pushed around on desk tops.

My erasers are mostly shabby. The worn down white ones are Sanford Magic-Rubs, the grey triangle is by Prismacolor, and the large-size cap eraser is Helix from England.  The new triangle is made by the General Pencil Company, once known as the American Pencil Company.  I have hopes for it.

I also have a new Pentel Clic Eraser.  Why couldn't these have been around earlier, so they could have had a beautiful celluloid case and a silver-plated clip?

Recently, I purchased a little pin-back retractable-chain pencil holder that I can use with a ring-top pencil.  It's just the thing when you have more than one pencil with a ring-top, and you want to show them off.