His and Hers Thorobreds

Happily married people want all their friends and family to have the same good fortune, and I suppose that also applies to our collections--we want pleasant companions for our esteemed objects.  It's a delight when you can make a pair, and I'm not just talking card games.  So I was pleased to unite two Waterman Thorobred pencils recently.  One is a full-size man's pencil while the other is the more petite ladies' version.  Some say that the ladies version is rightly called a 92V, possibly for vest pocket size.  But we know Waterman's catered to women, and, indeed, were inspired by them.  (See blog Inspired By Women ) I prefer to call it a lady's Thorobred.

Here is the full-size Thorobred.  A nose-drive mechanism advances the 1.1 mm lead.  The cap hides an eraser and holds the ball-end clip, which says Watermans. On the opposite side from the clip is the incised mark, "Waterman's, Reg US Pat Off, Made in USA." The golden brown celluloid is shot through with red veins, and at the tip is a plain black.  It measures 5 & 3/8 inches.

This beautiful color, called Gold in the catalogs of the time, is a first for my group of Watermans.

So is the gorgeous blue/bronze color of the lady's pencil.  It has the same nose-drive mechanism.  It also has gold trim. The distinctive clip marks it as a Thorobred, and it also has an eraser under the cap.  It is 4 & 1/4 inches, and uses 1.1 mm lead. The cap carries the same inscription, Waterman's, Reg US Pat Off, Made in USA.  Just like the Patrician pencil and the smaller Lady Patricia, they are similar, but not exactly alike. They date from the mid-1930s to 1939, the year Waterman's introduced the 100 Year models.

Don't they make a lovely couple?