Dad's College "Pearlie"

My dad worked his way through college in the 1940s, first attending Grand View College, or "The Danish School," as it was called, on Des Moines' East Side.

Then he moved on to Drake Unversity, earning his bachelor's degree.

As the first of a family of fifteen to attend college, he took his opportunity seriously, and worked hard to learn and make the most of his classes.  He worked nights at the Anderson Erickson Dairy to pay for his tuition and lodgings.

Naturally, he was frugal, so his college note-taking writing instrument of choice was a Sheaffer "Pearlie" pencil.  He bought it for that purpose at the stationery store, so it is without advertising, and he used it from the mid-1940s until 2016, when it came to me--about 70 years.  For a utilitarian pencil, that's a pretty amazing service record.  There was no lifetime warranty on Pearlies, but apparently they lasted as long as if there had been.  I have certainly seen this pencil on Dad's desk all my life.  That kind of continuity must be rare now-a-days.

The Sheaffer Pearlie is 5 & 1/4 inches, with 0.9 mm lead, and an exposed eraser.  The clip is attached to the pearl center section, and it is middle-twist operated.  Here is the simple clip of this era's Pearlie:

Sheaffer lead in its metal tin.

The imprint on this one, also on the pearl section, reads, "WA Sheaffer Pen Co., Fort Madison, Iowa, USA, Made in USA, FE 150 W."  I wonder if  $1.50 was the price, but if so, what was the W?

I imagine Dad's fountain pen was a Sheaffer, too.  I vaguely remember it, but it has been lost in the shuffle.  You can see my 1950s pink Pearlie here:  Southern Iowa Sheaffers

Later, I found the pen, and several more Pearlies:  Waterman Family Desk

Little Black Pencil

Coco Chanel is credited with making the "little black dress" a fashion staple when she brought out this version in 1926. It had only a simple chevron design and was otherwise unrelieved black, simple in shape, classic in style.

It was immediately coined "Chanel's Model T," after Henry Ford's "car for the multitudes" made (in black) from 1908 to 1927.  I daresay an original Chanel dress and a Model T cost about the same!

Waterman Pen Company may have been influenced by both Chanel and Ford when they offered their Patrician and and Lady Patricia pen and pencil lines.  They offered both in "Jet" with chromium trim.

The ad for the Lady Patricia pen states,"Lady Patricia is designed expressly for the woman who demands not only a perfect writing instrument but one attractive enough to be used as an accessory for her handbag.  It embodies many features dear to the feminine heart--dainty, jewel-like design--slender grip--and a chic, modern clasp that secures Lady Patricia conveniently upright in even a crowded bag.  The polished disc on top of cap offers an ideal place for engraving."  The matching pencil looked like this.

It is 4 & 1/4 inches with 1.1 mm lead and an eraser under the top cap.  The top's "polished disc" is indeed plain and the clip (clasp, in the ad) and band have a subtle design.  

This twist pencil has a Waterman imprint on the back of the cap which says "Waterman's, Reg US Pat Off, Made in USA."

If you'd like to see the onyx Lady Patricia, it is in the final photo of this blog:  Made for Each Other

Pencil and Watercolor Sketch--Backwater

Backwater

Cedar Falls, Iowa

When Is a Pencil Not a Pencil?

When it's an American Pencil Company pencil case!

Fancy grain painting over a hollow turned wood tube with point.

The metal top screws off so pencils can go inside.

Made circa 1900 by the wooden pencil company that later became "Venus."

A delightful novelty for a pencil collector.

Pencil Sketch--Stella d' Oro Daylily Pods

Drawn with a mechanical pencil using 0.9 mm HB lead.

Engraver's Band Balance

I like when I can find a pencil that's got something a bit different about it, like this ebonized pearl Sheaffer "Balance" with the larger band (center pencil, below) just waiting to have one's initials engraved on the blank space.  It also fit into a missing size slot in my "floating pearl-chips" Balances.  I tried with lighting to show you how these chips glow like the aurora borealis.

The larger bands for engraving have a simple ribbed design except for the spot left blank.  It's more uptown than stamping a personalization into the celluloid.  The other one I have is also a Balance, but with golden brown striations.  Since these are middle twist pencils, the band gives you a nice grip-spot when advancing the lead.

But that is not the only thing different about the "ebonized pearl" pencil--its slightly tooth-marked top is slant-cut, not pointed.

Like no other Balance I have seen so far.

Did you notice that the tops and tips of these two are solid black?  They must only have made narrow strips of this pearl.  What a pity, when it's so pretty!

Pencil Sketch--Welsh Dresser

Galena, Illinois

Crow Pencil Box

A week after my father's funeral, I was invited to attend the estate sale of a couple I had known at my university many years previously.  It was a house full of nooks and crammed with books;  it had deep layers of daily living accumulated over decades.  It was a collage of a marriage, and portraiture of two individuals.  I roamed through the house fascinated.  Inexplicably, it was just what I needed to do at that moment.

I purchased a pencil box.  It was created by Ian Nicholas in decoupage.  

Inside, it looked like this:

Now, after a few weeks, it looks like this:

The Waterman metal cap repeater pencil from the 1950s seemed to belong there.

It is a cap-actuated repeater of dark grey plastic and two-tone metal, with silver tip and clip.  

It uses a 0.9mm lead and has a red rubber eraser under the cap.

Among the last of the USA-made Watermans.

Pencil and Watercolor Sketch--Liffey Bank

Liffey River Bank

Chapelizod

Dublin

Pencil Sketch--Gulf

Off Veteran's Road

Alabama Gulf