Pencil Versus Pen

As a new pencil collector I can't help but notice a certain attitude in the collecting world that pencils are a lesser collectible than fountain pens.  It's almost as extreme as antique German dolls versus antique French dolls.  Okay, I grant you that the pen is mightier than the sword, but is it really mightier than the pencil?

There are some issues to explore, and I think the main issue is permanence.

• pencil writing is erasable; pen writing is not
• pencil writing indicates you can change your mind; pen writing shows your ideas are immutable
• pencil writing is temporary; pen writing is permanent--kind of like renting versus owning
• pencil writing is for first drafts; pen writing is for final copy

Another issue is who uses pencils versus who uses pens in their occupations: pencil users are architects, builders, engineers, editors, teachers, journalists, novelists, poets, artists, and students while pen users are bankers, lawyers, judges, executives, presidents, administrators, doctors, law-makers, celebrities, and others who sign things in ink.

Maybe pencil users are more flexible, while pen users never waver; maybe pencil users can accept mistakes and change more readily, while pen users think carefully before they act.  Could it be as simple as right brain versus left brain?  Not really, because the truth is that most people need both sides of their brain, and most people need pencils and pens, to do what they do in the world.  Rather than the great divide, a total separation, it's really a marriage of two different but equally necessary writing instruments.  

Maybe that's why pen and pencil sets were so universally popular.  Like my Sheaffer Triumph Crest set (see my blog "They Were Always Together" ).

But don't try to tell me that this Waterman # 3 fountain pen is somehow better or finer than my new Waterman Thorobred pencil.

Thanks to Peyton Street Pens for their image.

Pencil Sketch--Colored Pencil Trio

Hawk, Owl, and Crow

colored pencils

Portable

Mankind, and, of course, womankind, has always liked the idea of taking our things with us, and when we invented writing instruments, they became something we wanted to carry about, too.  Men have had pockets for centuries now, but women have not always been so blessed by the fashion trends of our time.  I'm not going to rant about that, even though it is ridiculous and unfair, because handbags fill the bill pretty nicely and offer a lot of possibility for fashion statements.  They're practical, and can even be effective weapons, as Nora Batty has shown us.

But you don't carry a handbag in the house, unless, possibly, you are Queen Elizabeth, and your house happens to be a palace or castle.

When fashion provided no pockets, women had to carry their pencils and pens some other way.  One of these was the sautoir, a French term for a ribbon with a hook or clasp. They were improved upon to be adjustable, and to fasten in the back, thus preserving one's hairstyle. This one was given as a premium by Needlecraft magazine in the 1910s.

This is an actual vintage sautoir.

Another idea for carrying pens, pencils, or other indispensable items was the pin-on clasp with retractable chain or cord.  The New Jersey company of Ketchem & McDougall manufactured these for many years, with various decorations including engine turning, like this one.

Ringtop pens and pencils were made specifically to attach to these sort of ribbons or pins.

Portability is still a popular concept, even though the technology of writing has vastly altered.

Pencil Sketch--Eisteddfod

Eisteddfod Scene

Pencil Sketch--Ironworker

19th Century 

Welsh Ironworker

Made for Each Other

Waterman was my name for a long time, and still is part of my name, so I like to see it imprinted on a pencil---can you blame me?  The nice ones don't seem to come along too often, so I was very happy to add a new Waterman to my collection this week.  According to Jon Veeley's The Catalogue of American Mechanical Pencils (Where would I be without it? Adding to my collection unintelligently, that's where.), my new pencil was made to match the Waterman Number 94 fountain pen, below.

This particular Waterman 95, as it was called, has a deep red-brown agate-like celluloid case with gold-tone tip, center band, and clip. The point is a dark-chocolate brown. The center band and clip have a simple, decorative design. An eraser is under the cap. The cap has a bullseye carved into the top out of the celluloid itself, and the only imprint is on the back at the top: Waterman's, Reg. US Pat Off, Made in USA.  It uses 1.1 mm lead.  It's elegantly understated.  I have to say I love it.

The really great thing is how beautifully it goes with my Waterman's Lady Patricia. The Waterman 95 matches the Lady Patricia more closely than the Patrician does, like they were made for each other.

If you'd like to get The Catalogue of American Mechanical Pencils for yourself, go here:
Order Page for Catalogue

Pencil Sketch--Welsh Hill Sheep

Beulah Speckled Face 

Welsh Hill Sheep

Unhinged, But Not Unbalanced

Of all the pencil brands and models I have collected so far, one has become my favorite.  I don't think it is because it comes from right here in Iowa, although that's great, of course.  I think it's the design, the actual shape, and the way it looks and feels as a writing instrument that makes the Sheaffer Balance rise to the top of my list.  The Balance came in four or five sizes, and many wonderful celluloid patterns and colors.

The large Balance is 5 & 5/8 inches.  The warm browns and golds in this striated celluloid go well with the gold-colored metal.  The clip has no marking on this style from the second half of the 1930s, when only striated celluloid was being used, not marbled.  The only imprint is the tiny one on the back of the pencil, highlighted in white for the photo below.  The original price was $5.00, and it uses 0.9 mm lead.

Another example of the golden brown striated celluloid of the same time period is the model below with a wide jeweler's band for engraving one's name or initials.  It is 5 & 1/4 inches and uses 0.9 mm lead.

Medium size Balances were also available in 4 & 3/4 inches.  Below is one in the color of striated celluloid called "rose glow."  It uses the older 1.1 mm lead.

 The one below is the same size, but it has a smaller clip and uses 0.9 mm lead.  It is red and black.

The 4 & 3/4 inch Balance above is from the specific time period of 1934-35.  Its grey marble has veins of red, and the clip is marked Sheaffer's.  It uses 1.1 mm lead.  

Sheaffer also made a 4 & 1/4 inch Balance, which you would have to call a ladies' pencil, or a pocket pencil.

The black and green marble pencil above is the earliest of them all, made from 1929 to 1933.  Those from that time period had a ball clip with the Sheaffer name on it, and were fitted with 1.1 mm lead.

Below are all the Balances together; because each one has a gold band in the middle, they accompanied Balance pens carrying Sheaffer's lifetime warranty, and were slightly more deluxe.  All are still working perfectly after 75+ years.

Mechanical pencil mania may make me slightly unhinged, but no one could say I am "un-Balanced."

Pencil Sketch--Cottage Interior

Cottage Interior with

Hand-quilting Frame and

Welsh Dresser

Ladies, Choose Your Style

You can easily find a lady's vintage mechanical pencil to match your personal style.
If this is you. . .

. . . then you might like something floral.

This is a Wahl Eversharp sterling silver ringtop pencil with a floral engraving and your monogram in the center of the flowers.  You might wear it on a chain to a dance, and write yourself down for all the waltzes with your current favorite beau (on his dance card, or failing that, on his celluloid shirt cuff) using this little beauty. Your name won't easily be erased with this pencil's 1.1 mm lead.

If you prefer gold, and want to have a pencil on a chain, but not around your neck, pin on this floral brooch and when the opportunity comes along to give your telephone number to the right person, just pull down on the pencil and it extends on it's retractable chain.  Styled just for you by Ketcham & McDougall of East Orange, New Jersey, the little square nose-drive pencil uses the latest thin lead (0.9mm).

Maybe floral is not your style.  If you prefer something more tailored and sporty, there are pencils for your personal taste, too.

If this is more like you, how about this 4 inch Sheaffer pocket or purse pencil, the "Tuckaway?"  This Sentinel model has a two-tone cap with sporty vertical and ripple chasing, a petite clip, and a go-with-everything burgundy lower half.  You will write smoothly and finely when you twist out the 0.9 mm lead.

If you are no-nonsense and have not an inch of space to spare, you might like this telescoping pencil by Writescope.  Extended, it is 3 inches, but compressed it is only an inch and three quarters.  Perfect for the peripatetic life.  It would clip to the ripcord of your parachute, even, via the ring on top.