A nicely made engine turned sterling barreled, English mechanical pencil. Black trim. Time of production 1930's. Diminutive. Four inches long.

To quote from Kenneth Bull's fabulous Victorian pencil book 'The KB Collection Of Pencils', 'Hamilton and Co was one of the best known British silversmithing companies in India during the 19th century'. Shown here is a figural pencil by the company represented as a sterling storage barrel. Activation is by a 5 stage (including the nozzle), pull out telescopic mechanism. The piece is 1 3/8 inches long in the closed position and 3 7/8 inches in the fully extended position. Circa 1885'ish.

Just a nice Montblanc mechanical pencil from the 1930's. A skosh over 5 inches long.

  Showing today is a silver, figural harp mechanical pencil. Probably British. Circa 1880. The writing tip is exposed by the push/pull collar on the vertical shaft. The piece is 2 inches tall and 7/8 inches across. It is 2 9/16 inches long in the extended position.

  Sheaffer's produced it's first mechanical pencil in 1917. The model was named Sharp-Point. Shown here is a small sampling of those pencils. Specifically labeled in-store display cases were built and used to feature them.

  Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth has produced many fine pencils during the last 200 years. The Koh-I-Noor and L.C. Hardtmuth names both produced wooden and mechanical pencils. The company was founded in Austria in 1790 by Joseph Hardtmuth. Today the company is headquartered in the Czech Republic. Their first patent for pencil lead was granted in 1802. Showing today is a later model 4095 B mechanical pencil produced during the 1940's, possibly the late 30's. This one features a propel/repel twist mechanism. It is 5 3/4 inches long. It was inscribed and marketed as L.C. Hardtmuth.

  At the recently concluded Triangle Pen show this guy exhibited a large vintage, mechanical pencil collection. Circa 1920 -1955. The large cases pictured here featured pencils from the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy. 

 Thanks to my wonderful friend Janet Wright for the awesome pictures.

  The French connection was particularly well represented by the Waterman's Jif pencils pictured below.

  Maybe a pencil exhibit would not be complete without a couple bridge pencil sets.