Great style is certainly one reason I collect mechanical pencils. This one has got a whole lot of that me thinks. The material is likely hard rubber. The piece measures 4 5/16 inches in length. The only markings on it are 'DAY 1852', That information happens to relate to Charles Goodyear suing Horace H. Day for patent infringement in 1852 for it's rubber vulcanization process.This piece was quite probably produced sometime after that event.

Showing here are three A.T. Cross mechanical pencils. Two feature painted design over a gold filled metal finish. Both paint jobs are flawless. The third pencil is a chased sterling with somewhat unusual thick lead. All were produced in the vicinity of the 1930's. The painted pieces are approximately 4 1/4 inches long. The silver example comes in at around 3 3/4 inches.

  The long taper to the tip attracted me to this silver plated English pencil, circa 1930's.The scripting reads a probable model name Easiuryte, Made In England, and Pat No 182658. The piece is 3 1/4 inches long. The taper is the deal.

 Pictured here are mid 1920's through very early 30's Wahl-Eversharp pencils. 4 through 6 from the left are English. The rest are American. The lone exception is a no name on the far right. All pieces about 4" long.

Stockbroker mechanical pencils are a different breed. They are almost always oversize, heavy and well made. The materials range from solid gold to silver plating and everything in between. Typical lead size diameter is the extra large 5.6mm. The story goes that traders on the stock exchange floor found the thick lead pencils useful in hurriedly scribbling buy and sell orders. Lengths depicted here range from the 5 3/4 inch clipless, sterling model on top to the extra short 3 1/4 inch example on the bottom. Pencils of this type were produced from the 1920's all the way into the late 1940's.

From top to bottom the makers of the pencils are: a no name, an Edward Todd, a Hicks, another no name and a Victor.

  Joseph Dixon Crucible Company produced primarily wooden pencils from the mid-1800's into the 21st century. They are still in business as Dixon Ticonderoga Company, still producing wooden pencils. Here showing is a pamphlet they did for the kids. Printing date is 1904. The cover is not worn. It was printed to look like that.  Enjoy.

     

  Just a cool, little noname pencil. 5 1/2 inches long.