Three desk pencils by Sampson Mordan (Great Britain) and Mabie Todd (United States). The Mordan is sterling. The Mabie Todd's are sterling and mother of pearl. The Mordan was polished only because the tarnish (or patina - for us snobs ;>) ), was blotchy. Circa 1920 - 1925.

  Here I'm showing a nice John Holland ring top mechanical pencil with painted design over celluloid. Some significant loss of paint but still quite nice. Circa 1925. 4 1/4' long.

  During Victorian times compendiums were carried to hold multiple items used in the course of the day while out and about. Some of these featured a shell with removable objects, such as the pencil and many other necessities. This no name example has the items built into the device. Closed it is a stylish watchamacallit. Opened, it is a pencil, magnifying glass and ruler. Circa pre 1910. Five inches long in the closed position.

   I think serious style points on this British Wyvern mechanical pencil. Approximately 4 1/4" long  Material is black hard rubber with gold banding.  Circa 1915 - 1920. Interesting imprints:

WYVERN No314 LONDON
BRITISH MAKE

  Peanut anyone? Lifesize, inedible, unmarked, magic pencil, probably British, sterling. Circa pre-1900.

  No name pencil here with a pattern that just keeps giving. The piece probably dates from the 1930's. The clip is a classic.

To quote from the Wikpedia page on Tunbridge ware, "Tunbridge ware is a form of decoratively inlaid woodwork, typically in the form of boxes, that is characteristic of Tonbridge and the spa town of Tunbridge Wells in Kent in the 18th and 19th centuries. The decoration typically consists of a mosaic of many very small pieces of different colored woods that form a pictorial vignette. Shaped rods and slivers of wood were first carefully glued together, then cut into many thin slices of identical pictorial veneer with a fine saw. Elaborately striped and feathered bandings for framing were pre-formed in a similar fashion." We are talking England, of course, folks. The pictured pencil is an example of the craft. It probably was produced before the turn of the 19th century. The sliding mechanism, via a button attached channel, moves the inserted wooden pencil in and out of the writing position. The tip is very likely black hard rubber. The crown resembles bone or ivory.

  Shown today is a German Montblanc hard rubber pencil from the early 1930's. The model designation is a  '2' (so inscribed). The style was unique. The mechanism is top button activated. The pencil is approximately 3 3/4" long.

  In the 1940's Parker produced the striped Duofold mechanical pencil. Also during that time Eclipse produced the Streamline pencil. Here is just one example of competitors using the same identical color pattern/material, probably supplied by the same outside source.

A couple very nicely made hard rubber mechanical pencils. No maker marks. The larger is mottled hard rubber (5 5/8" long), the smaller is black hard rubber (5 1/2"). The style is classic. The mechanisms are twist to propel and twist with a push to repel. Circa 1910 give or take a year(s).

  Sampson Mordan of Great Britain produced many fine quality mechanical pencils from 1825 to well into the 20th century. Their figural pencils (pencil as represented by another object), are fascinating. Shown here is a pencil posing as a sterling canon circa 1880. The pencil part is hidden in the barrel. It is held in place by a spring action. When the button in the back of the canon is pushed, the working end is launched out to the working position. Pushing the extension back to the storage position and twisting locks the mechanism for storage. Very cool. The canon is 2 3/8" long compressed and 3 1/2" long extended (not including the hanger and ring).