Eberhard Faber produced this No. 5 three-piece mechanical pencil set. It was made in America (as marked). Circa 1940s. The body sections of the two pieces represent black, green, red, and blue lead colors. The extra leads tube features erasures on both ends and a middle divider to separate the black/green from the red/blue pencils. The pencils are 5 3/8 inches long.

Mottled hard rubber is a blend of black hard rubber and red hard rubber. I'm showing two examples of this material in combo mechanical pencil with dip pen. The little one is marked Day; one of the early makers of hard rubber writing instruments. The larger piece is unmarked (possibly Day also). These two were produced as early as the 1850s into the mid-1880s. Thank you Sam and Frank!

  Mabie Todd Fyne Point made mechanical pencils in America and England. Circa 1920 - 1950. I'm showing here a small representative sample of some of their models. Box 2.

  Sampson Mordan of England produced this very nice silver cedar holder pencil. The piece is fully hallmarked as shown. The wooden pencil insert is deployed by a sliding collar/channel. Circa 1846. The pencil is 3 3/4 inches long. Both pencil refills shown have never sharpened.

  Mabie Todd Fyne Poynt made mechanical pencils in America and England. Circa 1920 - 1950. I'm showing here a small representative sample of some of their models.

  I'm showing a double-ended telescopic mechanical pencil  The piece is color banded for blue and red leads   Circa 1900. It is hallmarked 925 (for silver percentage) and E.B. (for the maker). This pencil unit is 2 13/16 inches long closed and 5 5/8 inches ready to write.

  Waterman produced a combination mechanical pencil / knife in the 1930's I'm showing two examples. The red ripple piece is 5 1/8 inches long. The other is 5 inches. Both are unmarked.

  Pencils for an October weekend. From left to right: Eversharp, Eversharp, Eversharp, Watermans, Sheaffer's, Parker, Sheaffer's, Parker, Waterman's, Sheaffer's, Wasp, and Watermans. Circa 1920s thru 1940s.

   L. E. Waterman Company of New York City produced a tree trunk patterned fountain pen. Circa 1910 - 1920. A mechanical pencil and Victorian cedar holder pencil were also created. All featured a knobby tree trunk section or body. The tree trunk parts of the pieces were likely made by a silversmith in Germany or New York City. The working end of the mechanical pencil was made by Eversharp. It also features a telescopic section. I'm showing examples of the Victorian pencil and mechanical pencil. The Victorian piece is 3 3/4 inches long closed and 5 1/2 inches long with the shown wooden pencil. The mechanical pencil is 5 1/8 inches closed and 6 3/8 extended. I have more than a few pencils (mostly mechanical), in the stash. The Victorian tree trunk is the favorite. Thank you again, Ellen.

  Today I'm showing a Sampson Mordan silver figural mechanical pencil The piece is made to resemble a canon. The writing tip is deployed via a pull/push telescopic section. Circa 1880's. Without ring assembly, the pencil is 2 3/16 inches long closed and 3 3/16 inches extended.

A nice group of mechanical pencils from the 1920s thru the 1940s. From left to right are Waterman's, noname, Sheaffer's, Conklin, Triad, noname, Eversharp, Fyne Point, Parker, Waterman's, Parker, and Sheaffer's.

Two stylish unmarked mechanical pencils asked for pencil blog time. Here they are. Each is circa 1890. Both propel/repel their leads via tip twist mechanisms. Each is just under 4 inches in length.

   George Rowney & Co. of Britain produced this pack of propelling pencils. Circa 1915. All are marked Model 1252 "Diana". The pencils featured lead colors of brown, blue, red, yellow, and green. The odd duck yellow piece with brown cap is likely the black lead version of the model line. All are 4 1/4 inches long in length.

 A 2017 Philadelphia Pen Show Victorian pencil collection exhibit

  This Sampson Mordan figural mechanical pencil is styled as a Christmas season celebratory cracker - noisemaker. The body material is silver. The working end of the pencil is deployed via the magic pencil system - pull out the ring and as if by magic the writing mechanism simultaneously pops out the other end. The inscribed Registration Lozenge dates the piece to 1879.  Without the ring assembly, the device measures  1 15/16 inches closed and  3 1/4 inches ready for work. 

Wikipedia further explains: "Christmas crackers are festive table decorations that make a snapping sound when pulled open, and often contain a small gift, paper hat and a joke. They are part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.

"A cracker consists of a segmented cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper with a prize in the centre, making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper. The cracker is pulled apart by two people, each holding an outer chamber, causing the cracker to split unevenly and leaving one person holding the central chamber and prize. The split is accompanied by a mild bang or snapping sound produced by the effect of friction on a shock-sensitive, chemically impregnated card strip (similar to that used in a cap gun)."

   I'm showing today a small group of Kaweco mechanical pencils. These were produced in Germany from the late 1920s thru the early 1950s. From a pencil sizing perspective, the slotted background is 7 1/2 inches long by 5 1/2 inches wide.

  Sampson Mordan like many companies produced porte crayon pencils. Typically, a porte crayon pencil was designed to hold solid plugs of graphite in both ends of the device. Sliding circular compression rings tighten and hold the plugs in place for writing. This pencil is a bit unique in that it was designed to use wooden pencil inserts rather than the typical plugs of graphite.  Circa 1879-1909. The piece is almost exactly 4 inches in length without the wooden inserts.  

   I'm showing today a nice group of mechanical pencils from the 1920s thru the 40s. From left to right they are Parker, Parker, Salrite, Parker, Parker, Fyne Poynt, Parker, Eversharp, Parker, Wahl-Eversharp, Eversharp, and Holland.

   Sampson Mordan of England produced this silver, figural mechanical pencil. It is styled as a cross with an anchor and heart. The heart represents charity. The cross represents faith. The anchor represents hope. F H & C. The writing section is deployed by pushing and pulling the heart-shaped button in and out along the connected channel. Circa 1880s - 1890s. The piece without the ring assembly is 1 7/8 inches long closed and 2 3/8 inches extended.

   Demonstrator mechanical pencils were created by writing instrument makers to show the operations of their internal mechanisms. Cutouts and clear barrels accomplished the goal. Shown here are pencils from the 1920s into the late '50s. Salesmen might carry these around to retailers or retailers might show them to customers. They typically were not 'for sale' items. From left to right here are Sheaffer, Sheaffer, Pelikan, Wahl-Eversharp, Sheaffer, Sheaffer, Parker, Sheaffer, Eversharp, Wahl-Eversharp, Sheaffer, and Eversharp. Outside the box: Parker (above) and Eagle (below).

   Victorian figural mechanical pencils were often styled as weapons. Known examples produced include handguns, rifles, swords, canons, and others. I'm showing today a combination mechanical pencil/toothpick built to resemble a long-barreled personal weapon (gun). The piece is unmarked. It was likely made in England around the 1880 period (give or take a decade or two). The pencil section and toothpick are deployed for use by button-controlled slider channels located on the underside of the barrels. They push the working sections in and out for use and storage. The device is about 2 3/4 inches closed and 3 1/4 inches ready for work.

  Omas produced short celluloid mechanical pencils in Italy. The dates of production were the late 1930s into the 1940s. Pencils I'm showing here measure approximately 3 1/4 inches in length.

  Thornhill of England produced this silver mechanical pencil fashioned as a mythical dolphin or maybe just a plain ol' fearsome sea creature. The material is silver. The writing section is deployed by pulling the whiskers away from the head of the beast. It was produced during the 1880 - 1895 period. Without the ring assembly, the pencil is 1 1/2 inches in length closed, and 2 3/4 inches ready to write.

Showing is a representative sample of mechanical pencils from various makers of the day. They were created and produced during the 1920s and 30s. From left to right are Triad, Parker, Chilton, Crocker, Montblanc, Crocker, Sheaffer, Parker, Carters, Zaner-Blozer by Parker, Wahl-Eversharp, and Waterman. For pencil sizing clarity, the box interior dimensions are 5 1/2" X 7 3/4". 

  Today I'm showing a silver mechanical pencil styled as a lighthouse   It was likely made in the United States or England. Circa 1880 - 1890. The pencil without the ring assembly is 2 3/8 inches long closed and 3 7/8 inches extended.

Sampson Mordan produced many figural pencils during the second half of the 19th century. Examples include elephants, tennis rackets, butter knives, and many more. I'm showing today a Mordan case clock mechanical pencil. The writing tip is deployed by the magic pencil mechanism. Pulling the top ring away from the body simultaneously pushes the writing tip out for writing. This one is circa 1880 The piece is 2 7/8 inches long closed and 3 1/4 inches extended.