exploring the art and science of pencils since 2005
Eberhard Faber IV, the final president and CEO of the Eberhard Faber pencil company, passed away in the fall of 2022. The family obituary is here. A Princeton Alumni article is here.
Eberhard Faber was generous with our own community, sharing insights with Sean Malone. Two of my favourite posts are The House That Faber Built and A Conversation With Eberhard Faber IV.
A 2016 post at Pencils and Other Things was my inspiration for visiting Catalinas. More broadly, my preparation for a trip to Uruguay and Argentina greatly benefitted from Sola’s advice.
Catalinas seems to have moved since 2016, and the historical window displays are gone. I would classify it as an art supply store, and a really good one. The building is stunning, at home amidst the fantastic architecture of Buenos Aires.
I am glad they are still in business. I bought a mixed grade set of woodcase Noris pencils, which I gather have been reintroduced in WOPEX.
For anyone seeking more of a paper focused stationer, I would recommend Papelera Contemporánea in the San Telmo neighbourhood:
And if you want to visit a bookstore, El Ateneo Grand Splendid is considered one of the most beautiful. I was amazed:
In April I was able to visit Panama, the very interesting and beautiful country that bridges the Americas.
I looked for a specialty papeleria, but didn’t find one. If you have a recommendation, please let me know! That goes for coffee shops as well. While I expected an array of imported pencils to be available, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.
My first stop was the department store Steven’s, which I was told would be the back to school shopping destination for many Panamanian parents.
So what did I find? To my surprise the Mongol brand was prominent, with both a made in China round PaperMate Mongol 482 and a made in Vietnam triangular PaperMate Mongol Tri on offer. The boxes have markings indicating the pencil shape.
Also available were mixed grade sets of the made in Brazil Faber-Castell Castell 9000 Regent and the origin unspecified Stabilo Othello 282.
I also picked up two accessories, the made in Brazil Faber-Castell FC Max eraser, and a made in China Faber-Castell Gum Stick.
The next stop was the chain store Office Depot.
The store did not disappoint, starting with multiple double ended pencils – the Dixon Bicolor (Mexico) and Office Depot red and blue and red and black pencils (China). I don’t think I’ve previously seen house brand double ended pencils.
Pelikan is another brand that I wouldn’t find in Canada – I look forward to trying the Lápiz de grafito and Lápiz triangular (Thailand) as well as the Silverstar (Vietnam).
The sources of the pencils – Brazil, China, France, Thailand, Vietnam – were more diversified than I expected. I’m also thinking that a big box store is not a terrible place for a first survey of an unfamiliar place.
This year has started with some travel. One of the most unusual and delightful things I’ve done is to take a ferry from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Montevideo, Uruguay. And one of the surprises was an onboard duty free shop with a Caran d’Ache section!
Airport Duty Free shops today seem to mainly offer alcohol and fragrances, so it was very nice to see stationery and art supplies represented. I certainly wasn’t expecting this shop on the ferry.
This morning, a complete set of the original 1997 Colleen Woods pencils sold at an online auction for ¥110,000.
The price is a validation of the importance and rarity of these pencils.
Please see the previous posts on the Colleen Woods for more information:
Colleen Woods Volume 1 (2010)
Colleen Woods Volume 2 (2009)
For a relatively affordable reinterpretation from some of the same creators of the original set, please take a look at the Bosco Woods which are still available at retail.
Another Thoreau pencil is for sale. This follows an auction by the Thoreau Society earlier in 2023.
This time the seller is online vintage pencil store Brand Name Pencils.
Asking $USD4500 (and the website offers a 10% discount for subscribing to a newsletter), this is roughly double the price of the Thoreau Society pencil.
This pencil has an imprint – “J. Thoreau & Co”, which I believe is highly desirable. But what is lacking are clear photos of that imprint and particularly the end – the lead and joints. I’d also be concerned about how the peculiar storage may have affected the pencil.
I’m sure Bob wouldn’t have bought this pencil if he didn’t believe it to be genuine, but I’d suggest that at this price one might hope for more background. The statement “This particular pencil comes to me by way of a large Victorian in West Roxbury, Massachusetts” had me imagining an older, rotund person.
And an alternate spelling of the name “Henry” doesn’t garner confidence regarding the attention to detail.
Still, an extremely interesting offering.
If you buy this pencil, please let us know.
And a very happy new year to all!