Author: Stephen

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More Thoreau

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!

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Thoreau pencil sells for $USD2200

Last week, a Thoreau pencil sold by online auction for $USD2200.

The auction, arranged by the Thoreau Society and Thoreau Farm Trust, offered a single pencil from the famous Thoreau & Company. This pencil maker, associated with the earliest organized pencil making in the United States and a family business of Henry David Thoreau, is described in the chapter An American Pencil-Making Family in Henry Petroski’s The Pencil.

I accept the provenance of the pencil, and the price seems reasonable to me. I do wish there was a better photo of the pencil itself.

For added interest, note the famous donor.

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The coffee pencil, v2.0

Last year, Caran d’Ache released an unusual product, a pencil with a lead containing coffee grounds. This blog took a look at the pencils, and deemed them innovative but having problems.

Caran d’Ache recently released a second version, officially called a Set of 3 NESPRESSO graphite pencils Limited Edition 5th Edition. This is a series that includes both ballpoints, clutch pencils, and woodcase pencils. Editions 1, 2, and 3 were ballpoint pens, while 4 included both the original pencils and a 2mm Fixpencil.

This pencil has some significant differences – the wood is “FSC™ certified cedar” rather than Swiss beech, and the lead is smooth and no longer crumbles. I would say the mark is fainter. Also gone is the unusual aroma. The end caps are “ochre, green and gold” according to Caran d’Ache. This version is an attractive, approachable, and very usable quality pencil.

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Dixon Duo

For me, red and blue pencils are special. They are practical and hardworking, yet fanciful and a specialty product. I love having one on my desk, and I’ve loved sampling the many varieties that exist. But they’re not an eveyday pencil for many.

Even less common (and “common” is relative – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a red and blue pencil for sale at a non-specialty store) are other formulations of mixed-core writing/office pencils. Fifteen years ago, this blog took a look at the Tombow LV-KEV, still an outstanding pencil. I thought that was about it for this type of pencil, but a great post at Lexikaliker reminds us that there have been a few. Still, they are few in number – vintage, a few made for the Turkish and Mexican markets – and the more recent Caran d’Ache Graphicolor and the CW Pencil Enterprise “The Editor”. A very interesting comment at Lexikaliker suggests the red in The Editor is water soluble – I will have to test that if I locate one.

Today, we’ll take a look at the Dixon Duo, a pencil from the Fila conglomerate produced by Dixon Mexico for the Mexican market. Called a “lápiz entrenador” (training pencil), it is aimed at children, though in my mind it seems like a very adult writing implement.

A rounded triangular shape, it sports a 3.3mm core. Sharpening with a handheld Möbius+Ruppert was simple.

So here is what I wasn’t expecting – both ends write well. The red is vibrant and the graphite is pleasingly smooth.

Official product listing: Dixon Mexico