mechanical pencils!

Some years ago when someone graduated from college or got a promotion at work, a wonderful gift to celebrate those occasions was a fountain pen and pencil set.  In the 1930s it might have been a Parker Vacumatic set, in the 1940s a Waterman Taperite set and in the 1950s it might have been a Sheaffer Snorkel set.  Fast forward to the 1970s and 1980s and it was probably a Cross ballpoint pen and pencil set.  While much is written about the pens, the pencils are sometimes forgotten.  That’s too bad because the vintage pencils are just as decorative and interesting as their counterparts.  There are practical uses for those pencils as well.  Draftsmen, architects and mathematicians use pencils routinely.  To an artist a pencil is an invaluable tool.  There are some mechanical pencils which are collectible on their own such as the Norma multi color pencil.  Norma was in business from the 1930s to the 1960s (as far as I can tell) in New York City and I am lucky to have one of their models which has 4 different color leads.  If you would like more info on the Norma pencil please visit Roger Russell’s Norma Pencil Page at
http://www.roger-russell.com/normapg.htm.
Another great source of information is Jonathan A. Veley and his website at
http://www.jonathanveley.com/
I bought a copy of one of his books titled, The Catalogue of American Mechanical Pencils which is an excellent resource.  With regards to modern mechanical pencils, go into any pen shop, stationery store or even the big box stationary stores and you will find mechanical pencils galore.  Oh, I would be remiss if I didn’t end the post by saying I would welcome a mechanical pencil or a pen and pencil set as a gift any day!
Happy Collecting!