There is an archaeological
pleasure in tracing the origins of old markings on obsolete objects; a pleasure
akin perhaps to playing detective to one’s own past, though without the risk of
nasty surprises. The pencils on which said markings were observed came in an
old cardboard box wherein they have previously existed in the higgledy piggeldy
company of steel pens, broken nib holders and pieces of chalk. They bore the
marks of use, were tortured by knife and tooth and endowed with the grime of hands
which time has purified. Relics.
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F. Chambers pencil |
Round-barreled pencil
number one looked like an unmarked wartime
pencil save for the markings which have barely escaped the
sharpener’s blades of deletion: F. Chambers. The name is imprinted in script, next to a “Made in England” in tiny capitals. Google results yielded that the firm was
established in 1913 by Stanton Iron Works foundry manager, Fred Chambers and Nottingham
timber merchant Brown. The two men were joined by pencil wise man Professor
Hinchley, a chemist by trade. The outbreak of the First World War increased
pencil demand, and in 1915 Chambers
bought Brown out and formed F. Chambers & Co Ltd. The company established
itself in an old lace factory at Stapleford Nottingham where it remained until
1973. In 1991 it was bought out by Lyra and exists today as Chambers
Pencils (who knew?).
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Royal Sovereign Co. Ltd pencil |
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Royal Sovereign Co. Ltd pencil |
Pencils numbers two and
three were made by Royal Sovereign to which Palimpsest has dedicated more than
one post
(here’s an example).
These unpainted pencils - one round, one hexagonal - look like war pencils, too.
“The Royal So…” says the hexagonal one faintly; “..al Sovereign Pencil Co. Ltd”
affirms the round one more strongly and it leaves a confident black graphite
mark too.
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George Rowney No. 820 pencil |
As for the George
Rowney pencil one will be excused to believe there are no markings at all on
the barrel. George Rowney & Co., known to have supplied artists such as J.M.W. Turner, was established in 1832 and incorporated in 1924. Painted red this pencil has suffered from chips and dents but still
manages to write through its knife-sharpened lead. And there, there (the eyes
are straining to see) in the faintest of letters is the mark No.820
George Rowney Co. Ltd Made in England.
Date of manufacture unknown. Exercise in pencil archaeology over and out.