One warm spring afternoon in 1981, on the short walk home from the bus stop after school, I noticed something laying on the sidewalk: a black and white mechanical pencil marked "Sheaffer's" on the clip. It was my first mechanical pencil, and that little Sheaffer became my daily companion over the next few years as I filled journals, did my homework, and idly doodled my way through the rest of my schooling. I still have it today.
After 1 started collecting pencils in 1999 or so, my little hoard of Sheaffer pencils expanded. At first, I "fished with hand grenades:" Sheaffers would arrive in lots that included other pencils that interested me, and I would compare every new arrival to all of the others that resided in a shoebox. If a Sheaffer pencil that came in differed in any respect from what I had, I would hold onto it. Some day, I thought, I'll get them organized.
By the time I settled down to write The Catalogue of American Pencils in 2011, 1 had a shoebox full of Sheaffer pencils. With the help of Matt McColm, 1 sorted them into groups in order to present what I had accumulated in some semblance of order. The result was somewhat satisfying but by no means complete, and after the book was finished, back they went into that shoebox.
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av PEN WORLD.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av PEN WORLD.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Show Your Summer Style
The newest Visconti Homo Sapiens, Iris Garden, is a tribute to the beautiful irises that bloom each spring in Florence, Italy's Iris Garden.
Good Made Better Keeps Getting Better
SUZANNE C. LEE tests Dan Keller's wood and metal reading and writing accessories and finds her childhood dream desk come to fruition.
Layers of Talent: River City Pen Company
With his skills in design and eye for details, Rich Paul crafts pens that are as beautiful as they are functional.
Fathoming the Unfathomable
The new Kanilea Pen Co. Blue Moana fountain pen and Mau Loa cap band are inspired by the ocean's depths and universal interconnectivity.
Truphae: Flexibility Is Key
This young pen shop is writing a new chapter in retail pen sales by finding unique ways to foster community.
"Winter Counts:" Transforming Non-fiction into Fiction
Creative writing typically blends what we know and experience with what we invent and imagine.
Swivodex, Sailors, and the Plastic Revolution: An Overview of Dip-less Desk Sets, Part V
The end of World War II ushered in a new era, with plastics technology opening the way to better and less costly products of all sorts.
The Mystery of the Purloined Parkers
What do G-men, mobsters, and tampons have in common? The two most epic fountain pen heists in history.
The Other Articles of Impeachment
\"Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! All persons are commanded to keep silent, on pain of imprisonment...\"
The Road to Recovery
A recent trip to Wajima, Japan, by TACCIA's Shu-Jen Lin shows tragedy in the present but hope for the future.