Ink blotters advertising Canadian pencils are quite rare. I recently added this one to my collection. It is from Lewis Stationery Company Ltd in Calgary, Alberta. Given the 1 letter plus 4 digit format of the phone number, I'm guessing that this comes from the 1940s. The Lewis Stationery Company appears to have been founded by James Lewis in the 1930s and continued on well into the 1970s. 

The pencil shown on this ink blotter is just like some of the older Ticonderoga's in my collection. This same type of pencil and band are shown in the advertisement from Canadian Stationer from May, 1946. All three of these items refer to the Dixon Ticonderoga is "The Business Pencil." 

The Venus Pencil Company of Canada made a number of different copying pencils. The No. 165 came in five different degrees from Soft to Extra Hard. It also came with a point protector, mouthpiece or in a "pocket style". Vintage copying pencils are known to contain aniline dyes, which are quite toxic, so even with a mouthpiece I would be hesitent to hold this pencil in my mouth! These pencils have the same crackle finish that Venus Drawing pencils have. The difference is that these are in a blue colour instead of green.

Below are four pristine sets of 12 Eagle/Berol Canadiana colored pencils. They span about two decades of time. The final Berol set mixes up the colors and removed white and lavendar and replaces them with champagne and purple. Eagle was the best selling pencil brand in Canada during much of this time period but Laurentian colored pencils from Venus seemed to be the more popular colored pencil for students.

During the year 1935, Dixon launched a nation-wide advertising campaign for the Dixon Chancellor pencil. These ads highlighted the fact that this was a Canadian made pencil using Canadian graphite. The ads have a distinctly nationalistic sentiment. I think that looking at these ads through the lens of the political and societal backdrop of the day is revealing.

In 1935, Canada was still firmly in the grip of the great depression. Unemployment was  high and consumer confidence was low. Authoriatarianism and Fascism was on the rise globally. Hitler was firmly in power in Germany and Mousalini was about to embark on the invasion of Ethiopia. Japan was increasingly nationalistic and militarized. In short, the promise of a world at peace at the end of World War 1, "the war to end all wars", was looking extremely precarious. In Canada, the World War 1 documentary "Lest We Forget" was released. 

With the possibility of war with Germany on the horizon, the film highlighted the tragedy of war and futility of conflict. "Lest We Forget played for a year in Canadian theatres and grossed $34,000. The footage it used is a staple of Canadian war films and documentaries to this day." according to War Art in Canada. 

from The Border Cities Star, Windsor, Ontario, March 8th, 1935
Ottawa Views War Picture "LEST WE FORGET" - Parliament Rises to Attend Propaganda Film
  OTTAWA, March 8. — Canada's legislative machinery was silenced last night as the leaders of the nation, rising early from their law-making duties, proceeded en masse to view a motion picture. The Governor General and Lady Bessborough, members of the Dominion cabinet, distinguished Parliamentarians, representatives of church and state crowded to witness the premiere showing of Canada's anti-war picture, "Lest We Forget."
  Sponsored by the Canadian Legion in an effort to portray the tragic futility of war and to bring home through the visible sense the stupidity and folly of armed conflict, the picture is a product of the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau, secured from the reservoir of film which, taken during the tragic years from 1914 to 1918, now rests in the treasury.
  It was not in the words of Brig. Gen. Alex Ross, Dominion president of the Legion, who spoke briefly before the picture opened, a performance that was not a social event but a solemn occasion, long desired by the veteran body of Canada, which has felt it necessary that war should be portrayed in all its stark reality.
  "We feel that such an impression should be attended with all due ceremony in accordance with the British tradition, that those who have sacrificed in the cause of King and Country shall be accorded every honour which a grateful country can bestow, and the manner had inaugurated this picture in any other manner we would have failed in the observance of this tradition, and would have been untrue to the memory of those whom it seeks to honour for the sacrifice they made."
  The picture itself comprehends in one wide sweep the origins of the conflict and narrows down to Canada's participation, to tell the story of the Canadian corps, its achievements, its joys and sorrows, and in the final scenes searches the heart for the answer to the question if the last conflict was "a war to end war."
  The theatre was crowded with officers from all works of the city, with all of the Ottawa garrison attending in full mess kit.

from the Drummondville Statesman, January 8, 1935
Even Cabinet Members Have Film Trouble
Naming of Picture of Canada's War-Time Activities Proves Brain Twister for Full Gathering of Ministers.
  Ottawa. — While the Government may not be said to have "gone Hollywood," it is nevertheless true that cabinet ministers now appreciate the problems attendant upon evolving a title for a moving picture. A recent meeting of the Privy Council beheld the unusual spectacle of the nation's administrators seriously worried and scratching their pencils as they tried out various titles for the film depicting Canada's part in the war, under Government sanction. Finally an inspiration struck the cabinet, and "Lest We Forget" was born and approved.
  And so "Lest We Forget" is the name of the picture compiled from many thousands of feet of film taken overseas during the war, and trimmed into a connected and coherent story of Canada's war effort. It is designed to bring home to the Canadian public the stupidity and fruitlessness of war. The picture is being presented and will have its premiere early in the New Year under the auspices of the Canadian Legion.
  For more than a year an inter-departmental committee, headed by Major-General A. G. L. McNaughton, C.B., has been working on the film, selecting and identifying the innumerable sequences. The result is a production, of feature length, dividing the war into three periods. "Part one" will embrace the picture of the Grand Duke Michael Ferdinand at Sarajevo to the arrival of the Canadians in France, the battles at Ypres, April 1915, to the Somme, September 1916 and the Vimy Ridge, April, 1917, with side incursions to naval actions at Coronel, the Falkland Islands and the Dogger Bank, to Plug-Street, Sanctuary Wood and Passchendaele, and Canada's "Hundred Days" from Amiens, August 1918 to the end.
  In all sequences the cost of war is vividly illustrated.
  Work of the picture has been proceeding for more than a year. It is with Captain F. O. Badgley, director of the Government Motion Picture Bureau, receiving warm co-operation from authorities in London, Paris, Rome and Washington.

I recent added the Eberhard Faber Artistic coloured pencil set to my collection. This set features six full length pencils without any markings on them. I would place this set in a collection with similar sets of unmarked full length pencils like th Eagle Capital set and the Venus Cray-tone set. They come in very colorful boxes, have only a small set of pencils and the pencils are plain and unmarked. I think these are mostly from the 1960s era and were probably a budget friendly option.

My son is heading back to school soon and was deciding if he needed a math set for school. We call these "math sets" or "geometry sets" but they used to also be called "mathematical instruments". In the past, many of these old sets were made in England but a few were manufactured here in Canada.  In the May 1946 issue of Canadian Stationer, there is a short note about a Canadian made set of math instruments produced by Moss Instruments in Toronto. The Canadian Trade Index of 1954 has an advertisement for Moss Instruments as a manufacterer of school geometry instruments sets among other items.

My set shown below has a 30/60 triangle, 45/90 triangle and protractor that all have "Made in Canada" and "M.I.L." printed on them (MIL being the initials of Moss Instruments Limited). The compass doesn't have any markings on it but it does have an old Venus Velvet pencil in it. I've seen other compasses in this style that say Dixon pencil. Perhaps Dixon had them made by MIL?

With a bit of digging I found the names of the four mathematical instruments sets that Moss Instruments made (in 1948). These are listed in order of expense with #1 being the highest priced.

• #1 Beaver Set
• #2 Dominion Set
• #3 Ottawa Set
• #4 Canadian Set

Stationery trade publications can be a valuable source of information. Articles and advertisements can help provide details about manufacturers. It can also help to date specific styles of pencils. 
The main stationery trade publication in Canada went by many names. Starting in 1884 the journal was called "Books and Notions". The name remained through 1895 (Volumes 1-11). In 1896 the name was changed to "Canada Bookseller and Stationer". This name lasted just two years (Volumes 12-13). In 1897 the name was shortened to "Bookseller and Stationer" (Volumes 14-23). From 1908 to 1910 it was called "Bookseller and Stationer and Canadian Newsdealer" (Volumes 24-26). From 1910 it was called "Bookseller and Stationer and Office Equipment Journal". 

Links to many of these issues can be found online:

• https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Books_and_Notions

In 1946, with volume 62, the Bookseller and Stationer split into two different publications. Below are a few pages from the May issue of this monthly publication. I would love to find more copies. I believe this journal was published until at the least the late 1960s. 

Below are a couple of pencil advertisements from this journal.

Pope Pius XII was elected to the papacy on March 2nd, 1939. The pencil below was made by the Eagle Pencil Company in Drummondville to commemorate his election. Pope Pius never visited Canada but it turns out he appreciated this pencil and sent a delegation to the Eagle Pencil Company in thanks. 

H.E. Mgr. Ildebrado Antoniutti, Papal Delegate to Visit Drummondville
Distinguished Visitor Will Arrive March 5th. Reception to be Held In St. Frederick's Church. Special Visit To Eagle Pencil Company's Plant.
The Drummondville Spokesman 23 Feb 1940

Canon Georges Melançon created a stir of excitement during the course of his sermon last Sunday morning in St. Frederick’s Church when he announced the forthcoming visit of His Excellency, Mgr. Ildebrando Antoniutti, Papal Delegate to Canada and Newfoundland, to Drummondville early in March.

We learn that included in his heavy program will be a special visit to Mr. L. C. Felser and the personnel of the Eagle Pencil Company who have been instrumental in paving the way for the distinguished churchman’s visit.

Always on the alert to provide something new, it was only natural that the election of a new Pope should create the idea of commemorating the important event, and the Eagle Pencil Company of Drummondville proceeded to manufacture a quantity of pencils with the image of His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, imprinted on. These pencils were shipped to Rome and His Holiness was so delighted with the thought expressed that he requested the Papal Delegate to Canada to communicate with the Management of the Eagle Pencil Company, and extend the thanks of His Holiness and his expression of good wishes for the continued success of the Company.

The communication being duly received, Mr. Felser collaborated with Canon Melançon in arranging the visit of the Pope’s Representative to Drummondville.

His Excellency, Mgr. Antoniutti will arrive in Drummondville on Tuesday, March 5th and will be accompanied by His Excellency, Mgr. Albini Lafortune, Bishop of Nicolet. A reception in which it is hoped that the population of the region will take part, will be held at the town hall followed by a speech at St. Frederick’s Church.

On Wednesday morning, March 6th Mass will be celebrated by both the distinguished visitors who will then proceed to visit the different parishes of the district with a special visit to the Eagle Pencil Company. 

The citizens of Drummondville will, we feel sure, make the visit an occasion for rejoicing and one that will always be remembered.

H. E. Mgr. Ildebrando Antoniutti Receives Warm Welcome from Drummondville
Short Visit Fully Occupies Papal Delegate. His E. Shows Keen Intereste at Eagle Pencil Co.
The Drummondville Spokesman 8 Mar 1940
​
[...]
To the Eagle Pencil Company

A visit, previously arranged, was made to the Eagle Pencil Company’s factory here, where the party was received by Mr. L. C. Felser, manager.

Mgr. Antoniutti thanked Mr. Felser on behalf of the Pope for the splendid gift of pencils which were sent to the Vatican.

The Papal Delegate stated that there was no doubt that His Holiness had written His first encyclical with one of the pencils made in Drummondville. Mr. Felser escorted his distinguished guests through the factory and explaining the many fine and varied processes in the manufacture of pencils, to which His Excellency showed a keen interest.

Prior to his departure, the following local industrials managers were presented to Mgr. Antoniutti: Messrs. Russell A. Weaver, of the Butterfly Hosiery Company; E. A. McWilliam, the Canadian Marconi Company; Walter Needham, of the Drummondville Cotton Company; W. S. Gall, of the Dominion Silk Dyeing and Finishing Company; L. C. Leach, Dennison Manufacturing Company of Canada; Leo Surprenant, Eastern Paper Box Company; Robert Bernard, J. A. Gosselin Company; Klyne, of the Holt Rubber Company; Gustave Mercure, A. Fulhaber, of the Louis Roessel Company; A. C. Roux, of the Royal Canadian Velvets; and F. A. Chisholm of the Southern Canada Power Company. Mr. R. H. Sperling, of the Canadian Celanese Ltd., was out of town.

Mr. L. C. Felser was honoured with a portrait of His Excellency Mgr. Ildebrando Antoniutti, having been autographed with the following sentence: written in French --
“Témoignage de Reconnaissance pour Hommage à S. S. Pie XII, avec les Compliments du Délégué Apostolique”.

In return Mr. Felser presented Their Excellencies with beautiful pen and pencil sets in gold and several aspersoriums of his own design resembling a fountain pen.

Before leaving, His Excellency promised Mr. Felser that he will in near future again visit Drummondville.

The party entrained at the C.N.R. at 4 p.m. where a vast crowd congregated to view the distinguished visitors farewell.

Members of the party that toured the city were His Excellency, the Apostolic Delegate, Mgr. Albini Lafortune, Abbe Rene Denis, secretary to the Apostolic Delegate, Abbe Roberge, secretary to the Biship of Nicolet, Canon Georges Melancon, Abbe Poirier, Allard, J. N. Lessard and Desharnais.

I was recently browsing books at my local bookstore when I saw a copy of "The History of Ancient Rome in Twelve Coins" by Gareth Harney. It is a history of ancient Rome using twelve different coins as the focus of the narative. When I retire (still some years away), I would love to write a book in this style to trace 20th century Canadian history through Canadian made pencils and stationery. It would use pencils as stepping stones through important events and cultural transitions.  

One of my favourite books/television series when I was young was "Connections". This was a British series hosted by James Burke. According to the Wikipedia description, "It took an interdisciplinary approach to the history of science and invention, and demonstrated how various discoveries, scientific achievements, and historical world events were built from one another successively in an interconnected way to bring about particular aspects of modern technology." I loved how one invention created an impact on the world which led to sucessive discoveries and innovations. This type of journey through history inspires me.

There would be twelve chapters in this book that exists only in my head, each centered on a dozen pencils... hence the name... a dozen dozen is a gross of pencils (144). Here is what I would start with:

The 1930s saw the impacts of the Great Depression taking hold. The Tariff Act of 1930 by the US government made it costly to import US made pencils. Several American pencil companies set up Canadian subsiaries including Dixon which bought the struggling Cane's Pencil factory. 

The Dixon Pencil company in Canada tried to build a Canadian identity in part by differentiating its advertising in Canada and in part by advertising the use of Canadian graphite. Canadian graphite had won awards at the turn of the century due to the Dominion Plumbago Company.

The history of Canadian National Railways and Canadian Pacific Railways. The 1939 Royal Tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth saw the couple cross the country by train. They were building support for the British Empire as World War II was brewing in Europe. They spent a month in Canada travelling by special trains from both CNR (eastbound) and CP (westbound).

The 1960s brought the age of Sputnic and the race to the moon.

The Canadian Centennial celebration , Expo 67 in Montreal, the royal visit.

The Canadian Pencil Company was a unique but short lived pencil manufacturer. They were a company from Quebec that produced some fabulous pencils but didn't last long in the face of fierce competition from their more established competitors in Dixon, Eagle, Empire and Venus. They won a court case in 1966 when the other companies worked together to keep them out of a competition for making pencils for the 1962 Census.

These are iconic Canadian pencil crayons that generations of school children used. Other common school supplies include Acme rulers as well as Eagle and Le Kitt pencil boxes.

Before mimiographs and photocopiers, there were copying pencils.

Eberhard Faber, the microtomic and the blackwing. EF also made special regional pencils like the Maritimer.

The history of the Eagle pencil company and its flagship pencil, the Mirado. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1983 with a vinyl record with an eclectic mix of Canadian artists. They celebrated their 60th anniversary in 1993 with a special edition of the pencil.

The history of the Venus Pencil Company and its flagship pencil, the Velvet. The Venus factor was one of the last remaining pencil factories in Canada when it finally closed around the year 2000.

Tariffs are in the News Again
Tariffs are in the news again as President Trump has threatened a 35% tariff on Canadian goods starting on August 1st. It is interesting that current events in global trade and tariffs echo those that jump-started the Canadian pencil industry in the 1930s.

Protective Tariffs and Trade Policies
Republican Herbert Hoover was inagurated as presiden in March 1929 just as the Great Depression was taking hold. Hoover had promised new tariffs on agricultural products to gain support of midwest farmers during his election campaign. This lead to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of June 1930.  Instead of just agricultural products however, congress added tariffs on many additional industrial products to support manufacturing. This raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods. While the Tariff Act of 1930 was not signed into law until June 1930, it had been working its way through congress since mid-1929. Many countries, including Canada, responded with threats of retaliation against this protectionist move. (check out this article from MacLean's for more background).
​
In May 1930, Canada implemented significant tariff increases to protect domestic industries in response to the impending US Tariff Act. Canada introduced higher duties on various imported goods, including stationery items like pencils. These measures aimed to encourage domestic Canadian production and reduce reliance on foreign imports.

At the time, there was only one domestic manufacturer of pencils: William Cane & Sons Company Limited based in Newmarket, Ontario. This company was already struggling and its difficulties were exacerbasted by the Great Depression. 

Strategic Relocation to Canada
In response to these economic challenges, several U.S. pencil manufacturers established subsidiaries in Canada. By producing pencils domestically, they could circumvent the higher import duties imposed by both Canadian and U.S. tariffs. This strategy allowed them to maintain competitive pricing and secure a share of the Canadian market, which was increasingly protective of its domestic industries.

Dixon Pencil purchased the struggling Cane's pencil factory in Newmarket in February 1931. Meanwhile, Venus, a subsidiery of the American Lead Pencil Company, and Eagle Pencil Company both opened new Canadian production and distribution facilities.

Eagle established a factory in Drummondville, Quebec in February 1931 while the Venus Pencil Company of Canada opened a factory in Toronto in April of the same year.

Long-Term Impacts on the Canadian Pencil Industry
​The establishment of these subsidiaries led to a flourishing Canadian pencil manufacturing industry, with several factories operating across the country. However, by the late 20th century, globalization and the search for lower production costs led many companies to relocate manufacturing to countries with cheaper labor. This shift resulted in the closure of Canadian factories and a decline in domestic pencil production.
​
While the protective tariffs of the 1930s successfully encouraged domestic manufacturing in the short term, they could not shield the industry from global economic forces in the long run. Today, pencils sold in Canada are imported, and the once-thriving domestic pencil manufacturing industry has disappeared.

The Rise of Artisans
​There has been a modern shift towards artisanal craftsmanship and away from industrial mass-production. People are more willing to pay a premium for locally produced, small-batch environmentally friendly products.  ​Could a small company once again manufacture pencils in Canada? Perhaps.  Or perhaps not.

The Financial Post, Aug. 8 1931, p1
CLAIM TARIFF BRINGS CANADA 90 NEW PLANTS
Government Points with Pride to Long List
 Ottawa - While the business depression continues to harass public men, of all political persuations, the Bennett ministry contends that the tariff increases of last September and of June have done much to stimulate manufacturing and provide jobs for the workless.
 Through various departments statistics on new industries are collated. From September 1930, to date, it is quite clear that nearly 90 manufacturing establishments have been launched, all of them the government contends as a result of the Bennett tariff policies.
List of Plants
 The list of these industries, to date is as follows:
[...]
Dixon Pencil Co., Newmarket, Ont.
Eagle Pencil Co. of Can., Drummondvill, Que.
Venus Pencil Co. of Can., Toronto
[...]