Finding this set of pencils was a thrill. Chancellor's are not common to find, especially as a full unsharpened set like this. They were marketed as direct competitors with high end pencils from other Canadian manufacturers like the Eagle Mirado and Venus Velvet. Advertising for this pencil highlighted that it was one of the only pencils to be made with graphite from a Canadian mine.  The Black Donald Graphite Mine served as an important domestic source of graphite during both World War 1 and 2. The mine was later submerged by the construction of the Mountain Chute dam on the Madawaska River by Ontario Hydro in 1967.

Dixon's Chancellor pencil was available in Canada even before they established their factory in Newmarket in 1931. From what I could find, the Chancellor was made in the US for the Canadian market (similar to the Dixon Sovereign pencil). The version manufactured in the US had the number 2170 with eraser tip and 2171 without eraser. A. R. MacDougall Company, Ltd. headquartered in Toronto, ON was the Canadian distributor of Dixon pencils during this time. Below are images from the Bookseller and Stationer and Office Equipment Journal. 

A more detailed history of Dixon Chancellor pencils can be found here: pencilseh.weebly.com/blog/the-dixon-chancellor.

Last week a ran across an old pencil left behind at the photocopier. It is not common to see a number given to a pencil without a brand name. This pencil ist stamped "Canada - Finest Quality - No. 358 HB Medium". Generic pencils often have a minimal amount of stamping. While it looks to be made in Canada, the manufacturer is a bit of a mystery.

I think this may have been made by Eagle for two reasons. The first reason is that the ferrule is identical to the ferrule from a Mirado pencils, just missing the red paint around the center. In the picture below you can see that these ferrules appear to be brass plated aluminum. The second reason is the "Finest Quality" statement which is common on old Mirado packages.

If you have any more info on this pencil, please reach out. Solving these little mysteries is part of the fun of collecting old pencils.

The story of metrication in Canada is rife with drama and intrigue... a grand vision with mixed results. The Metric Commission was established in Canada in 1971 to support Canada's conversion to the metric system of measurement. To help Canadian's make the shift, they produced lots of pamphlets, pencils and rulers which were given away. 

Pencils with metric measurements were given out in the 1970s with reminders of the new system of measurement. Like pencils produced for the census, they ended up in many household drawers and can still sometimes be found.

Rulers were also produced. Since these were not consumable as pencils were, they are less rare. I see them occasionally in thrift shops and online marketplaces.