Pencils, eh
A virtual museum of the golden age of the Canadian pencil industry.
Eagle Turquoise drawing pencils were manufactured in Canada starting when the Eagle Pencil Co. of Canada was established in 1931. These drawing pencils were made in 17 different degrees from 6B to 9H. In 1941, Eagle Turquoise drawing pencil advertisements began to feature Eagle's new "miracle mill" which created extremely fine graphite. Each major pencil manufacturer had a similar trademarked process of refining graphite which featured in their advertisements. For Dixon is was the "typhonite" process of battering graphite upon graphite in a typhoon of super-heated steam. For Venus is was the "colloidal process" by which the ingredients of the lead have been refined "smoother than the finest face powder". Below is the text from the above 1941 advertisement: From Eagle's New "Miracle Mill" comes *Electronic graphite of amazing fineness to make TURQUOISE drawing pencils better than ever! Over a long period, we have consistently increased the strength, smoothness, durability and blackness of Eagle TURQUOISE leads with every increase in the fineness of the graphite particles which we could attain. We had alluring hopes of further great improvement if we could, by some miracle of attrition, produce graphite of an entirely new order of fineness, say in particles down to 1 micron. (1 micron = approximately 1/25,000th of an inch). By brilliant research we have made our hopes come true. Pictured here is a new type attrition mill, wholly conceived and constructed by Eagle technicians and for which U.S. Patents have been allowed. Both the method employed and the results obtained are revolutionary. In this mill, friction is not applied to the graphite by any grinding device whatever. There is no movement except of the graphite itself and the air which actuates the process. Mutual attrition is et up in the graphite because different strata of the confined mass move at different speeds. This attrition releases into the buoyant air stream a continuous smoky haze of graphite particles whose fineness can be closely controlled for a consistently uniform product. A particle size of 1 micron is obtainable. *"Electronic" graphite makes a more compact lead that holds it point longer... a finer textured lead that flows more smoothly... a stronger lead that reduces breakage... a denser lead whose opaque and even lines make perfect prints. These improvements in Eagle TURQUOISE give you extra speed and economy - at no extra cost. The 1948 advertisement from Architectural Record shown above appears to show a mill very similar to the one described in Eagle Pencil's US Patent 2315083 which was filed in 1940. While the "Electronic" graphite was featured in 1940's advertisements, the words "Electronic" wasn't stamped on the pencils or included on the packaging until the 1950s.
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Ditto Inc. was established in Chicago in 1921. Ditto was a company that manufactured duplicating equipment. They made duplicating machines, colored inks, copying pencils, etc. Ditto of Canada Ltd. was a subsidiary of Ditto Inc. established sometime before 1948. It had a head office in Toronto at 45 Jutland Rd. It is included in the 1960 "List of all Establishments Classed in the Commercial Printing Industries" as "Ditto of Canada, Ltd., 45 Jutland Rd., Toronto 18". Other than an address, it is difficult to find any information about this company. Each pack of Ditto Pencils came with a "How to Sharpen Ditto Pencils" leaflet. The sharpener shown appears to be an APSCO Dexter pencil sharpener. APSCO was a company that was also located in Chicago.
If you walk through the Halifax Public Gardens, a Victorian era public gardens formally established in 1867, you'll likely pass by a large tree planted by King George VI on his visit to Canada in 1939. The royal visit to Canada was a big deal in 1939 and domestic pencil manufacturers all made commemorative pencils to mark the occasion. Below is a pencil made by the Venus Pencil Company of Canada. One of things I like best about collecting vintage pencils is their connection to history. They are tangible artifacts from the past that often have a story to tell. Sometimes digging up these stories is quite a challenge but it is an interesting one if you have the time to take it.
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