Pencils, eh
A virtual museum of the golden age of the Canadian pencil industry.
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News has been the news recently in Canada. The Canadian government passed the Online News Act (Bill C-18) in June 2023. The act required online companies to pay Canadian news organizations when someone reads their content on one of their sites. Unsurprisingly, online platforms are not happy about this. Tech companies that this is an unfair tax and the government thinks the bill will help support struggling Canadian news industry. Quite a debate with valid points on both sides. A good opportunity to talk about a pencil perhaps? The Canadian Press pencil shown below is very similar to a Dixon Flamingo... soft, dark lead perfect for a reporter writing notes.  The Canadian Press (CP) has a long history in Canada, first being created in 1917 to report on news from the front during World War I. It is now a privately held independent national news agency. I turns 106 years old on Friday, September 1st, 2023.  The Canadian Press stamp commemorating 50 years in 1967.
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 Mongol pencils were made by Eberhard Faber (Canada) Ltd at their factory in Acton Vale, Quebec (at 1100 Bernard St.). Most of these pencils were most likely made in the early-1960s to mid-1970s. The Eberhard Faber factory in Acton was acquired by Dixon Ticonderoga in 1978.  LogosI have pencils with both the EF logo and the diamond star logo. The EF logo appears to have been registered in Canada in 1965. The diamond star logo is older and registered in 1921 and in use in the US even earlier.  I have one pencil, shown below, that is stamped "Gouvernement du Quebec."   Canadian made Eberhard Faber pencils are fairly rare. The factory in Acton Vale, Quebec was not established until 1951 and only lasted until 1977 when it was sold to Dixon. Eberhard Faber made a wide variety of pencils. This post is just about writing pencils (except Mongol pencils which are in a separate post). Maritimer 1758 Without a doubt, my favourite vintage Canadian pencil is the Maritimer 1758 HB manufactured by Eberhard Faber. 1758 was the year that representative government was established in Canada with representative government in Nova Scotia. In 2008, there was a celebration was entitled Democracy 250 to commemorate this. It is a beautiful pencil with glossy red paint and bold white lettering. I don't know much about this pencil other than what is listed at Brand Name Pencils. Eberhard Faber made a series of these pencils in Canada including the Newfoundlander 1497 HB (1497 was the year of John Cabot's voyage). Caddu 666While I don't have a Newfoundlander pencil, I do have which appears to be called Caddu 666 HB (or perhaps Caddy?). If you know more about these pencils, I would love to know more.   Hockey 1000The quintessential Canadian pencil?  |
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