Eagle Verithin Colored Pencils

Verithin color pencils were advertised as "the colored pencil with the strong non-crumbling lead." A 1940 magazine add stated, "Verithin stands up when you bear down. Its lead structure, amazingly interwoven with tough binding filaments takes a needle point in any sharpener any time, and holds it with a steely flexibility that stubbornly resists breakage." Set No. 794 contained 8 pencils, set No. 796 had 12 pencils, set No. 731 had 24 colors and set No. 732 had 36 colors.

The Verithin art set below is probably from the 1940s or 1950s. The pencils in this set have no gold end cap as later pencils had (I saw one ad from 1951 showing the pencils below but with metal end caps). It also has the older stylized eagle logo. Note that the set shown below doesn't contain all the original colors. 

Ad from May 1940

The set of pencils below shows that there were 36 colors available at this time. 

The Verithin art set below has a silver box with a velvet blue front. This set is probably from the early 1970s.  Pencils in this set have the stylized letter E logo and gold end caps. As far as I am aware, this style of box was only sold in Canada.

This style of box also came is a set of 24 (Art set No. 731). The photos below were sent in by Heather R., a reader of the site.

Below is a box of Indigo Blue 741 Eagle Verithin colored pencils. One side of the box is printed in English and the other side is printed in French. It is approximately the same vintage as the art set seen above (early 1970s).

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The back of the package of Dark Green pencils below shows that there were 40 different colors available at this time.

Eagle/Berol Prismacolor Colored Pencils

Primsacolor color pencils are an artist grade pencil with a large smooth core. Primsmacolor pencils are still being made today (just not in Canada). The Turquoise Prismacolor pencils are the oldest version of this pencil that I'm aware of and probably date to the 1950s. The 12 color art sets below have are designated set No. 952.

This contains the following colors: White (938), Black (935), Dark Brown (946), Lavender (934), Violet (932), Blue Violet (933), Crimson Red (924), Purple (931), Magenta (930), Vermilion Red (921), Orange (918) and Lemon Yellow (915).

La Patrie Advertisement 01May1949 - "Large diameter lead, tough, soft, durable and brightly colored - for artistic work. school and industrial."

Later Prismacolor pencils lost the Turquoise branding which was later reserved for Eagle drawing pencils.

The Prismacolor art set (No. 952) with 12 pencils below has a gold box with a velvet red front and shows the "Eagle North-rite Ltd" name on the front. Sets like this were made throughout the 1970s. Other art sets that have been produced include the No. 952N (12 colors in a plastic easel box), No. 957 (8 basic colors), No. 970 (8 matched greys), No.  953 (24 colors), No. 954 (36 colors), No. 955 (48 colors), No. 960 (60 colors) and No. 972 (72 colors).

Eagle North-Rite Prismacolor Art Set 952 circa 1973.

Later Prismacolor pencils were also made under the Berol brand name. This style of box with the folding easel stand was made throughout the 1980s. The pencils have the Berol name but not the rectangular logo that later pencils have.  The 36 pencil set No. 954 shown below was found at a local thrift shop.

 The 60 pencil set No. 960  is in like new condition. The photos of this set were sent by a reader of this site.

The final version of the Prismacolor pencil that was made in Canada had both the Berol name and the rectangular Berol logo. The box featured a round image of a trio of pencils on it. It was made for a short time in the early 1990s until the company ceased Canadian production in 1992. There was even a special set of 60 prismacolor pencils for the 60th anniversary of Berol in 1991.

Eagle/Berol Canadiana Colored Pencils

Canadiana coloured pencils are a student grade pencil. They were a direct competitor with Venus Laurentien colour pencils sets for students. They were often advertised in the early fall as students were heading back to school. Sets were sold in various sizes. There were a number of different styles of packages used through the years.

The colorfully packaged Canadiana pencil set shown below is probably from the mid-1950s. A similar set was advertised in the Eaton's Christmas Book 1956 (page 49). This advertisement listed 8, 12 and 24 pencil sets.

Eagle Canadiana set from 1950s

The Eagle Canadiana packaging below was very short lived and was only appeared around 1969 and 1970.  I can't say I'm much a fan of the orange, red and blue color scheme.

Eagle Canadiana set of 8 circa 1969.

Everyone loves a special offer!

The Eagle Canadiana sets below are from the early 1970s. The outer packaging has the Berol name while the pencils still retain the Eagle Logo. The inside of the packaging has the name "Eagle / North-Rite A Division of Berol Corporation of Canada Ltd."  Another clue to the age of these sets is the lack of barcode.

Eagle Canadiana set of 12 circa 1973.

Eagle Canadiana set of 24 circa 1973.

The two sets below show the Canadiana pencil sets from later in the 1970s and 1980s when the imprints on the pencil say Berol and Eagle name is completely gone.

Berol Canadiana set. This packaging was used from 1976 to the mid-1980s.

Berol Canadiana set from the late 1980s

Eagle Carnaval Colored Pencils

I don't know much about Carnaval pencils. I only have the one pencil below.