Venus Pocket Pencils

This pocket sized set of 8 colored pencils dates from the early 1970s. It measures about 3.5 inches long and 3 inches wide. Just the right size to slide into a pocket or purse.

Venus Laurentien Colored Pencils

Laurentian pencil crayons (later spelled Laurentien) were an iconic part of many Canadian students' school supply checklists. These colored pencils were made in Canada by the Venus Pencil Company. They were also sold in the US under the brand name 'Paradise.' Each color was labeled with a number for use with Colour-By-Number kits also produced by Venus. Sets were made in a variety of sizes including: 6, 8, 12 and 24. Later, sets of 20, 30 and 60 pencils were available. Production of Laurentien pencils in Canada ceased in the mid-1990s. They continued to be produced in the US under the Sanford brand until about 2011 when the product line was discontinued.

The earliest Laurentian pencils came in a box and were manufactured by the Venus Pencil Company Ltd. The box had a black band at the bottom and the pencils were stamped with the companies full name. Later boxes had a blue band at the bottom and had the more familiar "Venus Canada" stamp on them.

Laurentian set circa 1950s. One side was printed in English and the other side in French.

Laurentian set circa 1960s

Laurentian color pencil circa 1950s.

In the late 1960s, packaging shifted to vinyl pouches. First under Venus Pencil Company Ltd and later under the Venus Esterbrook Canada Ltd name.  In the mid-1970's a bar code was added to the cover.

Laurentian set circa 1970s

Laurentien set circa 1980s

Laurentien set circa 2000

One way to date larger sets of pencils is to check the name of colors #14 and #21. According to Cindy at Salt and Serenity, in the mid-1960s or early 1970s, Venus changed the name of #14 from "Natural Flesh" to "Flesh". Later, the name of the #14 pencil was again changed to "Soft Peach". Pencil #21 was changed from "Indian Red" to "Roan Red". 

Venus Rex Color Pencils

Venus Super Color 6200

Venus Super Color pencils are a watercolor pencil with the familiar Venus crackle finish. In the US, similar pencils were stamped with the number 200.

Venus Coloring Set No. 2116 was a set of 12 pencils (I've also seen a 2215 set with 8 pencils). The images below were contributed by a reader of this site who said that he believed they date from the 1940s. The pencils in the set have no ferrule.

Below is an advertising ink blotter showing these pencils.