Die Ausstellung „The Secret Life of the Pencil“ des Industriedesigners Alex Hammond und des Fotografen Mike Tinney vom 19. Mai bis 3. Juni in London wird großformatige Detailaufnahmen von Bleistiften bekannter Nutzer zeigen. Hier der 15 Jahre lang genutzte Druckbleistift des Schriftstellers William Boyd:
Die Erfindung des kegelförmig gebohrten Bleistiftspitzers gebührt offenbar nicht Theodor Paul Möbius, sondern dem Londoner Ableger der französischen Firma A. Marion & Co., deren „Pencil Cutter and Sharpener“ bereits 1852, also 56 Jahre vor Möbius, so ausgeführt gewesen sein soll. – Danke an Wowter für den Hinweis!
Craft Design Technology hat den Bleistift item 17 aus dem Sortiment genommen und durch den item 32 mit Radiertip ersetzt. Letzterer kommt von einem anderen Hersteller und hat keine gebrannte Polymermine mehr. (Gebrannte Polymerminen gibt es üblicherweise nur für Druckbleistifte, und so war die zwei Millimeter dicke Mine im item 17 und im bis 2011 erhältlichen Pentel Black Polymer 999 etwas Besonderes.) – Danke an Sola für den Hinweis!
4 Kommentare zu „Kurz notiert“
Wowter
Fascinating age of these early pencil sharpeners! I am not completely sure the Marion pencil sharpener has a conical drilled hole. The photographs on http://www.officemuseum.com/sharpener_small.htm suggest this is the case. However, the clamps to keep the pencil in place could also mean the hole is just an ordinary tube-shaped one. Remember that for a present day pencil sharpener no clamps are needed. They work fine without any of these. Maybe Theodor Paul Möbius was still the first person in designing it this way. Who can deliver a photograph that the Marion had a conical pencil tip receiver? That would solve these current questions instantly.
These early pencil sharpeners are indeed fascinating! The clamps of the Marion devices remind me of the huge effort which was spent for the design of e. g. the Jupiter; maybe the clamps were just overdetermined. – As far as I know Möbius‘ achievement included the integration of the conical drilling hole into the industrial production of his sharpeners (I don’t think that there was a series production of the Marion shapeners).
Wowter
Question previously posted (see above) has been solved. On the commercial website Worthpoint searching is for free. If you search for: „marion pencil sharpener“, you will find one important hit. If you look closely at the photographs, it is clear the Marion was drilled conically. It was probably too complex in production and thus too expensive to become a sales hit. In the end other manufacturers conquered the world with their simpler and more effective designs.
Thank you for these details! Yes, the conical drilling is clearly visible. I think these sharpeners were produced individually by hand, especially in view of the clamps (which, by the way, remind me of an insect).
Fascinating age of these early pencil sharpeners! I am not completely sure the Marion pencil sharpener has a conical drilled hole. The photographs on http://www.officemuseum.com/sharpener_small.htm suggest this is the case. However, the clamps to keep the pencil in place could also mean the hole is just an ordinary tube-shaped one. Remember that for a present day pencil sharpener no clamps are needed. They work fine without any of these. Maybe Theodor Paul Möbius was still the first person in designing it this way. Who can deliver a photograph that the Marion had a conical pencil tip receiver? That would solve these current questions instantly.
These early pencil sharpeners are indeed fascinating! The clamps of the Marion devices remind me of the huge effort which was spent for the design of e. g. the Jupiter; maybe the clamps were just overdetermined. – As far as I know Möbius‘ achievement included the integration of the conical drilling hole into the industrial production of his sharpeners (I don’t think that there was a series production of the Marion shapeners).
Question previously posted (see above) has been solved. On the commercial website Worthpoint searching is for free. If you search for: „marion pencil sharpener“, you will find one important hit. If you look closely at the photographs, it is clear the Marion was drilled conically. It was probably too complex in production and thus too expensive to become a sales hit. In the end other manufacturers conquered the world with their simpler and more effective designs.
Thank you for these details! Yes, the conical drilling is clearly visible. I think these sharpeners were produced individually by hand, especially in view of the clamps (which, by the way, remind me of an insect).