Friday, November 2, 2012

Harry Truman with pencil


[“Harry S. Truman sitting at desk with pencil in hand.” Photograph by Marie Hansen. United States, 1945. From the Life Photo Archive. Click for a larger view.]

At Contrapuntalism, Sean has been posting about the Mongol pencil (my favorite pencil), which prompted me to post, finally, this photograph. I think that’s a Mongol in Truman’s hand. Brand Name Pencils has photographs of two WWII-era Mongols that make me fairly confident about naming Truman’s pencil.

Related reading
All Mongol posts (Pinboard)

[I like photographs of people writing with plain old pencils while their desk sets go unused.]

comments: 4

Whit said...

Couldn't find ticonderoga brands. The one I would pick out from a pencil holder. Blackhawk was big where I used to work. I'll keep looking through those links. Thanks

Michael Leddy said...

Whit, Ticonderogas are there. On the WWII-era page, look for Dixon in the left-hand headings. There’s also a Dixon page.

Do you mean Blackwings? If so, I have a site for you: Blackwing Pages.

Whit said...

I had 3 "Dixons" in my pencil holders, not counting desks drawers. Not as Romantic sounding as Ticondaroga. The round Wallace bounded is my preferred go to these days. You right about the Blackwing. I never had one long enough at work before someone swiped it.

Michael Leddy said...

You might enjoy this discussion of Wallace pencils. I’ve yet to see one in person.