“The long reign of the 3B pencil”

Vladimir Nabokov, in a note on the story “A Slice of Life.” From The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov (1997):

What was your purpose, sir, in penning this story, forty years ago in Berlin? Well, I did pen it (for I never learned to type and the long reign of the 3B pencil, capped with an eraser, was to start much later — in parked motorcars and motels); but I had never any “purpose” in mind when writing stories — for myself, my wife, and half a dozen dear dead chuckling friends.

Here’s a post with Nabokov and pencil and motorcar. 3B or not 3B?

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All OCA Nabokov posts (Pinboard)