Related Objects

Description

This 5-1/2" German silver and ivory dotting pen is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co. N.Y. (/) GERMANY. It is also marked: PARAGON. When the tightening screw is removed, the top blade of the point lifts up to reveal six small serrated wheels. These may be interchanged in the point of the pen to create six different types of dotted lines. The lower blade has a reservoir for ink.

Keuffel & Esser introduced the Paragon line of drawing instruments in 1901. K&E considered these to be its highest quality products and had them manufactured in Germany for the American market. Paragon instruments were unavailable during World War I but were reintroduced by 1921. By 1936 the ivory handles were replaced with wood. This pen was model 551, priced at $4.25 in 1909

References: Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 42, 46, 74; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 36th ed. (New York, 1921), 52, 70; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 104, 127.

Location

Currently not on view

date made

1901-1936

distributor

Keuffel & Esser Co.

ID Number

1987.0788.03

accession number

1987.0788

catalog number

1987.0788.03

Description

This 2-1/4" German silver drawing instrument consists of a teardrop-shaped plate to which is attached a mechanism that links a serrated wheel to a bar that holds a pen point. When the wheel is rolled along the edge of a T-square or straight edge, the pen point bounces up and down to make a line of dots. Draftsmen would then retrace and fill in the line, if desired, while they were finishing an engineering drawing.

Underneath the uniformly serrated German silver wheel is a brass wheel with a pattern of three and one serrations. This wheel is marked: 6. It could be interchanged with one of four other brass wheels to change the dotting pattern. The instrument originally had six pattern wheels, but the one numbered with a "2" is missing.

The back of the plate is marked: 1050. The instrument is in a rectangular wooden case covered with brown and black leather and lined with dark blue velvet and satin. The Eugene Dietzgen Co. of Chicago and Technical Supply Company (TSC) of Scranton, Pa., sold a similar dotting instrument in the early 20th century for prices ranging from $4.20 to $5.15. According to the 1904 Dietzgen catalog, E. O. Richter of Germany made the instrument sold at that time. Unlike the Dietzgen and TSC instruments, this example has a screw that allows the pen point to be removed from the bar. Compare to 1982.0147.01.

References: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 7th ed. (Chicago, 1904), 88; Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 84; Technical Supply Company, Complete Catalog and Supply List, 5th ed. (Scranton, Pa., 1912), 91.

Location

Currently not on view

date made

early 20th century

ID Number

1987.0788.02

accession number

1987.0788

catalog number

1987.0788.02

Description

This 2-1/4" German silver and steel metal drawing instrument consists of a teardrop-shaped plate to which is attached a mechanism that is supposed to hold a larger serrated wheel and a smaller pattern wheel. The mechanism links the wheels to a bar that holds a pen point. When the larger wheel is rolled along the edge of a T-square or straight edge, the pen point bounces up and down to make a dotted line that formed part of an engineering drawing.

The larger wheel (5/8" diameter) is marked with one of the trademarks for the Eugene Dietzgen Co., the superimposed letters E and D inside a circle formed by the letters C and o. The six smaller wheels (9/16" diameter) also have this trademark and are numbered from 1 to 6, representing six possible dotting patterns. All the wheels are made of brass. The instrument also has the trademark and is marked: EXCELLO. The arm holding the pen point is marked: DIETZGEN (/) GERMANY. The instrument is in a rectangular wooden bar-lock case covered with black leather and lined with green velvet. The top of the case is marked: DIETZGEN (/) “EXCELLO”. The top is also marked: GERMANY.

This dotting instrument was advertised as model 932S in the 1926 Dietzgen catalog and sold for $5.15. It was part of the Excello product line, Dietzgen's second-highest level of drawing instruments. This object was used in the physics department at Kenyon College. Compare to 1987.0788.02.

Reference: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 57–59, 84.

Location

Currently not on view

date made

ca 1926

distributor

Eugene Dietzgen Company

ID Number

1982.0147.01

accession number

1982.0147

catalog number

1982.0147.01

Description

This electric drafting tool consists of a 90" power cord, a motor in a 5" cylindrical black plastic casing, and a 1-1/2" aluminum collar in which is inserted a pink rubber eraser. The side of the tool has a label marked: DIETZGEN PowERaser (/) 115 V. • 0.35 AMP (/) AC • DC. The end of the tool next to the cord is marked: DIETZGEN (/) NO. 3394 (/) ←OFF – 110 – 115V – AC-DC - ON→. A label around the cord about 10" from the plug is marked: Cab [illegible] Inc. (/) Inspected (/) Power (/) Supply Cord (/) P–732 (/) BELDEN (/) MFG. (/) CO. Masking tape is wrapped around the cord about 8" from the handle.

The Eugene Dietzgen Co. introduced model 3394A in 1938 for $6.50, increasing the price to $7.50 in 1943. Originally, the casing was shorter and the outside of the collar holding the eraser was smooth rather than threaded. The instrument was renumbered to model 3394, lightened from 14 to 12 ounces, and redesigned to the form of this object by 1948. Belden Manufacturing Company began making insulated wiring in Chicago in 1902. It manufactured only war materials during World War II, but it returned to supplying private firms such as Dietzgen in 1945.

According to the donor, this electric eraser was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993). He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, attended Hofstra University in the early 1950s, worked for Sperry Gyroscope for 27 years, and then worked for Colt Firearms and Abraham Strauss of New York before retiring in 1985. Presumably he acquired the eraser during his studies or during his career at Sperry.

References: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 15th ed. (Chicago, 1938), 352; Eugene Dietzgen Co., Price List No. 25 (Chicago, 1943); Eugene Dietzgen Co., Catalog 22D: Drafting Materials (Chicago, 1948), 106; Belden Inc., "Company History," http://www.belden.com/aboutbelden/company/history/; accession file.

Location

Currently not on view

date made

ca 1950

distributor

Eugene Dietzgen Company

maker

Eugene Dietzgen Company

ID Number

1998.0032.15

catalog number

1998.0032.15

accession number

1998.0032