Related Objects

Engineering draftsmen sometimes needed other writing implements as well as objects that helped maintain their pens and pencils.

A 3-3/8" round brass handle has an opening for inserting a crayon. It is not marked. The second object is a 3-1/2" hexagonal brass bar with hollow steel ends. One end is marked with the number 24 and the letter L. The other end is marked with the number 22 and the letter P.
Description
A 3-3/8" round brass handle has an opening for inserting a crayon. It is not marked. The second object is a 3-1/2" hexagonal brass bar with hollow steel ends. One end is marked with the number 24 and the letter L. The other end is marked with the number 22 and the letter P. The bar could be inserted into a pen handle to accommodate different sizes of leads, although the ends and the openings in the ends have the same diameters.
The two writing instruments are made from brass of different colors, so the pieces may not belong together. The dates of objects purchased with these writing instruments suggest they were made in the 18th century. Crayon holders and double-ended pencil holders were known in Europe by the 17th century and widespread by the 18th century.
References: Maya Hambly, Drawing Instruments, 1580–1980 (London: Sotheby's Publications, 1988), 65–66.
Sotheby & Company, Catalogue of a Collection of Scientific Instruments, the Property of the Late Henry Russel Wray, London, 1959 (a copy of the catalogue is in the accession file).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
MA.316936
accession number
228694
catalog number
316936
An octagonal brass tube with a round handle has a slide that extends its length to 8-5/8". The handle unscrews and can be removed to function as 4-3/8" brass and steel dividers.
Description
An octagonal brass tube with a round handle has a slide that extends its length to 8-5/8". The handle unscrews and can be removed to function as 4-3/8" brass and steel dividers. The other end has an unnumbered one-inch scale divided to twelfths.
The other two tubes are made of steel and have rings or sleeves that slide up and down to move the crayon and allow the user to grasp the crayon. The 6-1/4" crayon holder is not marked. The 5-1/16" crayon holder has a four-inch scale divided to 1/4" and numbered by ones from 1 to 4. Its top is engraved with a drawing of a bearded man.
The dates of objects purchased with these writing instruments suggest they were made in the 18th century. Holders for wax crayons, chalk, or charcoal sticks were known in Europe by the 17th century and widespread by the 18th century. They were employed by artists and draftsmen.
References: Maya Hambly, Drawing Instruments, 1580–1980 (London: Sotheby's Publications, 1988), 65–66; Jacob Simon, "The Artist's Porte-Crayon," National Portrait Gallery, London, http://www.npg.org.uk/research/programmes/artists-their-materials-and-suppliers/the-artists-porte-crayon.php.
Reference:
Sotheby & Company, Catalogue of a Collection of Scientific Instruments, the Property of the Late Henry Russel Wray, London, 1959 (a copy of the catalogue is in the accession file).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
MA.316937
accession number
228694
catalog number
316937
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.
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
This 5" steel knife blade probably has a celluloid (rather than an ivory) handle. It was received with a sizable collection of mathematical drawing instruments, but makers of drawing instruments did not typically advertise knives in their catalogs.
Description
This 5" steel knife blade probably has a celluloid (rather than an ivory) handle. It was received with a sizable collection of mathematical drawing instruments, but makers of drawing instruments did not typically advertise knives in their catalogs. This object may have been useful for sharpening pen quills and pencils. Draftsmen also used knives as erasers, but the blade on this example is shaped differently from the blades on the "steel erasers" depicted in Keuffel & Esser and Dietzgen catalogs. Compare to the knife in 1990.0690.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 20th century
ID Number
1978.2110.13
accession number
1978.2110
catalog number
336739
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.
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
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.
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
This pencil sharpener consists of a flat wooden handle glued to a rectangular pad of sandpaper. The end of the handle has a hole for hanging. The back of the handle has a yellow label marked in black: POST'S (/) CHICAGO (/) No. 3000 (/) PENCIL POINTERS. The Frederick W. Post Co.
Description
This pencil sharpener consists of a flat wooden handle glued to a rectangular pad of sandpaper. The end of the handle has a hole for hanging. The back of the handle has a yellow label marked in black: POST'S (/) CHICAGO (/) No. 3000 (/) PENCIL POINTERS. The Frederick W. Post Co. sold this model of pencil pointer with 12 sheets of flint paper for 9¢ in the 1930s. By 1949, the flint paper was replaced with sandpaper.
William J. Ellenberger (1908–2008), who owned this object, studied electrical and mechanical engineering at The George Washington University between 1925 and 1934. He then worked for the Potomac Electric Power Company and the National Bureau of Standards. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He was a civilian construction management engineer for the army from 1954 to 1968, when he became a private consultant.
References: Posts Catalog of Dependable Drawing Materials, 18th ed. (Chicago, 1936), 295; Frederick W. Post Co., Drafting Materials for Engineering, Architecture, and Art, 19th ed. (Chicago, 1949–1950), 96; "The GW Engineering Hall of Fame 2006 Inductees," http://www.weas.gwu.edu/ifaf/hall_of_fame_inductees_2006.php.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940
maker
Frederick Post Co.
ID Number
1981.0933.16
accession number
1981.0933
catalog number
1981.0933.16
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.
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

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