RARE S MORDAN VS LEAD STERLING SILVER DROP GRAVITY PENCIL VICTORIAN ANTIQUE OLD

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

RARE S MORDAN VS LEAD STERLING SILVER DROP GRAVITY PENCIL VICTORIAN ANTIQUE OLD:
$120.00

Sampson Mordan Barleycorn Sterling Silver Drop Action Gravity Pencil c1890

Pictures tell the story

Listed between $325-425 in \"Victorian Pencils\" by Deborah Crosby

fully marked

S.MORDAN & CO PATENT on crown

S M & Co - in a square date code 1890

VS lead marking on nozzle cone

In one of S. Mordan & Co\'s advertisements circa 1828-1829 the following thicknesses and degrees of hardness of leads were described by the company.VH (very hard) is very small in size.....Seldom required
H (hard) is small.......................Hard and black, for fine drawing
M (medium) is of a medium size......For general purposes
S (soft) is larger......................Black for shading
VS (very soft) is largest....................Very black for deep shading

So as can be seen from the list above, a pencil which has VS engraved on it actually takes the largest size of lead. This is in contrast to what many people think, as they mistakenly believe that VS stands for \"very small\".The M (medium) lead is equivalent to 1mm thickness and VS (very soft) is equivalent to 1.5mm, I am not too sure about the the thickness of the other leads. There is also another lead which is marked with \"W\" and I have heard that this is actually the thickest lead (possibly 2mm) used in Mordan pencils, but I have no personal experience of it.

some small dings

heavy 26.8 grams

opens and closes with smooth action

open cartouche

Paypal Only

No International Shipping

Will try to answer any questions, not a collector.

Thank You