Bell System Mechanical Pencils

[Dave F]

Bell System mechanical pencils were discussed earlier in another category:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=f5053a4bf51e4bdaa18ec9438e375db8&topic=6282.0

Here is a rather obscure version, in white.  It is identical to the KS8300 but is not marked as such.  Instead, it reads "Safety Committee - Bell System".

[Dan/Panther]

I have several of these in Green,  Black, Red, Yellow, and light Blue.
None have the ball end, and are not marked KS8300, but are marked Property Bell system.
D/P

[Dave F]

I have several of these in Green,  Black, Red, Yellow, and light Blue.
None have the ball end, and are not marked KS8300, but are marked Property Bell system.
D/P

KS8300 refers only to the model with the ball on the end.  If anybody knows the official part number of those without the ball, please let us know.

[paul-f]

Mechanical pencils for general office use were ordered from the Catalogue of Supplies.

From a July 1970 New England Tel copy, Section 7 covers Stationery and Office Supplies and includes the following:

8-B    Green bakelite pencil
8-C    Red bakelite pencil

9-BB  Double pointed for black and blue lead
9-BG  Double pointed for black and green lead
9-BR  Double pointed for black and red lead

13-B  Green bakelite with pocket clip and eraser

14-MS  Bright Red bakelite for mark sensing
30S      For mark sensing

The numbers are not marked on the items.

Some of the 8-B and 13-B pencils in my collection have safety slogans hot pressed into one side on topics such as smoking and fire safety.

[Dave F]

<snip> Mechanical pencils for general office use were ordered from the Catalogue of Supplies.......

Great info -- thanks, Paul!

Dave

[paul-f]

Here's a photo of some of the mechanical pencil varieties...

[Dan/Panther]

Paul;
Where would this pencil fit in. My guess it's one of the last ones, as it has the plastic adjusting head.
D/P

[Dan/Panther]

Hers's a yellow one I have that is very hard to read the Bell System Property.
D/P

[Dan/Panther]

We need to document the variations.
D/P

[paul-f]

We need to document the variations.
D/P

We're off to a good start, but the task could prove daunting!

The pencils were made for many decades, and there was apparently some shady dealing in the fiercely competitive mechanical pencil market.

A quick search turned up this interesting paper which attempts ot explain why Dur-O-Lite and Autopoint pencils were so similar -- and the motivation was largely to get the lucrative Western Electric contract!

http://www.unl.edu/Bolin_resources/pencil_page/mystery/mystery.html

http://www.unl.edu/Bolin_resources/pencil_page/mystery/SPIRAL_GUIDE.HTML#the_bell_system

I'd like to see one of the "Keen Point" wooden spiril pencils made for Western Electric shown at the bottom of that page.

There's an interesting site that archived several catalogs from the two companies, which may give a hint of the variations available.

http://www.unl.edu/Bolin_resources/pencil_page/index.htm

My dad worked for Eastman Kodak and brougt home many similar pencils in the trademark Kodak yellow.  Over the years, I've accumulated several other examples from Western Union and the U.S. Government.  It turns out that the companies sold to most of the largest companies in the U.S.

http://www.unl.edu/Bolin_resources/pencil_page/1969_autopoint_catalog/1969_p_02.gif

There are lots of links on those pages to follow.  Happy hunting!


[Edit: added a link]