Yes, I painted this digitally (I used Seashore), no I've not forgotten Tasli's Treat (in fact, I now have an ending for it!), and yes I still want to ride off into the sunset (but as it's presently 1:39am, that'd be difficult to do ...then again, it's 5 O'clock somewhere *pops open a beer*)
Anyway...
Looks like Gene and Mubba are playing a board game. Let's see what happens...
GENE (impatient): "Your turn is taking too long, Mubba. Just move already!"
MUBBA: "I'm contemplating as fast as I can!"
[Mubba's phone rings]
MUBBA: "Excuse me, Gene" (on phone) "Jell-O!? ...All righty!"
MUBBA (to Gene): "I have to go home now. Keep our game set up and I'll make my move tomorrow!"
GENE: "K. See'ya!"
[Later that night]
MUBBA (thinking): "If I move that way ...no, Gene would ...But if I..."
MUBBA (excited): "Yes! That's it!"
[The following morning, Mubba races to Gene's on his skateboard]
MUBBA: "I thought about it allllll night---I have the perfect move ready!"
GENE (apologetic): "Mom made me put the game away. Sorry, Mubba"
MUBBA (whiney): "It's so unfair!"
Pencil...
The featured pencil is an early 20th-century specimen from Milton Bradley Pencil Co (yes, the 'Milton Bradley' that made board games).
I came across a 12-pack of these pencils on eBay. I recognized the name 'Milton Bradley' and could tell the pencils were quite *old, so of course I was interested (moreover, as I'd never seen any pencils from this company before, I wanted to archive them as a novelty).
*I'm unsure of the vintage of the pencils, but I'm certain they're pre-WWII.
Cutting to the chase, I bought the pencils and, upon their delivery, I began my examination of them.
The pencils were in rough shape, to say the least---decades of hot and freezing attic storage hadn't done them any favors (two of the pencils had split into halves ...luckily, some wood glue and rubber bands will restore them); even the featured specimen (the best of the bunch) has a split end.
Suffice it to say, the pencils were totally dried out---the polish baked to a very shiny glaze, and the wood rendered light as a feather (almost, anyway).
Just for giggles, I used a digital jewelry scale to weigh one of the pencils: 3.8 grams. For comparison, another pencil (also vintage and without a ferrule) weighed 4.4 grams ...an American penny weighed 2.5 (this scale is sensitive enough that a breath on its base will show on its readout).
I decided to sharpen one! D: D: D:
Of course I chose the worst of the bunch to sharpen. Great care had to be taken as dry, brittle pencils like these don't sharpen as they should---you have to use a razor blade to make shallow cuts, so as not to break off any chunks and spoil the point.
I kid not when I say I've sharpened pencils from the 1880s that had better (ie, less dry) wood than this one. Even so, I managed a 'good-enough' point on my first go (I actually started it with a conventional sharpener, just to get an even cone shape. Once the core was exposed, only some light razor work was called-for). :3
The graphite, of course, had been mostly unaffected by time and climate, and is in fact very hard (I'd say it's consistent with a 4H).
The drag is surprisingly smooth, esp. for a harder composition; the line is thin, light, and has almost no dotting. Most importantly, it erases nearly without a trace (at least the line made by the graphite erases cleanly---it's still a 'Hard' pencil, so some pressure is required to leave a visible line, and this pressure can cut grooves in the paper which cannot be rubbed out ...but that's the case with most any pencil).
In short, the Milton Bradley's AT LEAST as good as my Zephyr pencil (the Zephyr's lines are a tiny bit thicker and easier to see).
Oh, by the by, the undersketching for this cartoon was drawn via the Milton Bradley pencil. The lines were too light to scan, so I went over them with a darker pencil (as I often do with lines from my Zephyr). Even so, I signed the cartoon with the Milton Bradley and did not go over it (so you can get an idea how its lines look---just see the signature).
On another note of interest, I shot Bob Truby an email, asking if he'd like one of these Milton Bradley pencils for his online pencil museum.
Bob replied that he is in fact interested, and 'would love' to add it to his website. :3
If Bob actually makes the pencil searchable on his site, I'll link everyone to it in a future upload (presuming the Lord doesn't call me home before then).
Last, Milton Bradley made board games, yes, but stationery products also came from the company. In fact, Milton Bradley (the man) was an advocate for the concept of kindergarten (which was a new thing In Bradley's day), and his company produced a great many 'gifts' (educational gadgets) and art supplies for school children (esp. for those in early education).
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Published:
2 years ago
17 Jan 2023 07:51 CET
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