Seems Mimi found a treasure in her attic, and is modeling it for Gene. As flies on the wall, we're obliged to eavesdrop (so let's do that)...
MIMI: "Look-it what Mom and me found in our attic. This dress that belonged to my great-great-great grandma when she was a cub. What'cha think?"
[Gene snickers]
MIMI (preemptively): "By the way, you're not allowed to say the dress is ugly, rotten, that it stinks, or that it makes me look like a maid, a ragamuffin, or fat"
(matter-of-fact)
"You're only allowed to say the dress makes me look sophisticated, mature, graceful, elegant or just plain cute! So, how do I look, hmm?"
GENE (smartly): "Nuh-uh! My opinion is protected by the First Amendment---besides, my opinion isn't on either of your lists!"
MIMI (annoyed; bearing down): "All right, wise guy, I take back my rules---now out with your opinion!"
IMHO Mimi appears to be a cat lady (in more ways than one), but I don't think it's the dress. =^..^=
RANDOMPOPPLE: [giggle]
Let's get right into the pencils because there's a lot to cover.
Top left corner: Dixon Artist ('penny pencil')--used to draw the cartoon Bottom left corner: A.W. Faber 'Manufacturer' 69 (green)---used to color Mimi's dress Bottom horizontal left: A.W. Faber 'Manufacturer' 29 (blue; 'square core')---used to color Mimi's dress Bottom horizontal right: A.W. Faber ('E. Faber Sole Agent'; 'square core')---used to write the captions
Let's begin with the the Dixon 'penny pencil'.
'Penny pencils' were made until sometime in the early 20th century (before WWII). The featured one ...is relatively 'recent' for this type of pencil. It's not possible to say exactly when it was made, but given it lacks Dixon's 'crucible' mark, it's not an older specimen (could've been made in the 1930s).
The distinguishing features of 'penny pencils' is their lack of paint (the lettering on these was usually blind stamped) and their built-in erasers (to get to the eraser, you had to sharpen the end opposite the lead).
The absence of both paint and metal ferrules meant these pencils could be produced and sold on the cheap, for the benefit of children and school teachers (hence the term 'penny pencil'). :3
The blue and green A.W. Faber 'Manufacturer' pencils were likely made sometime in the late 1800s. One way to determine the age is by examining the shapes of the pencil leads. Most wood-cased pencils made before the 1880s had square leads, whereas pencils made after this time usually had round leads (and still do to this day). It so happens our blue pencil boasts a square lead, but the green boasts a round lead (the leads may be seen in the lower-right of the comic, next to the popple). Even so, both pencils are stamped with the same font and fit within the same number system, so they were made fairly close together. But when?
Check this out,
"...square lead continued to be used in most wood-cased pencils until the mid-1870s. (Petroski, p. 184). Wielandy (p. 67) states that 'All the black lead pencils exhibited at the Centennial in Philadelphia in 1876 contained square leads, and it is said that Joseph Dixon Crucible Company was among the first manufacturers of pencils to use round leads, making the change shortly after the Centennial year. In its 1881 catalog, Robert Clarke & Co., a stationer, advertised Dixon American Graphite, American Lead Pencil Co., and imported A. W. Faber pencils, all with a choice of round and hexagonal cross-sections for the wood cases. The Dixon pencils illustrated in the catalog had square leads while the Faber pencils had round leads."
So, 'Faber' pencils (like our 'Manufacturers') were still being made with square leads into the 1880s, but likely weren't made long after this. Hence, I'm fairly confident these pencils were made sometime near the end of the 19th century, likely within a few years of each other. :3
Last, early pigmented pencils were oil-based, so their 'leads' was prone to blooming (or molding) ...as seen here (photo is NOT of the featured pencil): https://sta.sh/078fmd2i59v
Finally, we look at the A.W. Faber 'Sole Agent' pencil. This pencil can be more reliably dated,
"Though [Eberhard Faber] had been manufacturing his own brand of inexpensive pencils for some time, his premium products were still being imported from A.W. Faber, and they are counter-stamped with 'E. FABER 718 & 720 BROADWAY N.Y. SOLE AGENT'. Two years after moving the offices to Broadway, Johann Eberhard Faber died at the age of 57 [in 1879]"
"Young Eberhard soon began to establish himself as a successful American manufacturer in his own right, a reputation which was enhanced after April 1861, when the American Civil War made importing Faber pencils from abroad more difficult. His offices and “manufacturer’s depot” were located at 133 William Street, but he later moved his offices to 718 Broadway in 1877. Eberhard died in 1879"
"Three early American Faber Polygrade pencils from the late 1800's. On the reverse of the top and factory hand sharpened pencil is stamped: 'E. Faber 713&720 Broadway N.Y. Sole Agent' .....Eberhard moved to this building in 1877. These pencils also sport pre 1900's square lead. I suspect the natural polish pencil is a little older"
Last, from Eberhard Faber itself (says nothing directly about the pencil, but verifies historical dates),
" In 1861 Eberhard started his own production in New York. In 1879 Johann, his middle brother, also set up his own pencil business in Nuremberg. The two younger brothers bitterly quarrel with each other and with the oldest, Lothar. He still runs the manufactory in Stein near Nuremberg. When Eberhard Faber died in 1879, his company, the E. Faber Pencil Company, has been transferred to his sons Eberhard and Lothar"
Now, if I were to show the other side of this 'Sole Agent' pencil, some of my watchers would recognize it ...said watchers would be PARTIALLY correct, as I *featured a very similar square-lead 'A.W. Faber' pencil with my ACO of Habbit the Rabbit: https://inkbunny.net/s/2756228
*and I went on and on about the '2' written on it. :P
Now, that pencil was an unsharpened specimen, but it did NOT belong to me. Rather, that one had been lent to me by my friend John (no, I didn't ask to borrow it for featuring---there's a long story regarding the pencil, but now's not the time). Anyway, John's pencil was identical to the featured one save John's did NOT have the 'Sole Agent' stamp. Hence, John's pencil was slightly more recent than this featured one (more importantly, the featured pencil belongs to me). :3
Because of the 'Sole Agent' stamp, we can trust our pencil was made between the years 1877 and 1879---a very narrow point in pencil history ...and I used this rare specimen to caption our comic and to draw the popple. :P
RANDOMPOPPLE: "I don't believe you used these puh-puh-pencils!"
Now pop off before I stuff you into your own pouch ...SIDEWAYS! D:
RANDOMEPOPPLE: "Eeee!" *bounces*
'Popples', am I right? :P
Anyway, having covered the pencils, I'll go over how I made this comic (some have probably noticed this upload looks a little different from most).
As stated at the beginning, I first drew the line art via the Dixon 'penny pencil'. I redrew Gene a couple times (panels 1 and 4) and so had to trace the line art onto a clean sheet, which I also used the 'penny pencil' to do.
Knowing I wanted to color the comic (in part) with the two 'Manufacturer' pencils, I decided to 'ink' the comic by emailing a scan of it to myself, then going to the library to make a printed copy. I could then color on the printed copy without fear of smearing any of the line art, enabling me to 'press' on some of the colors to produce a better result. :3
Now, Mimi's dress and the popple were colored with the 'Manufacturers', but most of the other colors were made via some very old 'Prismacolors' from Eagle.
Digressing, but I hate to break it to the artist in the video (well, actually I don't), but her Prismacolors are nowhere near 80 years old; her pencils were made in the 1970s or thereabouts:
!!!!!! O.O !!!!!!! PENCIL OVERLOAD!!!!!!!!! *falls over in a coma with a WIDE smile!!* Seriously this is some of the best information on your pencils I've seen in quite some time. Gonna have to read it several times to get everything and THEN there are the links!! THANK YOU! :D
Also I love the green color of Mimi's dress, that was a good choice for her and the overall cartoon was great too. And love the way you're including the Popple's now. They add a nice touch to everything! :D
!!!!!! O.O !!!!!!! PENCIL OVERLOAD!!!!!!!!! *falls over in a coma with a WIDE smile!!* Seriously thi
