Pencil case

“ Even the clearest and most perfect circumstantial evidence is likely to be at fault, after all, and therefore ought to be received with great caution. Take the case of any pencil, sharpened by any woman: if you have witnesses, you will find she did it with a knife; but if you take simply the aspect of the pencil, you will say she did it with her teeth.—Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar. ”

“ A patent may be obtained for a new or useful art, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. In this case, as has been seen, Blair's patent was for 'a new manufacture,' being a new and useful rubber head for lead-pencils. It was not for the combination of the head with the pencil, but for a head to be attached to a pencil or something else of like character. ”

“ In attempting to reproduce a signature a forger will probably make a preliminary outline with a blacklead pencil and then go over this with ink.
The imperfect removal of the pencil marks may then betray the fraud, as in the Whalley will case described on another page. In some instances the particles of the graphite may be seen with the aid of the microscope to project beyond the upper layer of ink.
Additions and alterations made to the letters in writing are clearly visible when magnified, and may be demonstrated in court by means of a photographic enlargement. ”

“ Penchant, päng′shäng, n. inclination: decided taste: bias. [Fr., pr.p. of pencher, to incline, through a form pendicāre, from L. pendēre, to hang.]
Pencil, pen′sil, n. a small hair brush for laying on colours: any pointed instrument for writing or drawing without ink: a collection of rays of light converging to a point: the art of painting or drawing.—v.t. to write, sketch, or mark with a pencil: to paint or draw:—pr.p. pen′cilling; pa.t. and pa.p. pen′cilled.—ns. Pen′cil-case, a holder for a pencil; Pen′cil-com′pass, a compass having a pencil on one of its legs for use in drawing.—adjs. ”

“ If you had a psychical gift in this direction—and it was now the settled conviction of both Henry Andrews and his wife that they had—all apparently that had to be done was to hold a pencil over a writing-pad conveniently placed, abstract your mind from the hand that held the pencil, and sit there to see what happened. The theory was that some controlling spirit might take possession of the pencil and dictate messages from the other world, which the pencil would record. ”

“ I have now been five months without exercising my pencil, and without a hope that I shall again resume it. I seem to have outlived my art, a reflection, tho’ in no way favourable to the restoration of my health, will continually obtrude itself upon me.
“I am glad to hear my good friend has laid hold of his brushes again. Paper and camel hair pencils are better adapted to the amusement of ladies than the pursuit of an artist. ”

“ MRS. TILSBURY. Oh, dear, the points of these pencils are all broken. Will some one sharpen them?
MR. BECKER. That means you and me, Van Tousel. I have never seen a woman who could sharpen a pencil.
MRS. BROWN. It is certainly much nicer to have some one else to do it. Sharpening pencils is such dirty work. (The men sharpen the pencils while the women look on.)
MRS. BROWN. Did you ever see anything so funny as that parade anyway? There wasn’t a decently dressed woman in the whole crowd nor a good-looking one either— (suddenly remembering where she is) —except Mildred. ”

“ We shall also find, farther on, that pencil-memorandums or guides, the good faith of which no one pretends to gainsay, were used upon this volume. A similar use of pencil is common enough nowadays. We know some writers, who, when correcting their own proofs, always go over them with pencil first, and on a second reading make the corrections, often with material changes, in ink over the pencil-marks. ”

“ Frequently it will be found when drawing fine lines that the pen ceases to mark before the end of the line is reached, and as we have already said, it is very difficult to join a line without leaving visible traces of the operation. To remedy this defect, the pen must be reset as described in Section I. If a very hard pencil has been used, or if the pencil has been pressed heavily upon the paper, the pencil line will lie in a groove in the paper, and as the nib of the pen will not touch the bottom of this groove, the line drawn will be ragged. ”

“ Thus the handling of the pencil, the practice to enable the hand to draw without hesitation or uncertainty, and the accurate rapidity essential in an expert draughtsman, may be considered as part of the alphabet of the art of free pencil sketching. Nothing looks worse in a sketch than the evidences of an uncertainty in putting in the lines ”

“ Your first attempt, or your second, and perhaps even your third, may not result successfully, but patience and a capacity for taking infinite pains will eventually, if not shortly, win. It is best to make pencils in lots of 1/2 doz. Two or three out of the lot, even after one becomes tolerably proficient in pencil making, may prove defective. The method of making the sword pencil, as above advised, has the advantage of being easily and quickly acquired, and is therefore recommended to the learner as a feasible one to adopt. ”

“ Pens, crayons, and red chalk held the place among artists and in general use now occupied by the pencil. The famous graphite beds of Borrowdale, in Cumberland, were discovered during the reign of Queen Elizabeth in England, and with them the material which was destined to stimulate the rapid development of the pencil industry. Our lead-pencil is really a graphite pencil. ”

“ He detached the fragments from the stocking with the utmost care, on the fine point of a pen-knife—laid the whole gently in a basin of warm water, and presently saw them, to his delight, begin to unfold and expand like flowers. By and by, he began to “teaze them” with very light touches of the ends of a camel’s-hair pencil, and so, by little and little, and by the most delicate use of the warm water, the camel’s-hair pencil, and the pen-knife, got the various morsels separate before him, and began to piece them together. ”

“ The pencil or crayon point, in passing over a rough or broken surface, forms a series of dots instead of a continuous line. The same thing occurs when pencil is used on a rough surface drawing paper. Such pencillings, being examined, are found to be lead marks, interspersed with minute interstices of white paper, the whole giving a sort of grey tint of greater or less intensity.
For broad sketchy effects such a drawing method is exceedingly valuable; some very delightful things may be done without the least appearance of the mechanical. ”

“ Thus to annihilate a man by pad and pencil is indeed an art worthy of admiration. The pen of an indictment clerk is oft mightier than the sword of a Lionheart, the brain behind the subtle quill far defter than said swordsman's skill. ”

“ When dry they are taken to rapidly revolving cutters which remove the wood between the leads. The individual pencils thus formed only need to be finished by being dyed and varnished and stamped with name, grade, &c. Instead of wood, paper has been tried for the casings, rolled on in narrow strips which are torn off to expose fresh lead as the point becomes worn down by use. ”

“ To the classic ages and their art the pencil, and in general every application of lead as a writing material, was entirely unknown, and it was not till the advent of the middle ages that it began to be used for this purpose. ”

“ A piece of pencil is then placed on the slate near the edge of the slate farthest from the Medium's hand as it holds the slate; of course, as the writing is to be done under cover of the table, and as the Medium's hand or wrist is supposed to be always visible, the pencil must be far under the table. ”

“ In place of the ordinary wood-covered lead pencils there may be obtained at the drawing material stores pencil holders for holding the fine, round sticks of lead, and these are by far the best for a learner. They are easier to sharpen, and will slip in the holder, giving warning when the draftsman is pressing them too hard on the paper, as he is apt to do. ”

“ While waiting for an answer, I busied myself writing, and as I had no stationery I wrote on the walls. Beginning as high as I could reach, I wrote in columns, each about three feet wide. Soon the pencil became dull. But dull pencils are easily sharpened on the whetstone of wit. Stifling acquired traits, I permitted myself to revert momentarily to a primitive expedient. I gnawed the wood quite from the pencil, leaving only the graphite core. With a bit of graphite a hand guided by the unerring insolence of elation may artistically damn all men and things. ”

“ Fig. 168 differs in the point of the pencil shown, as may be observed in the illustration.
A pencil that is hard is best for mechanical drawing; one that will retain a good point for some [119] considerable time. Pencil lines should be made as light as possible; the presence of lead on the surface of the paper tends to prevent the ink passing to the paper, and in rubbing out pencil lines the ink is reduced in blackness, and the surface of paper is roughened, which is a disadvantage. As little erasing or rubbing out as possible should be done. ”

“ In the very first drawing, for example, and all others, insist on having lightly penciled blocking out lines of indefinite length—lines that are just visible, that is all. Do not allow the pupil to form the habit of drawing a heavy line between two points previously located. It is needless to say that the pencil must be of good lead, properly sharpened, and kept sharp. It is an excellent plan to insist that all construction or blocking out lines be left just as originally drawn, no eraser being used at all. If lightly made, as they should be, they will be inconspicuous in the finished drawing. ”

“ The artist who uses the pencil must otherwise be tormented to misery by the deficiencies or requirements of the one who uses the pen, and the writer, on the other hand, must die of impossible expectations. ”

“ Drawing with a Lead Pencil A PENCIL has many excellent qualities. It is a clean tool and easy to handle. It can be carried in the pocket and pressed into the service whenever required. Beyond sharpening, it requires no attention.
To sharpen a pencil you should pare the wood in small shavings with a sharp knife. When a small portion of the lead is exposed place the lead on a piece of paper and whittle down to a firm and not very thin point. A very sharp point is a mistake. ”

“ I was in a fitting mood to overcome difficulties, and I decided on a treatise, in three sections, on "Philosophical Cognition." This would, naturally, give me an opportunity of crushing pitiably some of Kant's sophistries . . . but, on taking out my writing materials to commence work, I discovered that I no longer owned a pencil: I had forgotten it in the pawn-office. My pencil was lying in my waistcoat pocket.
Good Lord! how everything seems to take a delight in thwarting me to-day! I swore a few times, rose from the seat, and took a couple of turns up and down the path. ”

“ Still lead pencils were not in common use even in city schools till this century. The manuscript [79] arithmetics or "sum-books" which I have seen were always done in ink. Many a country boy grew to manhood without ever seeing a lead pencil.
Samuel Pemberton, Twelve Years Old, 1736
In country schools even till the middle of this century copy-books were made of foolscap paper carefully sewed into book shape, and were ruled by hand. ”

“ Fancy and fanciful penholders are undesirable and useless. The plainer and simpler the holder is the better. We have yet to see steel-tipped holders, a contrivance which by preventing nibbling and gnawing of the tops so widely practised in our schools would be as beneficial to the pupils as economical for the management. As to length the penholders should not exceed six inches nor fall below five and a half and they should not be thinner than an ordinary lead pencil, the thickness varying with the size of the hand or writer. ”

“ At this moment no toy, which we could invent for them, would give them half so much pleasure as a pencil. If we put a pencil into their hands even before they are able to do any thing with it but make random marks all over a sheet of paper, it will long continue a real amusement and occupation. ”

“ To secure the inculcation of these principles the natural and instinctive love of children for imagery, for stones, for penciling and coloring, for deft fingering should never cease to be cultivated; and every school should teach drawing as it teaches reading, singing, or ciphering. The free use of the pencil is of incalculable value in every sphere of life. ”

“ The day following, or at any time in the future, the superfluous hair and paper may be trimmed from the embryo pencil and a handle attached. A straight-grained piece of pine affords a good handle. Split in center of handle, insert the hair in the split, wrap tightly with stout linen thread, and the pencil is ready for use. In the making of the sword pencil there is often a superfluity of short hairs, of which it is desirable to be well rid. ”

“ This combination consists only of the application of a piece of rubber to one end of the same piece of wood which makes a lead-pencil. It is as if a patent should be granted for an article, or a manufacture as the patentee prefers to term it, consisting of a stick twelve inches long, on one end of which is an ordinary hammer, and on the other end is a screw-driver or a tack-drawer, or, what you will see in use in every retail shop, a lead-pencil, on one end of which is a steel pen. ”