Inventory: My Pencils

Some of my pencils on the Window Sill

Venus, one of the oldest pencils made in the US

After I posted about my new love affair with a Rhodia pencil, I gathered all my pencil cups together, and did an inventory by brand, not use or number.

It is amazing how many pencils I have and the variety.

• Alfabet (Carte d'autore) France
• Berol Verithin
• Biella Drawing pencil
• Blackfeet Indian Pencil (Writing)
• Bruynzeel Design
• Bruynzeel "Fullcolor" Design Watercolor 12 pencil set
• Bruynzeel "Fullcolor" Design Pastel
• C.A.B. writing pencil
• Conte Fusain Charcoal (France)
• Crayola charcoal pencil
• Cretacolor Aquarellith (Austria)
• Cretacolor Drawing
• Cretacolor Monolith (similar to Bohemia)
• Cretacolor Sigma (funky)
• Czechoslovakia Bohemia Works M Grumbacher
• Derwent Watersoluble Graphitone pencils
• Derwent Inktense 24 colour set
• Derwent Graphitint in various colours
• Derwent Metallic Pencils
• Derwent Signatures
• Design Drawing Pencils (assorted sizes)
• Eberhard Farber (USA)
• FC Pitt Pastel Pencils
• FC Pitt Oil Based Pastels
• FC Grip 2001 that is somewhat similar to the Rhodia in shape
  
• FC American
• FC Design
• FC Polychromas
• Fantasia Pastel
• General Pencil Drawing Kimberley
• General Charcoal
• General Layout
• Koh-i-noor 12 watercolor set
• Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor
• Nava (Italian)
• Prismacolor (Assorted)
• Rhodia Orange writing pencil
  
• Sanford Col-erase Set
• Stabilo Softcolor
• Stabilo All (glass)
• Stabilo Carb-Othello 48 Schwan coloured charcoal pencils
• Start Sketching (an English pencil)
• Start Colouring (an English watercolour pencil)
• Venus Drawing

Some of these pencils have a history, if not by use, than purchase. Take the Alfabet (Carte d'autore) France, although made in France, I bought this lone wolf pencil in an art shop in Catania (Sicily) in 2004. I tried to buy more on line to no avail. It is a unique pencil in that it is also oddly shaped and of a wider diametre than most pencils.

My Bruynzeel "Fullcolor" Design Watercolor 12 pencil set I purchased in Raleigh, NC at Askewe-Taylor because I knew these wonderful Dutch pencils were being discontinued and the price was slashed in half. I had some loose Bruynzeel's I had been buying one or two at a time in a New York City art store, but they discontinued them before I could make much of an inroad and gather together all the wonderful colours in the collection. One of my art acquaintances in Utrecht (the Netherlands) discouraged me from getting too attached as the availability dwindled. I haven't opened the box since I bought these in 2006 and seem to be hoarding them until...some wonderful moment arrives and I take them on a joy ride.

And don't confuse the "Full Colours" with the Design line of pencils, as they are two different animals, or is that vegetable?


My Koh-i-noor watercolor set of 12 has travelled with me from one place to another because it is the smallest, most compact of all the watercolour pencil sets I own and does respond well to most papers--including Moleskine.

FC Pitt Charcoals are among my favourites while most Prismacolour pencils, among the most popular and favoured by most of my art friends at Scribble-Talk, just doesn't seem to suit me and I have a set of those I'd like to sell.

And strangely, the Eberhard Farbers (USA) are still not sharpened and the company appears to be owned by Sanford.

And some tins:

Derwent Graphitint (12)

Cretacolor Arino
Contains:

• 1 Monolith solid pencil-size stick of pure graphite
• 1 Nero extra-soft black drawing pencil
• 1 black charcoal soft pencil (#1)
• 3 chalk pencils (White, Sanguine, and Sepia)
• 1 pastel stick (Sanguine)
• 1 charcoal stick
• 1 kneaded eraser
• 1 paper blending stick

I think I have twice as many pencils, by quantity, as fountain pens.