This seems remarkable to me:
Remarkable, because this pencil was issued in 1913—6 years before the bill for the Nineteenth Amendment was passed (then ratified in 1920). Remarkable, that this isn’t the usual type of political or advertising pencil one is used to finding—it was as actual a product as the Mongol or Van Dyke, etc.—yet it no less advertises a political point of view (and a hotly debated one at that). I don’t know for how long the Suffragist pencil was manufactured or if it did any good, but it’s interesting to see the manner in which Eberhard Faber chose to express support for this particular issue.
It would be awfully cynical (and perhaps impractical) to think that the Eberhard Faber Co. was pandering to women’s suffrage (though they greased the wheels a bit by adding that this pencil is “attractive to all, regardless of their opinion on the larger question.”). Still though, entering this item into their catalog equally alongside their respected and well-known products seems to say something more than that of a generic advertising pencil.
Yellow and black, applied in alternate stripes – sounds very Noris-like to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if some shop owners preferred not to order them to avoid upsetting some of their customers… or maybe they were sold under the counter (Psst, got any Suffragist pencils under the counter?)
LikeLike
Yeah, it’s difficult to know what the exact climate was like at that time, and how some might have reacted to such a product.
LikeLike
Well, it seems they were pandering to 50% of the population…but it’s never really made clear which side they were on – I think they were just being typical capitalists and having “a bob each way”.
LikeLike
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing this!
LikeLike