need a date on this type

[relic lover]

Found these in my mothers attic (house dates to the 1790's) they are slate pencils. I am told they date to 1860 or 1920 depending on who I ask. I would love to narrow it down to a decade or so.

 

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[MiddenMonster]

Found these in my mothers attic (house dates to the 1790's) they are slate pencils. I am told they date to 1860 or 1920 depending on who I ask. I would love to narrow it down to a decade or so.

You mean like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-SLATE-P...035338936QQihZ019QQcategoryZ968QQcmdZViewItem

Can't help you with the date, but you might contact the seller for info.

 

[relic lover]

hey nice pic. Midden M. but thats the problem I have looked on ebay etc. and everyone has vastly differing opinions on date.

 

[dg39]

From the color and style I would say late 1800's to around WW-1 time period. More likely around WW-1..
The patriotic theme would place them nearer to 1910-18 time period I would think.
DG

 

[Michelle]

Measures 5 1/2 inches long and has a decorative paper label with blue snowflake like design. During the Civil War period, and earlier, school children usually did not do their math problems, etc. using paper and pencil. Instead they usually did their ciphering with a slate board and slate pencil. This is an excellent example of one of those slate pencils used during the Civil War era

 

[romeo-1]

Those are very cool...can't help you with a date.

 

[lordmarcovan]

Interesting. I have dug up fragmentary ones (they actually sometimes give a weak signal on my detector), but those pics are the first time I have ever seen intact ones with labels or decoration on them.

My wild guess (based only on gut instinct) on those flag-decorated ones is that they'd be from the early 1900s. I'll agree with the previous guesser who placed 'em around WW1.

 

[PBK]

"Slate pencils were available with the slate core unwrapped, wrapped in paper, and encased in wood like a lead pencil. Holden & Cutter, Boston, MA, advertised slate pencils c. 1840-60; Grigg & Elliot, Philadelphia, PA, advertised slate pencils c. 1850-60; Charles J. Cohen, Philadelphia, PA, advertised slate pencils, including wood-cased ones, in 1878. (Hagley Museum and Library) We have seen advertisements for slate pencils dating as late as 1914. According to Wielandy (p. 91), wood-cased slate pencils were still sold in the early 1930s."

http://www.officemuseum.com/pencil_history.htm

(A photo of identical rw&b paper-wrapped slate pencils appears on the same web page."

WWI period is cetainly plausible. Earlier patriotic period possibilities include 1898 (Spanish-American War) and 1876 (Centennial). I've found numerous photos/listings of similar pencils, but nothing in any of them that provides a definitive date.