FYI: A NOS Pentel Calculator on eBay!
I am not buying, but just wanted to share in case anyone is interested…
(Vintage Pentel 0.5mm Sharplet Automatic Pencil w/Electric Calculator New | eBay)
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Someone grabbed it.
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Great!!! I hope some one from here…
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I had seen that this morning, but did not notice that the calculator was labeled Pentel.
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It is an unusual product
I think this calculator was produced Pentel’s 25th anniversary (it says 25 years on the package).
It would be Pentel of America’s 25th Anniversary in 1990, which is the correct time period for this pencil.
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Some online resources (i.e., Pentel - Wikipedia) say that “Japan Stationery Co., Ltd” changed its name to Pentel in 1971. I doubt this is true because I was able to track some Pentel of America ads to as early as 1966. Adding 25 years to both dates, then we get 1996 and 1991, respectively. I know that Pentel claims Pentel of America was founded in 1965, which makes it logical to assume this set was produced and sold in 1990. However, my research found that Pentel of America was only registered in Chicago in 1966, not 1965. Actually, both names, “Japan Stationery Co., Ltd” and “Pentel of America,” kept operating (by Jiro Yamaguchi) from the same office at 1011 West Belmont Avenue until at least the end of the 1960s, if not later. I only looked up the 1960s, so I might find more interesting results if I continue researching.
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Japan Stationery Co., Ltd. did change their name to Pentel Co., Ltd. in 1971, but they started using the new Pentel logo in 1970.
But multiple different division were founded in other countries under the name Pentel before then.
Pentel of America, Ltd. - 1965
Euro Pentel S.A.S. - (France) 1967
Pentel AUSTRALIA PTY, Ltd. - 1967
Pentel (Stationery) Limited - (UK) 1970
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I was unsure, because I think I saw an ad for a Pentel Mechanical Pencil in the 1960s. But now, I think, according to this historical data, it was be Pentel of America, not just Pentel. I will review them later tonight. I do not think I will find anything different from times you listed, but it is still interesting to research it further.
Japan was advertising Pentel pencils back in the 1960’s. I have several ads from back then, including one from 1960 for the Pentel 100.
And when I say I “have” ads, a lot of these are PDFs of ones I found online.
All of the current Ads and Instructions I have are in a subdirectory of the Pentel Catalog directory that is publicly available. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1jdwt9zfaktmeezrm0nc4/AAZ52J53bqNzEANvcS8HRx4?rlkey=61cjpn1zkcj1pp8mzs8094429&dl=0
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I didn’t check the ads before; I was only looking at the catalogs. Thank you very much for sharing. This is a tremendous effort!