Before collecting mechanical pencils, I collected toys. One of my favourites: Lobo.
9 Likes
Crazy bit of luck. A seller on eBay put a Umbra Wobble bottle opener listing with a “best offer” and “local pickup”. While I was visiting a relative in Florida, I saw the auction… and realized the seller was not only in Florida, but possibly in a short driving distance. Well, I gave a best offer that they said they could accept and also was OK with local pickup. About a 15 minute drive to a nearby supermarket… cash exchanged… item in hand. What are the odds?
I now have the avocado and charcoal ones. The white one belongs to a friend.
6 Likes
I also collect Nintendo Switch games. I bought the system when it came out and quickly got switched on to limited print run publishers. It was fun in the beginning and exposed me to many great indie games that I had never heard of or had the chance to play before, but over time the market expanded with more and more publishers getting into that niche of the market that I started to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of limited print run games coming out, so I decided to slow down and downsize. That was a few years ago. Fast forward to now and I’ve almost completely stopped actively collecting for the system and have recently decided to do another purge, so I’m currently in the process of selling off about half of what I have (pretty much the bottom two cubbies).
5 Likes
I have a fairly sizeable collection of knives and swords, some being commissioned custom works, as well as a large number of anime figures. I also collect art books and paintings, a small number of 1/64 die cast model cars, video games/consoles, and vintage American tools.
Almost forgot to mention, I also have a collection of vintage/antique crystal glassware and some interesting ceramics, as well as a cabinet of some fancy wines and spirits.
5 Likes
Your tears. Your hearts.
1 Like
Local vintage glass bottles and decoys
Also vintage books on philosophy, existentialism and American epidemics like Spanish Flu and Yellow Fever.
I have a book detailing Baltimore in 1817 for Yellow Fever and Baltimore in 1921 for Spanish Flu (both dated those years)
…..definitely interesting that then 2020 was Coronavirus.
6 Likes
You’ll have to get a few books on that before they become vintage.
1 Like
Ants - lots and lots of Camponotus floridanus.
(In a highly secured formicarium.)
6 Likes
W&N at bottom right was always my favourite - I still use it regularly.
2 Likes
I also have a surprising number of these, despite not really collecting them. The orange “UNO” pen rest is one that I’ve been after for a while. There is also a Bakelite version that I do have:
Out of curiosity, what is the thing that looks like a pig’s head projecting from the Halden cast iron inkstand? Mine has nothing there (except the ampersand of Halden & Co Ltd).
5 Likes
Love that Uno one. Do they not sit handle downward though? The pigs head is just a pot metal part from an old match safe that came in a junky lot. I tacked it on to rest my pens on- not part of the original. Ive hacked 4 or 5 of the Halden ones as pencil pots and stands for various sculptures and similar. Really like their weighty stability
Yes, they really are great. That one- the millenium limited edition in silver plated brass is great for resisting corrosion over decades, but really quite heavy
You might imagine so, especially if you have experience with technical pens, but no - for starters, the ink would all run out of the funnel! It seems that the pen stand was only intended for very short work breaks, to keep the funnel upright (this is also why the early holders had a flat underside). The 1944 UNO catalogue contains an illustration of the stand in use:
(Notice they also sold the Limpet, of which I see you have an example.) On your later orange model, the slots at the edge of each pen holder were intended to accommodate the redesigned pivot of the UNO Deluxe pen, as seen in 1971 (with the Limpet still going strong!):
That would explain it! I think it definitely adds a certain je ne sais quoi…
4 Likes
This is all so great, thanks so much ror posting these! I actuall hadnt known the orange one was by Uno, as it seems some careless draughtsman left a cigarette on it and its a melted the logo a little. Those were the days… ha!
There is something quite ashtray-like about some of these ink bottle holders (I’m sure some sellers think they are ashtrays). The same goes for those amber UNO pen handles, which remind me of old pipe stems.
Tangentially, if you happen to like inkwells with a pig’s head on them, today is your lucky day…
1 Like
Cast iron or bakelite inkwells — and wooden ducks. Definitely hard to beat.
I have one inkwell I particularly cherish, but it has a completely different origin (in a way); will post it here when this endless week will eventually come to an end.
1 Like
old sewing machines
2 Likes
Somewhere I have a Singer mechanical pencil, similar to this one:
1 Like