Blackwing Pencils (Indie Bookstore Exclusive)

Blackwing & Independent Bookstore Day have teamed up for the fourth consecutive year to create a new set of pencils exclusively for independent bookstores. Each year the interest and popularity of these limited edition pencils continues to grow. The pencils feature a design inspired by independent bookstores and the printed word.

Excerpt from The History of the Blackwing Pencil by Millie Blackwell of Mrs Blackwell's Village Bookshop:

The original Blackwing 602, with its distinctive rectangular eraser, was introduced by the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company in 1934, aimed at artists, writers, and musicians for everyday use, and it quickly became a favourite of many famous artists of the day. John Steinbeck, Quincy Jones, Sondheim & Bernstein, Nabokov, animator Shamus Culhane (of Disney’s Snow White), and cartoonist Chuck Jones all famously favoured these pencils. 

So what is it about the Blackwing that inspires such passion? 

The Blackwing range including the standard 602, matte, pearl and natural pencils as well as the limited ‘Volumes’ releases are designed to be luxury items. They feature a hexagonal barrel which is generally lacquered - with the exception of the natural pencils - and is about half an inch longer than a standard pencil. They include gilt hardware and an embossed logo. 

But the most unique feature is the rectangular eraser held in place by a squared off ferrule. This allows the eraser to be extended once it has been worn down by sliding out the clasp to extend the eraser.