These **Venus** No. 168 Copying Pencils from the **American Lead Pencil Co.** date between 1910-1918. The boxes feature beautiful Art Nouveau gold embossed flourishes. The depiction of Venus is also embossed. The arched window cutout and cream-colored box stock add to the design.

A copying pencil looked like any ordinary graphite pencil but contained **aniline dye** mixed into the clay binder.

The copying was achieved by creating a hand-written document using a copying pencil, laying a moist tissue paper over the document and pressing it down with a mechanical press. The water-soluble dye in the writing would be transferred in its mirror image to the tissue paper, which could then be read in verso by holding it up to a light source.

By the end of the 19th century, better copying methods had become available. Consequently, the copying pencil was being used as an indelible pencil, a precursor to the ball-point pen. When used dry, it left a slightly purplish gray mark on paper, not dissimilar to a lead pencils, but which could not be erased.

I have 4 (full - unsharpened) boxes of these and plan to only keep one for my archives. If you have any interest in purchase or trade with other antique/vintage pencils, please feel free to reach out.  ;)

Venus Copying Pencils