We are late by two years – the Musgrave Pencil Company’s 90th anniversary was in 2006. Yet, it was still a true delight to recently receive a box of Musgrave’s 90th anniversary pencils.
Round pencils, they have gold coloured ferrules, with white erasers. All have dyed wood – red, green, or yellow, with corresponding varnish.
The pencils are marked:
Musgrave Pencil Company Inc.
90th Anniversary
1916-2006
Among the American pencil companies, I think Musgrave must be acknowledged to have an advantage in lead quality. The Musgrave HB is possibly the sole American pencil in the same league with the top pencils from the rest of the world. The situation is all very strange – by some measures, Musgrave is a “small business”, yet (and tell me if you think I am wrong!), the quality of their best pencils surpasses those of Sanford and Dixon.
The quality of the 90th Anniversary pencil seems to be even better than that of the HB – the lead is even smoother in a side-by-side comparison. The round vs. hexagonal shape is obviously a personal preference. Musgrave has pulled out all the stops for their Anniversary pencil!
I agree with you. I love the Musgrave HB natural, and it’s even pretty affordable.
The Musgrave HB is great and definitely better than Dixon or Sanford. If you are looking for a great writing pencil the Unigraph 2B is very smooth and a bargain. I also like their slightly larger pencil diameter compared to normal pencils.
Yes, they have great pencils. Actually, I’m not surprised that a small producer makes a better product than the mass procution giants. Its the same with wine, restaurants, watches – while Musgrave may not be a ’boutique’ manufacturer, their high end pencils are as good as you get. Some time ago, the Levengers catalog offered a set of 24 clear lacquered Musgrave HB pencils in their own wooden box. I purchased them, and that inspired me to contact musgrave directly, and I was able to buy a gross of Unigraph 1200s – best investment in pencils I ever made…. ;-)
I do not think you are wrong at all. It’s hard to find Sanford pencils that aren’t warped, and Dixon’s woes have been well documented here.
You say Musgrave is the “sole American pencil in the same league…” Musgragave may end up being the sole American pencil, period. Sanford and General are the only others I can think of, at the moment. And of course Dixon has long since decamped to Asian and Mexican shores.
Do you think that if I wrote to Musgrave I could get some of the anniversary pencils? (Yes, I’m shy.)
Diane, I’m not sure. Musgrave has never answered me when I’ve contacted them. (Though I guess my name is now on some sort of sample mailing list.) I can send you a few of these if you want.
Too generous, but no thanks! I’ll see what happens (if I remember this tomorrow). :)
I want too tryout these Musgrave pencils, since I’ve rediscovered the joy of sketching with Dixon Ticonderoga[s]. I found and old box (from the mid 90s) of the of Ticonderoga[s], the ones that were made in the USA (not Mexico or China) and have USA stamped on them. The graphite is sometimes a little scratchy but besides that they work perfect. They lay down a nice soft line that erases easily, and when I find the line I want to make with a little more pressure they lay down a darker line. They make my sketches look more fluid. Anyways, I’d love to tryout these Musgrave pencils. I don’t think I’ve even seen one. I’ll have to keep my eye out for them, or order them if I can’t find any at my local shops.
Folks, I sent an email to Musgrave company asking them how I can order some of the 90th anniversary pencils, but utter silence.
So I have decided to stick to the superior Japanese pencils from now on.
i don’t know about the 90 yr anniversary pencil, but just got the natural HB’s and they are absolutely awesome. how did i miss out on these all this time…