I got this floaty pencil the other day. Tilt it this way and little ocean liner sails to the front.
Tilt it back and back she goes.
I believe they still make floaty pens, but their heyday seems to be long over. A lot of the old ones have leaked or dried up so that they aren’t floaty anymore. This one still works fine, except for the air bubble.
Printed on one side of the body is
And on the other.
So, this pencil is from the P&O liner the S.S. Oronsay. Built especially for the Australasian service (UK to Australia/NZ/Pacific) she was launched in 1950, and sold for scrap in 1975.
Like many of the old pencils of this design, it has warped with age.
Check out this newspaper advertisement for the Oronsay.
I’ve cut out the last line of the heading.
Special prices for nurses! No idea how many nurses it encouraged to go on the cruise, but I can’t help but imagine that upon seeing that ad a fair few young cobbers down their local Sydney watering holes suddenly started thinking that maybe going on a cruise might not be such a bad idea.
Tilt it back and back she goes.
I believe they still make floaty pens, but their heyday seems to be long over. A lot of the old ones have leaked or dried up so that they aren’t floaty anymore. This one still works fine, except for the air bubble.
Printed on one side of the body is
And on the other.
So, this pencil is from the P&O liner the S.S. Oronsay. Built especially for the Australasian service (UK to Australia/NZ/Pacific) she was launched in 1950, and sold for scrap in 1975.
Like many of the old pencils of this design, it has warped with age.
Check out this newspaper advertisement for the Oronsay.
I’ve cut out the last line of the heading.Special prices for nurses! No idea how many nurses it encouraged to go on the cruise, but I can’t help but imagine that upon seeing that ad a fair few young cobbers down their local Sydney watering holes suddenly started thinking that maybe going on a cruise might not be such a bad idea.
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11 comments:
For all of your floaty pen and pencil needs: http://stylomotion.blogspot.com/
:)
I had one of these but inside was a curvy lady in a long dress. When you tilted it she would appear in a bathing suit. It seemed very risque when I was 13
Check out
http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/2007/03/pencils-of-vice.html
and
http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/2006/07/nudie-pencils.html
Nice find. I wouldn't mind going on a cruise with a bunch of nurses. Does it use 0.9 or 0.7mm lead?
After I loaded and scheduled this article, I put the pencil away in storage and now...
I'm pretty sure it was 0.9mm. If not ot would have been 1.18mm, not 0.7mm.
nifty
I am looking for a wooden triangular thick mechanical pencil. One of my students brought it in and it is amazing how well it works in a 7 year old's hand. Any ideas where I can get it?
Can't give you a wooden one I'm afraid but the Staedtler Noris Graphite 771 has just the design your'e looking for although I'm not sure of your lead size preference - this is 1.3mm. Just a thought.
2 1/2p
This is a great post on an old-school promotional pencil. I've read a lot about promotional pens on Promo Pen Collector, but I don't think I've ever seen or read about promotional mechanical pencils. Any thoughts?
i to have not seen many promo mp's. mostly big companies us ballpoint pens.
Hi Coco - there certainly seem to be lots more old floaty pens than pencils about. I've got a couple more. A lot of them have really badly distorted bodies.
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