Transitional Species
Most of you are familiar with the story of how Eagle’s flagship Mikado brand was changed to Mirado after Pearl Harbor, in order to remove the reference to Japan. So K became R, but the transition was in two stages. For a short time, the R was cleverly made by simply adding a bar to the K. Then the R was rounded.
Another clear case of pencil evolution in action:
Blog note: Please pardon my limited postings. I’m still heavily involved in other things and have not been able to take new pictures.
Fred's Pencils 
I knew the backround of the moving from MIKADO to MIRADO but no so in detail, very intersting historically and figuratively too
October 30, 2011 at 9:41 am
My history of pencil collecting started in 1958 when I was 9 years old. As a child I was impressed that these free gifts were available from advertisers and businesses. Advertising pencils are each a small voice that tell the very large 20th century history of marketing and commerce in our nation. Double and single digit phone numbers from all over our country advertized feed, seed, hogs, cows, poultry, lumber, land, cars, gas and oil, different insurances, all of your business needs and much, much more. And the real smart marketers would make it a left hand pencil. The silence of an early 1940’s era pencil without a metal ferrule or rubber eraser speaks volumes about those commodities being needed elsewhere. I spend countless hours reminiscing history looking through my pencil collection.
I discovered the American Pencil Collector Society only in my adult life. I was pleased to become a member and to find others who appreciate the beauty and simplicity of such a useful and humble memento from the past. As the years have progressed, all of the developments in science and technology have not improved the lowly, ever ready, low-tech pencil. If there was ever an opportunity to acknowledge “the little guy”, surely this must be it. I am honored to share my personal 50th anniversary of pencil collecting with the golden celebration of the APCS.
October 31, 2011 at 7:47 pm