The American Lead Pencil Company (ALPCO) was founded in 1861, changed its name to the 'American Pencil Company' in 1939, and changed again to the 'Venus Pencil Company' in 1956.  The clearly stamped 'A.L.P.C O', the original company name, on this mechanical pencil dates it to before 1939.

It is a full sized, slim pencil that utilises a rotary mechnism to extend the lead which is retracted manually.  The pencil is in extremely good condition, the Gold fill/plating is a rich deep yellow and shows no brassing.  Removing the cap reveals a full set of unused leads and an apprently unused, but hardened eraser.

Mechanical pencils have seen an upsurge in popularity recently wiith new models ranging from a few pounds to over twoo hundred.  Thevast majority of these use a simple and cheap to make 'click action' continuous feed mechanism which depends upon plastic 'catches'.  The original rotary mechanism, as in this pencil, is much more robust and is only found towards the topof the price spectrum.

This attractive and practical pencil is still performing well after eighty odd years and should continue to do so for decades to come.