I have two of these L. & C. Hardtmuth “Aviator” * 903 * 2H pencils. I got them in a bag of old “woods” I bought for $2 at an estate sale.

I’ve never made a mark with either one. I’m sure they stopped making Aviator pencils about a hundred years ago. I’m afraid to use them. I’m afraid to use up their mystique.

Aviator, eh?

It’s one of those legendary, open-cockpit, flying ace guys–with the leather helmet, the big goggles, and the red scarf–rugged, yet romantic. And the plane sounds like an insane flying lawnmower, looping, spinning, diving. The Aviator dodges bullets with a fearless smile. But wait! Hold on! What’s that in his hand? He’s making some sort of notation in his Moleskine pad with… Whoa! Look at that mysteriously handsome, dark blue pencil with gold lettering!

And, by the way, who were L. & C. Hardtmuth? And when’s the last time you bought something from a company with a name like Hardtmuth? This pencil was born during a barely imaginable age–when things really were solid, and were made by hardworking people, whose names sounded solid.

Who’s looping and spinning through your visions of a golden age?  What kind of pencil are they using?