Black Beauty

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Eberhard Faber, Eberhard Faber Blackwing, Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602

Black ferrule, notched, with gold band. Red Ruby eraser.

“Half The Pressure, Twice The Speed”

Judy Green Music, Hollywood

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Eberhard Faber, Eberhard Faber Blackwing, Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602, Judy Green Music

The first Judy Green Music catalog.

Judy Green Music was a mainstay in the music paper industry for decades. Based in central Hollywood, Judy Green supplied composers, arrangers, and students with high-quality manuscript paper, pens, pencils, and much more.

Judy Green began working as a copyist in the 1960s, and by 1980 she opened her own concern on Cahuenga Boulevard.

1634 Cahuenga Blvd., former location of Judy Green Music (January, 2020).

In addition to myriad formats of music manuscript paper, either on slick ivory paper or vellum, the company offered ink, writing instruments, reference books, standard contract forms, binding, and xerox services.

There is a robust selection of fountain pens in the catalog: Pelikan, Schaffer, and Rapidograph are well-represented.

Judy Green also offered her own music writer pencil. It is a descendent of the Alpheus Music Writer, which I’ve written about here. But also in the catalog is the Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602:

It’s interesting to note that there is an “IBM Soft Lead Pencil” on offer as well, which presumably means the IBM Electrographic.

Sadly, Judy Green passed away in 2007. Her legacy carries on however, through AllPrintUSA, from whom you can still order music paper and JG Music Writer pencils.

Roddy McDowall on Columbo

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Columbo, Eberhard Faber, Eberhard Faber Blackwing, Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602, Eberhard Faber Company

From a 1972 episode of Columbo: Roddy McDowall can be seen with an Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602, as he tried to get one over on Peter Falk and company. (Spoiler alert: he didn’t succeed.)

Thanks to reader Dan for the tip!

The Bowling Blackwings

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Bowling, Eberhard Faber, Eberhard Faber Blackwing, Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602, Eberhard Faber Company

Belated congratulations to the winners of the 42nd annual Eberhard Faber bowling dinner of 1966. The team, called the “Blackwings”, prevailed against their co-workers as “first half champions”, with the “Streamliners” securing the second half.

—> Half the Gutterballs, Twice the Leaves <—

Thanks to reader Jaime for the tip!

No Comparison

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Eberhard Faber, Eberhard Faber Blackwing, Eberhard Faber Company

From the 1981 Eberhard Faber sales manual:

A professional salesperson will make it his business to learn as much as possible about the competition as well as his own product.

To that end the company provided a “pencil equivalent chart” to their sales force: a list of what the company felt were comparable brands offered by General Pencil, Berol, Dixon, and Faber-Castell. For example, up against the Mongol and Hexaround were the following:

The venerable Editor pencil had some equally venerable company:

But it’s what’s missing that is the most telling. Of the twenty-nine Eberhard Faber pencil brands listed, along with their competitors’ equivalents, there is no entry for the Blackwing.

Perhaps the company thought there was just no comparing.

Blackwings: Impossible

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Eberhard Faber, Eberhard Faber Blackwing, Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602

From a 1969 episode of “Mission: Impossible”, it seems four Eberhard Faber Blackwing pencils can be seen at the top of the frame (from underneath a glass table).

Honorable mention goes to the pencil crossing the tie of Peter Graves (right), which might just be a Castell 9000 — peace and harmony across the Faberland.

Thanks to reader Al for the tip!