Jacob Lownds – Lownds’ Patent – Twist/Slide

This is a rare example of a Lownds’ Patent style of pencil. Jacob Lownds held one of the earliest American mechanical pencil patents (patent #32, Sept., 1836). Pencil is unmarked but identical in design to Lownd’s Patent pencils, His invention was that the nozzle of the pencil was propelled out of the casing by pulling on the end of the barrel, giving it a quarter turn, and then pushing the end back in. Nice engine turned casing. The finial cap is plain bare metal.