Round wood-cased pencil with a brass-colored crimped ferrule and red rubber eraser; opposite end blunt/unsharpened. White/cream barrel printed with scattered small green foliate/plant motifs and red/blue accents, plus the maker's imprint and a red leaping-deer trademark near the ferrule. Both images are the same single pencil rotated to two sides.
Acquisition
Accession
2026.2
Source or Donor
Alberto Darias Marcos
Made/Created
Place
Country
People's Republic of China
Continent
Asia
Edition
"Deer Brand" (鹿牌 / "DEER BRAND")
Notes
Maker: "Deer Brand" (鹿牌 / "DEER BRAND"), a Chinese pencil brand; red leaping-deer trademark. Specific manufacturing factory not identified.
Date: Uncertain; not independently datable. Export markings and style are consistent with mid-to-late 20th-century Chinese production; the model "868 HB" is documented among vintage Deer Brand pencils. Possibly within 1959–1990 but not confirmable. Tentative — see Flags.
Inscription/Signature/Marks
Notes
Red leaping-deer trademark; "DEER BRAND"; 鹿牌; grade "HB"; model "868" (read as "HB 8…"; confirmed against documented Deer Brand 868); "MADE IN C[HINA]"; Chinese characters including 造 ("made"). Scattered foliate motifs on the barrel.
Materials
Material Notes
Materials: Wood barrel (cedar or basswood); graphite/clay lead; brass-colored metal ferrule; rubber eraser; lithographed/printed finish.
Technique: Mass-manufactured wood-cased pencil; barrel printed with pictorial alphabet design and brand imprint; ferrule crimped; eraser inserted.
Condition
Overall Condition
Fair
Relationships
Related Places
Place
Country
People's Republic of China
Continent
Asia
Notes
production
Place
City
Havana
Country
Cuba
Region
Caribbean, Central America
Notes
use
Research Notes
Notes
"Deer Brand" (鹿牌) is a documented vintage Chinese pencil brand; the specific model here corresponds to the Deer Brand 868 HB. A "Vintage Yellow Deer Brand 868 HB Unsharpened Pencil" is offered as a vintage Chinese pencil, confirming the brand, model number, and grade.
