Soviet Pencils
In addition to my sizeable collection of modern Russian pencils, I have started acquiring some vintage pencils from Soviet times. Brands like Krasin were producing before the Soviet Union and continue to produce today after it is gone, and others like the recently-demised Tomsk were in production early in Soviet times and survived the fall but couldn’t compete with capitalism itself.
Other brands, particularly those produced in republics other than Russia (such as this gorgeously-varnished Chertedgnik set), failed to match the demands of neoliberalism.
The quality of most of these appears to poorly compare with their western (or Japanese) contemporaries, but they do have some quite enjoyable designs and colours quite trendy and emblematic of their era (or, as it were, the previous era in the west), including the wonderful stylized pencil logos, which would make even the famous non-gay bear Aaron James Draplin proud.
Konstructor is a name currently being offered from both the Voskresenky and Krasin factories, and Voskresensky also uses the stylized pencil logo seen on this particular package. The Soviet-era box I acquired doesn’t mention Krasin (which anyway uses a different logo) nor Voskresenky (of course, the latter having appeared on the scene only in 2018 according to their website). My assumption is that Konstructor is a term referring to office-quality pencils (I’ve also seen “Engineer” labels across multiple brands) and that Vostresensky acquired the brand assets from this Soviet-era maker, and that this included the logo.
Another interesting find was a set of clutch pencils for coloured leads. All parts except the spring mechanism and clutch jaws are made from plastic, and many of them show significant signs of age, so I assume not too many of these made it through the years. Another lost brand (Kimek) made in a place other than Russia (in this case Moldova), they are nonetheless a fun find.
I am actively searching for more remnants of Soviet stationery and design, especially from outside Russia, as those would be from factories no longer in production. Drop a line if you have any leads!
