Pasha

Pasha (pronounced pah-shuh, pash-uh, puh-shah or pur-shaw)

(1) In historic use, a high rank in the Ottoman political and military system, granted usually to provincial governor or other high officials and later most associated with the modern Egyptian kingdom; it should be placed after a name when used as a title, a convention often not followed in the English-speaking world.

(2) A transliteration of the Russian or Ukrainian male given name diminutive Па́ша (Páša).

(3) A surname variously of Islamic and Anglo-French origin (ultimately from the Latin).

(4) In casual use, anyone in authority (used also pejoratively against those asserting authority without any basis); the use seems to have begun in India under the Raj.

(5) As the “two-tailed pasha” (Charaxes jasius), a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.

1640–1650: From the Turkish pasa (also as basha), from bash (head, chief), (there being in Turkish no clear distinction between “b” & “p”), from the Old Persian pati- (maste), built from the primitive Indo-European root poti- (powerful; lord) + the root of shah (and thus related to czar, tzar, csar, king & kaisar).  The related English bashaw (as an Englishing of pasha) existed as early as the 1530s.  Pasha’s use as an Islamic surname is most prevalent on Indian subcontinent but exists also in other places, most often those nations once part of the old Ottoman Empire (circa 1300-1922) ) including Albania, Republic of Türkiye and the Slavic region.  As a surname of English origin, Pasha was a variant of Pasher, an Anglicized form from the French Perchard, a suffixed form of Old French perche (pole), from the Latin pertica (pole, long staff, measuring rod, unit of measure), from the Proto-Italic perth & pertikā (related also to the Oscan perek (pole) and possibly the Umbrian perkaf (rod).  The ultimate source of the Latin form is uncertain.  It may be connected with the primitive Indo-European pert- (pole, sprout), the Ancient Greek πτόρθος (ptórthos) (sprout), the Sanskrit कपृथ् (kapṛth) (penis) although more than one etymologist has dismissed any notion of extra-Italic links.  Pasha, pashaship & pashadom are nouns and pashalike is an adjective; the noun plural is pashas.  The adjectives pashaish & pashaesque are non-standard but tempting.

Fakhri Pasha (Ömer Fahrettin Türkkan (1868–1948), Defender of Medina, 1916-1919).

In The Struggle for Survival, 1940–1965 (1966) (extracts from the diary of Lord Moran (Charles Wilson, 1882-1977, personal physician to Winston Churchill (1875-1965; UK prime-minister 1940-1945 & 1951-1955)), there’s an entry in which, speaking of her husband, Clementine Churchill (1885–1977) told the doctor: “Winston is a Pasha.  If he cannot clap his hands for servant he calls for Walter as he enters the house.  If it were left to him, he'd have the nurses for the rest of his life ... He is never so happy, Charles, as he is when one of the nurses is doing something for him, while Walter puts on his socks.”  In his busy youth, Churchill has served as a subaltern in the British Army’s 4th Queen's Own Hussars, spending some two years in India under the Raj; he would have been a natural pasha.

Debut of 928 & the pasha: Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche (1909–1998) with the Porsche 928 displayed at the Geneva Auto Salon, 17 March, 1977.

The car (pre-production chassis 928 810 0030) was finished in the Guards Red which in the next decade would become so emblematic of the brand and this was not only the first time the pasha trim was seen in public but also the first appearance of the “phone-dial” wheels.  Although the factory seems never to have published a breakdown of the production statistics, impressionistically, the pasha appeared more often in the modernist 924 & 928 than the 911 with its ancestry dating from the first Porsches designed in the 1940s. 

The “Pasha” flannel fabric was until 1984 available as an interior trim option for the 911 (1964-1989), 924 (1976-1988) & 928 (1977-1995) in four color combinations: black & white, black & blue, blue & beige and brown & beige.  Although not unknown in architecture, the brown & beige combination is unusual in fashion and it's doubtful the kit once donned by New Zealand’s ODI (one day international) cricket teams was influenced by the seats of pasha-trimmed Porsches; if so, that was one of the few supporting gestures.

1979 Porsche 930 with black & white pasha inserts over leather (to sample) (left) and 1980 Porsche 928S with brown & beige pasha inserts over brown leather.

It was known informally also as the Schachbrett (checkerboard) but it differed from the classic interpretation of that style because the objects with which the pattern was built were irregular in size, shape and placement.  Technically, although not usually listed as a velvet or velour, the pasha used a similar method of construction in that it was a “pile fabric”, made by weaving together two thicknesses of fine cord and then cutting them apart to create a soft, plush surface, rendering a smooth finish, the signature sheen generated by the fibres reflect light.  It was during its run on the option list rarely ordered and in the Porsche communities (there are many factions) it seems still a polarizing product but while “hate it” crowd deplore the look, to the “love it” crowd it has a retro charm and is thought in the tradition of Pepita (or shepherd’s check), Porsche’s unique take on houndstooth.

Reproduction Porsche pasha fabric available from the Sierra Madre Collection.

There are tales about how Porsche’s pasha gained the name including the opulent and visually striking appearance evoking something of the luxury and flamboyance associated the best-known of the Ottoman-era pashas, much publicized in the West for their extravagant ways.  There seems no basis for this and anyway, to now confess such an origin would see Porsche damned for cultural appropriation and at least covert racism.  It may not be a “cancellation” offence but is trouble best avoided.  Also discounted is any link with lepidopterology for although the “two-tailed pasha” (Charaxes jasius, a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae) is colourful, the patterns on the wings are not in a checkerboard.  Most fanciful is that during the 1970s (dubbed to this day “the decade style forgot” although that does seem unfair to the 1980s), in the Porsche design office was one chap who was a “sharp dresser” and one day he arrived looking especially swish, his ensemble highlighted by a check patterned Op Art (optical art, an artistic style with the intent of imparting the impression of movement, hidden images, flashing & vibrating patterns or swelling & warping) scarf.  The look came to the attention of those responsible for the interiors for the upcoming 928 and the rest is history... or perhaps not.  More convincing is the suggestion it was an allusion to the company’s success in motorsport, a chequered (checkered) flag waved as the cars in motorsport cross the finish-line, signifying victory in an event.  What the pasha’s bold, irregular checkerboard did was, in the Bauhaus twist, create the optical illusion of movement.

Publicity shot for Porsche 911 Spirit 70, released as a 2026 model.

When on the option list, the Pasha fabric was never a big seller but, being so distinctive, memories of it have never faded and it transcended its lack of popularity to become what is now known as “iconic”.  Originally, the use of “iconic” was limited to the small objects of religious significance (most associated with the imagery in Eastern Orthodox Christianity where the concept didn’t always find favour, the original iconoclasts being literally those destroyed icons) and later co-opted for analogous (often secular) use in art history.  It was in the 1960s, perhaps influenced by the depictions in pop-art (many of which were icon-like) of pop culture figures such as Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) that there meaning shifted to apply to those highly influential, recognizable, or emblematic in some aspect of what was being discussed, be that a look, brand, cultural phenomenon or whatever.  In that sense, Porsche over the years has been associated with a few “iconic” objects including certain wheels, rear spoilers and entire vehicles such as the 911 or 917.  Even before the internet reached critical mass and accelerated the trend, the word was in the 1980s & 1990s a common form but in the twenty-first century such was the overuse the value was diminished and its now not uncommon for it to have to be used with modifiers (genuinely iconic, truly iconic etc).  So, the path has been from sacred to symbolic to cultural to viral to clichéd, and by the 2020s, were something to be described as “totally iconic”, there was a fair chance it would within a week be forgotten.

2026 Porsche 911 Spirit 70.  The Pasha fabric is standard on the door panels and seat cushions but optional for the seat squabs and dashboard (left).  The Pascha-Teppich (Pasha mat) in the frunk is included (right).

Porsche however seems assured the Pasha fabric is part of the company’s iconography and in April 2025 announced the look would be reprised for the 911’s latest Heritage Edition model.  Dubbed the 911 Spirit 70, the name is an allusion to the “company’s design philosophy of the seventies” and that may be something worth recalling for during that “difficult decade”, not only did some of Porsche’s most memorable models emerge but most than most manufacturers of the time, they handled the troubles with some aplomb.  Production of the Spirit 70 will be limited to 1,500 units, all in Olive Neo (a bespoke and (in the right light) untypically vibrant olive) with retro-inspired livery and trimmed in the revived Pasha fabric upholstery (although use on the seat squabs and dashboard is optional).  Mechanically, the car is based on the Carrera GTS Cabriolet, availability of which has spanned a few of the 911’s generations and for those who don’t like the graphics, they’re a delete option.

Lindsay Lohan (during “brunette phase”) in bandage dress in black & white pasha, rendered as an adumbrated pen & ink sketch in monochrome.

Although made with "pasha" fabric, this is not a “pasha-style” dress.  Some purists deny there’s such a thing and what people use the term to describe is correctly an “Empire” or “A-Line” dress, the industry has adopted “pasha” because it’s a romantic evocation of the style of garment often depicted being worn by notables in the Ottoman Empire.  The (Western) art of the era fuelled the popular imagination and it persists to this day, something which was part of the critique of Palestinian-American academic Edward Said (1935–2003) in Orientalism (1978), an influential work which two decades on from his death, remains controversial.  As used commercially, a pasha dress can be any longer style characterized by a flowing silhouette, sometimes with a wrap or corset detailing and so vague is the term elements like ruffles or pagoda sleeves can appear; essentially, just about any dress “swishy” enough to “waft around” dress can plausibly be called a pasha.  Since the symbiotic phenomena of fast-fashion and on-line retailing achieved critical mass, the number of descriptions of garment styles probably has increased because although it's difficult to create (at least for saleable mass-produced products) looks which genuinely are "new", what they're called remains linguistically fertile. 

For the Porsche owner who has everything, maXimum offers “Heel Trend Porche Pasha Socks”, the "Porche" (sic) a deliberate misspelling as a work-around for C&Ds (cease & desist letters) from Stuttgart, a manoeuvre taken also by legendary accumulator of damaged Porsches (and much else), German former butcher Rudi Klein (1936-2001) whose Los Angeles “junkyard” realized millions when the contents were auctioned in 2024.  His “Porsche Foreign Auto” business had operated for some time before he received a C&D from German lawyers, the result being the name change in 1967 to Porche Foreign Auto.  It’s a perhaps unfair stereotype Porsche owners really do already have everything but the socks may be a nice novelty for them.

Chairs, rug & occasional tables in black & white pasha.

A minor collateral trade in the collector car business is that of thematically attuned peripheral pieces.  These include models of stuff which can be larger than the original (hood ornaments, badges and such), smaller (whole cars, go-karts etc) or repurposed (the best known of which are the engines re-imagined as coffee-tables (almost always with glass tops) but there are also chairs.  Ideal for a collector, Porsche dealership or restoration house, one ensemble consisting of two chrome-plated steel framed chairs, a circular rug and brace of occasional tables was offered at auction.  The “Porsche Pasha” chosen was the black & white combo, something which probably would be approved by most interior decorators; with Ferraris there may be “resale red” but with furniture there’s definitely “resale black & white”.

Pencil

Pencil (pronounced pen-suhl)

(1) A slender tube, usually of wood, metal or plastic containing a core or strip of graphite (still referred to as lead) or a solid coloring material, sharpened to some extent, used for writing or drawing.

(2) A stick of cosmetic coloring material for use on the eyebrows, eyelids etc.

(3) Anything shaped or used like a pencil, as a stick of medicated material.

(4) In optics (from the seventeenth century), an aggregate or collection of rays of light, especially when diverging from or converging to a point.

(5) In geometry (from the nineteenth century), a set of geometric objects with a common property, such as the set of lines that pass through a given point in a projective plane.

(6) As a verb, "to pencil in", to schedule or list tentatively, as or as if by writing down in pencil rather than in more permanent ink.

(7) In animation, as "pencil-test", a first take of pictures, historically on black and white film stock, now emulated in software; also used to describe a test which assesses (1) the viability of bralessness (Western tradition) or (2) one's attainment of "real womanhood" (Chinese use).

(8) In medicine, a small medicated bougie (from the nineteenth century and now archaic).

(9) A paintbrush (from the fourteenth century and now archaic).

1350–1400: From the Middle English pencel (an artist’s fine brush of camel hair, used for painting, manuscript illustration etc), from the Anglo-Norman and Old French pincil (artist's paintbrush) from the Old & Middle French pincel from the Medieval Latin pincellus, from the Latin pēnicillum & pēnicillus (painter's brush, hair-pencil (literally "little tail"), a diminutive of pēniculus (brush), a diminutive of penis (tail).  It’s from the old French variant pincel that Modern French gained pinceau (paintbrush).  The verb pencil emerged early in the sixteenth century as pencellen (apply (gold or silver) in manuscript illustration) and by the 1530s was being used in the sense of “to mark or sketch with a pencil-brush”, extended to work undertaken with lead pencils from the 1760s.  Despite the obvious similarity, there is no relationship with the word pen.  The spelling pensill is long obsolete.  Pencil is a noun & verb, penciler is a noun, penciled is a verb, penciled is a verb & adjective and pencillike is an adjective; the noun plural is pencils.  The additional "l" (penciller, pencilled etc) is used in traditional British spelling.

The alluring catwalk combination of a "pencil-thin" model (note the shoulder-blade definition) & polka-dots.  The industry has “solved” the problem of the perception of models being “dangerously thin” by adding a token number of “plus-size” units to their DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) roster.  However, the agencies report the fashion houses still first select the slenderest.

Pencils are produced in quite a variety and specialized types include the carpenter's pencil, the wax (or china) pencil, and the color pencil although what’s more precisely defined are the technical descriptions based on the specification of the graphite (HB, 2B etc), used to rate darkness and hardness.  A propelling pencil is one with a replaceable and mechanically extendable lead that wears away with use, designed to provide lines of constant thickness without requiring sharpening and typically featuring a small eraser at the end opposite the tip.  Pencil pouches and pencil cases are containers in which one stores ones pencils and related items (pencil sharpener, eraser et al); by convention a pouch was made of a soft material while cases tended to be fashioned from some hard substance (steel, wood, plastic etc) but the terms are used loosely.  A kohl pencil (also called an eyeliner pencil) is one with a kohl core (which can be sharpened in the usual manner) used for enhancing the eyes.  The golf pencil was originally designed for golfers and was about three inches (75 mm) in length though they’re now commonly used in situations where pencil turnover is high (election booths, gambling houses etc).

Despite the careful codification, the system of grading the lead in pencils is not an ISO.

Although in general use the ubiquitous HB has long been the default choice, pencils exist with different formulations used for the graphite (ie “the lead”) and specialists choose them according to purpose and the (almost) standardized labelling is based on the range running from “H” (hard) to “B” (soft) with HB in the middle.  That “B” (counterintuitively) means “soft: is explained by the tag being a reference to “black”: the softer the graphite mix, the blacker a pencil will write and the chemistry is simple in that clay makes the lead harder while graphite makes it softer so the more graphite, the softer and blacker the mark left.

Decoding the pencil scale

H = Hard: lighter, crisper lines; less smudging

B = Black (Soft): darker, richer lines; more smudging

F = Fine point: slightly harder than HB

HB: middle ground; the standard writing pencil

Of the tasks

HB or F: A balanced tone, good for general writing, office, or school use; not too dark or inclined to smudge.

2H to 4H: Preferred by artists and architects for creating initial or conceptual sketches and for outlining, the advantage being the light, easily erasable lines which can provide a base structure.

2B to 6B: A spectrum of soft pencils fused to produce rich, dark renderings and smooth blending; the softer the pencil, the darker and more expressive the mark.

HB to 2H: Much used in architectural designs (still a thing even in the age of CAD (computer-aided design)) and technical drawing because of the clean, precise line which can still easily be erased.

H to 6H: Produces crisp, precise lines not prone to fragmentation at the edges (ie, no smudging).

8B-9B: While the 2B-6B range is the standard “utility pencil” for shading and creating shadows, it’s the 8B-9B to which artists and others turn when very dark tones are needed.

Although it resembles the standardized classification systems used for a number of products, the pencil grading system mostly is a manufacturing convention and not an ISO administered by the International Standards Organization.  Instead, the H–B scale was developed and popularized by European manufacturers during the nineteenth century, most notably by Faber-Castell.  There is an ISO standard (ISO 9177-2) but it applies only to mechanical pencil leads and it grades only hardness, not composition; within IS0 9177-2 manufacturers may still use the H-B grading system because strict physical specifications for the lead’s mix are not included and that means a 2B mechanical pencil from one manufacturer may be darker or softer than a 2B from another.  What that means is there’s no universal calibration; it’s a relative system, consistent within a brand but variable across brands.  With a long history of calligraphy, writing instruments are go great cultural significance in Japan and the Japanese domestic standard (JIS S6004) reflects the tradition of use, Japanese pencils tending to be slightly softer than their Western equivalents for the same grade.

School pencils are a useful way to convey important messages to children.

The "pencil skirt" is a close-fitting garment which classically was knee to calf length.  In explosives, a "pencil detonator" (also as "time pencil") is a timed fuse designed to be connected to a detonator or short length of safety fuse.  "Pencil-thin" is a term (historically one of admiration but of late also used negatively) for an especially slender woman but it can be applied to any thin object (synonymous with "stick-thin", thought a clipping of the earlier zoological reference "stick insect thin").  The phrase "power of the pencil" is from professional gambling and refers to an authority to charge a punter's gambling or other bills to the casino (the house).  The "lead in one's pencil" is slang which referencing the state of erection of one's penis; to "put the lead into one’s pencil" referred to some form of stimulation which induced such an erection (including presumably the sight of an attractive, pencil-thin woman).  To "pencil something in" is to make a tentative booking or arrangement (on the notion of being erasable as opposed to using ink which suggests permanence or something confirmed); the phrase has been in use only since 1942.  The derogatory slang "pencil-pusher" (office worker) dates from 1881; prior to that such folk had since 1820 been called "pen-drivers", the new form reflecting the arrival at scale of mass-produced pencils.  The derogatory "pencil neck" (weak person) was first noted in 1973 while "pencil dick" (a penis of a girth judged inadequate or a man with such an organ) is documented in US slang since 1962.

Lindsay Lohan in pencil skirts: The pencil skirt can be thought the companion product to the bandage dress; while a bandage dress ends usually above the knee (the more pleasing sometimes far above) a pencil skirt typically falls to the knee or is calf-length.  If one is in fishnet stockings, an "above-the-knee" cut seems at least desirable, if not essential. 

Technical terms for the grips with which a pencil is held.

The test pencil is a device with a small bulb or other form of illumination which lights up when an active current is detected.  Available in many voltages (the most common being 12, 24, 48 (for automotive and other low-voltage applications) and 110/120 & 220/240v), they work either by direct contact with the wire through which the current passes or (through the insulation) as a proximity device.  The "test pencil" should not be confused with the "pencil test" which is either (1) in animation, an early version of an animated scene, consisting of rough sketches that are photographed or scanned (now overtaken by technology which emulates the process in software and almost obsolete but the term is still used by graphic artists to describe conceptual sketches or rough takes), (2) in apartheid-era South Africa, a method of determining racial identity, based on how easily a pencil pushed through a person's hair could be removed and (3) a test to determine the necessity (some concede on the advisability) of wearing a bra, based on whether a pencil placed in the infra-mammary fold (ie the "underboob") stays in place with no assistance (which sounds standardized but sources vary about whether a pencil test should be performed with the arms by the side or raised, the choice sometimes affected the result.

The Pencil Test

The pencil test: In the West this photograph would be graded "fail"; in China it’s a "pass", an example of "cultural specificity".

Although it sounds a quintessentially TikTok thing and did trend in 2016, the year the Chinese version of TikTok was released, re-purposing of the pencil test by Chinese women as the “true womanhood” test actually pre-dated the platform.  Like the best trends it was quick and simple and required only the most basic piece of equipment: a pencil (although a pen or any tube with the diameter of a classic pencil would do).  The procedure was the classic pencil test used to determine the viability of going braless but, unlike the occidental original where the pencil falling to the ground was graded a “pass”, in the oriental version, that’s a “fail”, the implement having to sit securely in place to prove one is “a real woman”.  Millions of images were uploaded to Chinese social media channels as proof challenge had been passed; this presumably will assist in ensuring one doesn’t become a leftover woman.

The Flying Pencil

Prototype Dornier 17 V1, 1934.

One of terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), imposed on Germany after the World War I (1914-1918) was it was denied the right to military aviation.  Those familiar with the operations of sanctions in the twenty-first century will not be surprised that within a few years, there were significant developments in German civil aviation including gliding clubs which would provide the early training of many pilots who would subsequently join the Luftwaffe, even before the open secret of the organization’s existence formerly was acknowledged in 1935.  Additionally, under well-concealed arrangements with Moscow, German pilots underwent training in the Soviet Union, one of the many programmes in a remarkably flourishing industry of military exchanges undertaken even during periods of notable political tension.  In those years, the German aircraft industry also had its work-arounds, sometimes undertaking research, development and production in co-operation with manufacturers in other countries and sometime producing aircraft notionally for civil purposes but which could easily re-purposed for military roles.  An example was the Dornier Do 17, nicknamed the “flying pencil” in an allusion to the slender fuselage.

Battle of Britain era Dornier Do17 E, 1940.

In 1934, Dornier’s initial description of the Do 17 as a passenger plane raised a few eyebrows in air ministries around the continent but in an attempt to lend the ruse a (thin) veneer of truth, the company submitted the design to Deutsche Luft Hansa (which became the modern carrier Lufthansa), the airline admiring the speed and flying characteristics but rejecting the proposal on the reasonable grounds the flying pencil had hardly any room for passengers.  To all observers, the thing was obviously a prototype bomber and one of the fastest and most advanced in the world but to maintain the subterfuge, Dornier instead claimed it was now a “fast mail transport”.  That fooled few but so soon after the Great War, there was little appetite in Europe for confrontation so Dornier was able to continue to develop the Do 17 as a bomber, adding a glazed nose, provision for internal armament and an internal bomb bay.

Dornier Do 217 E, 1943.

The deployment as part of the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) provided valuable information in both battle tactics and the need for enhanced defensive armaments and it was these lessons which were integrated into the upgraded versions which formed a part of the Luftwaffe’s bomber and reconnaissance forces at the start of World II.  They provided useful service in the early campaigns against Poland, Norway & the Low Countries but the limitations were exposed when squadrons were confronted by the advanced eight-gun fighters of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Battle of Britain (July-September 1940).  However, in the absence of a better alternative, they played an important part in the early successes Germany enjoyed in the invasion of the Soviet Union but such was the rapidity of art-time technological advances that by 1942 the Do 17 was obsolescent and withdrawn from front-line service, relegated to training and other ancillary roles.  The slim frame which had in 1934 helped provide the flying pencil with its outstanding performance now became a limitation, preventing further development even as a night-fighter, the role assigned in those years to many airframes no longer suitable for daytime operations.  Its successor, the Do 217 was notably fatter in the fuselage but even it was soon rendered obsolete and by 1944 had been withdrawn from front-line service.

Mohammed Rafieh's extraordinary Persian pencil place

A COVID-19 era Mohammed Rafieh at work in Medad Rafi, located in the vast bazaar which sits between the two mosques in Tehran's district 15.

Mohammed Rafieh opened Medad Rafi in Tehran in 1990, specializing in color pencils, a description which is no exaggeration.  Although his inventory numbers in the thousands, Mr Rafieh has no need for databases, barcodes or lists of part-numbers, having committed to memory the place of every pencil in his shop, his stock said to include every color known to be available anywhere in the world.  Medad (مداد) is Persian for pencil and Rafi the affectionate diminutive of Rafieh so in translation the shop is thus "Rafi's Pencils"; never has Mr Rafieh been accused of misleading advertising.

Mr Rafieh at work.

The essential accessory: Of the pencil sharpener

The pencil in its familiar, mass-produced form is surprisingly modern.  Quills made from bird feathers and small brushes with bristles from a variety of creatures were used long before chalk or lead pencils.  Sticks of pure graphite (commonly (if chemically inaccurately) known as "black lead") were used in England for marking writing instruments from the mid sixteenth century while the wooden enclosure was a contemporary innovation from the Continent and it seems to have been in this era the word pencil was transferred from a type of brush to the newly encapsulated "graphite writing implement".  The modern clay-graphite mix, essentially little different to that still in use, was developed in the early nineteenth century, mass-production beginning in mid century, something made possible by the availability of cheap, precision machine tools.  The inventor of the handy innovation of an eraser being attached to the end opposite the sharpened lead was granted a patent in 1858.  Some like these on pencils and some don't.

Pencil sharpeners of increasing complexity.  Unless one has specific needs, the old ways are usually the best.

The modern pencil also encouraged the development of the pencil sharpener, one of the world's most simple machines and something which really hasn't been improved upon although over the last century an extraordinary array of mechanical and electro-mechanical devices have been offered (some so wondrously complex it's suspected they existed just to flaunt the engineering although they do make fine gifts for nerds; it's likely nerds do prefer pencils to pens).  Apparently first sold commercially in 1854 (prior to than a hand-held blade of some sort would have been the usual method), some have been intriguing and imaginative designs which sometimes found their specialized niche but none sharpen a pencil better than the cheapest and most simple.  Even now, if one has paper, the creation of just about anything in theoretical physics, poetry or literature demands little equipment beyond pencil, paper, sharpener & eraser.  

The Faber-Castell production process.

The pencil as collectable relic

Lot 278: Four volumes of Roget's International Thesaurus.

Pencils can be collectables if their provenance adequately is documented.  Doyle’s in New York on 18 June 2024 conducted an auction of some items from the estate of US composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021), attracting dealers, collectors & Sondheim devotees and Lot 278 was indicative of the strength of bidding: four (well worn) volumes of Roget's International Thesaurus.  Although one was from the first printing (June 1946), it lacked a dust jacket and came with library markings and a “Withdrawn” stamp.  None of those offered were rarities (reflected in the pre-sale estimate of US$200-300) but the hammer fell at an impressive US$25,600.  The stationery freaks (it really is quite a thing) were also in the crowd, a signed spiral notebook selling for what one commentator called “a startling US$15,360.”

Lot 275: Three boxes of Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602 pencils.  The Blackwing was not cylindrical so, like a "carpenter's pencil", it was less prone to rolling onto the floor.  Decades after the pencils entered the market, there would be a Cadillac Blackwing V8, a notable piece of engineering doomed by its high cost. 

What was most surprising though was the fate of Lot 275: “Three boxes of vintage Blackwing 602 pencils (Circa 1940s-1950s).  Three blue boxes printed with "Eberhard Faber/Blackwing/Feathery-Smooth Pencils, two of the boxes complete with 12 pencils, one with 8 only (together 32 pencils).  Some wear to the boxes and drying of the erasers.”  Sondheim was a devoted Blackwing user, telling one interviewer: “I use Blackwing pencils. Blackwings.  They don’t make ’em any more, and luckily, I bought a lot of boxes of ’em.  They’re very soft lead.  They’re not round, so they don’t fall off the table, and they have removable erasers, which unfortunately dry out."  The pencils sold for US$6,400 against a pre-sale estimate of US$600-800.

The pencils were an example of how critical is provenance in the collectables market.  In June 2023, Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast, Northern Ireland, held a “specialist” sale focused “militaria, police and important Irish historical items”, one entry with a pre-sale estimate of US$65,000-100,000 being Lot 148: “An engraved, silver-plated pencil, believed to have been a 52nd birthday present (20 April 1941) from Eva Braun (1912–1945) to Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945).  On the day, the pencil sold for US$6,900.

The lower than expected price may have been the result of doubts being cast on the authenticity of the item’s claimed history.  Technically, Lot 148 was a mid-20th-century mechanical pencil, of white metal (presumably one with a high nickel content) and silver-plated, engraved along one louvered side facet with the inscription: ZUM 20 APRIL 1941 HERZLICHST EVA.  That’s an abbreviated form of phrase typically used on occasions such as birthdays, the brevity necessitated by the surface area with which the engraver had to work, the pencil only some 3¼ inches (82.5 mm) long.  Deconstructed, the sentence fragment begins with the preposition “to” and a contracted, inflected article of speech, “the” expressed in the dative case.  Zum is literally “To the...”, understood as “Upon the...”.  So, the signatory (“Eva”) is marking the occasion the birthday on 20 April 1941, the inherent formality of form what one would expect in a gift to a head of state though perhaps not one from a lover.  However, the very existence of the relationship between the Führer and the woman who later briefly would be Frau Hitler was unknown beyond his court circle and it may have been even the jeweller wasn’t to be given a hint; the exact (physical) nature of their relationship remains a mystery.  However, the word herzlichst is from the root noun Herz (heart) and as an adjective or adverb, herzlich, is often used in the sense of “heartful” or “heartfelt” which at least suggests something intimate and the –st suffix operates to create a superlative, which if literally translated (“most heartful” or “most heartfelt”) sounds in English like something which might be used ironically or cynically but there’s nothing to suggest it should be understood as anything but something like: On the occasion of the 20th April, 1941, most heartfully, Eva.

The "Hitler" Pencil top.

The provenance of the pencil however proved controversial, something not helped by the anonymity of the seller and the lack of any documentary trail which might have helped confirm the veracity of the back-story.  While one could speculate any number of the life the pencil may have led over the decades, no evidence was offered.  The sale also attracted criticism which is increasingly heard when auction houses offer any of the militaria, memorabilia and ephemera connected with Hitler or the Nazis in general.  Although such objects have for decades been collectables there’s now more resistance to the notion of profits being derived from the trade in what is, in some sense, “the commemoration of evil” and the Chairman of the European Jewish Association had called for the pencil to be withdrawn from sale, issuing a statement in which he called the auction part of a “…macabre trade in items belonging to mass murderers, the motives of those buying them are unknown and may glorify the actions of the Nazis, and lastly, their trade is an insult to the millions who perished, the few survivors left, and to Jews everywhere.”  The president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews described the sale as “…distressing, disturbing and hugely disrespectful”, arguing that even if of historical significance “…these items have no place in our country other than inside the walls of a museum or other institution where they can be used to teach about the results of anti-Semitism.”

1938 Mercedes-Benz 770K (W150) Cabriolet F, a seven passenger tourer & parade car, pictured here with the folding soft-top in sedanca de ville configuration.

There is still some tolerance for the trade in items which would otherwise anyway be collectables (such as the Mercedes-Benz 770Ks (W07 (1930-1938) & W150 (1938-1943), many of which when offered are claimed (dubiously and not) to have some association with Hitler) and for anything of genuine historical significance (such as diplomatic papers) but the circulation of mere ephemera with some Nazi link is increasingly being condemned as macabre and the higher the prices paid, the more distasteful it's alleged to be.  A spokesman for Bloomfield Auctions defended the inclusion of such items in the sale, arguing they “…preserve a piece of our past and should be treated as historical objects, no matter if the history they refer to was one of the darkest and most controversial in recorded history.”, adding “We do not seek to cause hurt or distress to any one or any part of society” and that buyers typically were “legitimate collectors who have a passion for history… all items are a part of history, and we shouldn't be writing history out of books or society.”

Pencil sculpture by Russian artist Salavat Fidai (b 1972).

Adhesive

Adhesive (pronounced ad-hee-siv or ad-hee-ziv)

(1) Something coated with glue, paste, mastic, or other sticky substance (which may be intended for either temporary or permanent purposes); a substance that causes something to adhere, as glue or rubber cement.

(2) Figuratively, tenacious or clinging.

(3) Sticking fast; sticky; apt or tending to adhere; clinging.

(4) In physics, of or relating to the molecular force that exists in the area of contact between unlike bodies and that acts to unite them.

(5) The quality or degree of stickiness in the physical sense; relating to adhesion.

(6) In philately, a postage stamp with a gummed back, as distinguished from one embossed or printed on an envelope or card.

1660s: The adjective meaning “sticky, cleaving or clinging” was from the French adhésif, from the Latin adhaesivus, from adhaereō (supine adhaesum). The French construct was formed from the Latin adhaes-, past-participle stem of adhaerere (stick to), the source also of adherent.  The noun was derived from the adjective and emerged in 1881, original as a descriptor of postage stamps (as a clipping of the original (1840) adhesive stamp, the word later adopted in philately as a technical distinction between the classic stick-on stamps and other types.  Around the turn of the twentieth century, it was used in the general sense of "a substance that causes to adhere", as a point of differentiation from simple glue.  The spelling adhæsive is obsolete.

Because of the use in engineering, science, industry & commerce, adhesive is a popular modifier, the forms including adhesive capsulitis, adhesive tape, hot melt adhesive, self-adhesive, adhesive bra, adhesive bandage, adhesive binding, adhesive plaster & adhesive tape.  Words related to adhesive (in the physical or figurative sense depending on context) sense include gummy, sticky, adherent, holding, hugging, pasty, adhering, agglutinant, attaching, clinging, clingy, gelatinous, glutinous, gooey, gummed, mucilaginous, resinous, tenacious, viscid & viscous.  Adhesive is a noun & adjective, adhesion is a noun, adhesively is an adverb and adhesiveness is a noun; the noun plural is adhesives.

Piet Mondrian, neo-plastic painting and adhesive tape

Piet Mondrian’s (1872-1944) 1941 New York City 1 is a series of abstract works created with multi-colored adhesive paper tape.  One version first exhibited at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in 1945 has since 1980 hung in the Düsseldorf Museum as part of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen’s collection and recently it was revealed for the past 77 years it has been hanging upside down.  The work is unsigned, sometimes an indication the artist deemed it unfinished but Mondrian left no notes.

Mondrian’s 1941 New York City 1 as it (presumably correctly) sat in the artist's studio in 1944 (left) and as it was since 1945 exhibited (upside-down) in New York and Düsseldorf (right).  Spot the difference. 

The decades-long, trans-Atlantic mistake came to light during a press conference held to announce the Kunstsammlung’s new Mondrian exhibition.  During research for the show, a photograph of Mondrian’s studio taken shortly after his death showed the work oriented in the opposite direction and this is being treated as proof of the artist’s intension although experts say the placement of the adhesive tape on the unsigned painting also suggests the piece was hung upside down.  How the error occurred is unclear but when first displayed at MOMA, it may have been as simple as the packing-crate being overturned or misleading instructions being given to the staff.  However, 1941 New York City 1 will remain upside because of the condition of the adhesive strips.  “The adhesive tapes are already extremely loose and hanging by a thread,” a curator was quoted as saying, adding that if it were now to be turned-over, “…gravity would pull it into another direction.  And it’s now part of the work’s story.”

1941 New York City 1, Paris Museum of Modern Art.

The curator made the point that as hung, the interlacing lattice of red, yellow, black and blue adhesive tapes thicken towards the bottom, suggesting a sparser skyline but that “…the thickening of the grid should be at the top, like a dark sky” and another of Mondrian’s creations in a similar vein (the oil on canvas New York City I (1942)) hangs in the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris with the thickening of lines at the top.  Whether Mondrian intended 1941 New York City 1 to be part of his oeuvre or it was just a mock-up in adhesive tape for the oil-on canvas composition to follow isn’t known, artists having many reasons for leaving works unsigned.  Mondrian was one of the more significant theorists of abstract art and its withdrawal from nature and natural subjects.  "Denaturalization" he proclaimed to be a milestone in human progress, adding: "The power of neo-plastic painting lies in having shown the necessity of this denaturalization in painterly terms... to denaturalize is to abstract... to abstract is to deepen."   

Lindsay Lohan adhesive stickers.

Adhesives in applied structural engineering

Conventional "backless" bras.

The term "backless bra" can be misleading in that most of them aren't actually built without a back-strap; rather the strap is engineered in a variety of ways to sit well below the shoulder-blades, usually somewhere around the lower back; the "backless" is a reference to the back-strap not being visible when the wearer is clothed.  Often that's enough to suit the outfit with which it's being paired but sometimes there's a need to expose the whole back and here an adhesive bra can be the solution.  Adhesive bras (single-use and re-usable and sometimes called "stick-on bras" or "stickies") are specialized devices which have a large part of the surface-area facing the skin coated with a medical-grade adhesive.  Made usually from silicone or polyurethane and available in a variety of designs (in one and two-piece configurations), almost all are strapless or backless and the variations in design exist to accommodate the different clothes under which the bra will be worn.  One chooses one’s adhesive bra cognizant of the dress or top to be worn, the idea being that once dressed, only skin and fabric should be visible.  In cases where no commercially available adhesive bra is quite right, a variety of medical-grade tapes (sold as tit-tape, skin-tape, boob-tape etc) can be used including double-sided versions which can hold the fabric of clothes in place.  These have the advantage of being able to be rendered in whatever shape is required but can be difficult to apply single-handedly although boyfriends and girlfriends should be anxious to assist.  Experts suggest avoiding the cheapest on the market because some of there are not medical grade and there's the risk of minor skin damage and consequent infection.

For those (regardless of size) who don’t require lift and need only to minimize lateral movement, the two-piece units (which can use a central coupling depending on the outfit) are ideal because they are available in versions with a smaller surface area, some of which use a higher percentage of the adhesive material to adhere to skin below the bust-line which can be helpful.  These are essentially a modern variation of the pasties (adhesive patches worn over the nipples by exotic dancers) from the late 1950s with some structural engineering added to enhance support.

Most two-piece adhesive bras are a pair of stand-alone units but some offer the option of centre-adjustments.  The methods vary, some using Velcro, the familiar hook & eye combination or buckles but the most popular type use shoe-lace style ties.  The scope of adjustment offered is not only lateral (forcing the flesh towards the centre) but also vertical (forcing the flesh upwards), both movements enhancing cleavage and this permits the same bra to be used for more than one style of outfit.

Although mostly associated with backless and strapless styles, adhesive bras are also available which accommodate plunging necklines.  The two-piece units allow designers to display a cut to the waist but more modest renditions, optimized for cleavage, use a kind of cantilever, usually called the “plunge”.

Adhesive cooperate with rather than defy the laws of physics and there are limits to the volumes which can be accommodated.  As a general principle, as the movable mass (and in this case there’s not always a direct correlation between weight and volume) increases, the surface area of the adhesive material which adheres to skin above the functional centre of gravity (essentially the pivot point) should increase.  That means larger sizes can be handled for backless dresses and even plunges are possible but it won’t be possible always to display the skin on the upper poles and designs required to secure a greater mass can be less comfortable because they often include some variation of an underwire to guarantee structural integrity.  As with all forms of structural engineering (essentially, making push equal pull), the physics involved means there are limits to what can be done.