I would just like to say thank you to Sean from Pencils and Music. He told me about several auctions where old Graf von Faber-Castell items were offered that are no longer available …and as you can see I managed to be the winning bidder for some of these items.
In case you wonder about the Castell-Bank paper block and paper clip holder: They are promotional gifts from the “Fürstlich Castell‘sche Bank”, a bank that belong to the Castell-Castell and Castell-Rüdenhausen branches of the Castell family. I had the paper block and the paper clip holder since the 1980s or the 1990s, so I doubt they are still available.
The Faber family, manufacturers of pencils, and the Castell family, one of Europe’s old noble families with roots going back to the 11th century, crossed paths in 1898. You can find more information about the Castell family in the Faber-Castell Topics newsletter 1/2008 and on the history pages of the Faber-Castell web site.
Links:
- Pencil Talk has a very interesting series of article focussing on the Perfect Pencil, including the Graf von Faber-Castell versions
- Pencilog has an article in English about Graf von Faber-Castell pencils
- Pencils and Music has several articles looking at Graf von Faber-Castell products