A PIECE OF JEWISH HISTORY OR JUST A BEAUTIFUL GOLD PENCIL?
This piece was acquired quite a few years ago from an elderly widow, who said it had belonged to her father, who was "the editor for the first Yiddish newspaper in New York." He may have worked at Forverts, or Forward, founded in New York in 1897. This pencil is a beautiful tool, but also unusual, in that the soft lead is very wide, approximately 1/8 inch in diameter. Possibly an appropriate implement for marking up galley copy or even the lithographic stone or plate.
Two additional artifacts were obtained at the same time; a steel marking pencil with an even wider lead (1/4 inch dia.) inscribed with a bank logo, and a painting on ivory of three young girls, I.F.'s daughters, most likely done by immigrant Russian painter. Painting on ivory is incorporated into a blue leather travelling case.
Research, including contacting the National Yiddish Bookcenter in New York, could not put a name to the initials, I. F. We would love to know more about this piece and the related objects. If you have any information, please contact me, Susan, at Fantasia Antiques.