"Something very special, in my books"- a special gift given to Christopher

Not a new acquisition, but a timeless writing instrument, nonetheless...
(image courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on photo to enlarge)

 Christopher writes:
"Years ago, my wife Chris did me proud with a very special anniversary gift, the Montblanc Leonardo sketch pencil. Special, because sketching in charcoal was a definite pastime for me when I was attending art school during the late 1960s. I loved the media and it carried forward to this marvelous Montblanc, or should I say ‘sketching instrument’. But somehow it got stowed and, unfortunately, out of sight out of mind, so to speak. But the other day when I scored a lovely 1938 Montblanc 232 and was putting it away, I ran across this wonderful Montblanc charcoal sketch pencil. Needless to say, I was eager to try it out and in selecting just the right paper stock, turned to sketching a young lady with very satisfying results.

 The Leonardo Sketch Pencil is in the Montblanc, Meisterstuck line and a true masterpiece as far as I am concerned. The design is so typically German, simple but utilitarian and perfect in size and shape for the job in hand. First the packaging, which in itself is impressive. Enclosed in a well made white shipping carton is a beautiful velvet lined Montblanc black display box. When opened, both the box bottom and box lid are utilized for the different components of this model. In the box bottom, there is a black velvet covered compartment, which holds not only this fine pencil, but a black leather carrying case with a silver coloured company branded silk ribbon. Moving on to the box lid, it holds in a clear plastic covered, again, black velvet compartment a 4 x 6 inch sketch pad and below this pad, in another recessed area, is the detailed instruction manual. Then directly above, also in a recessed black velvet covered compartment is a long plastic tube, capped at both ends and full of a lengthy charcoal refill.

 Now let me describe the pencil. Measuring just a tad under five inches in length, the black and gold finish definitely puts it in the Meisterstuck family. It has a clicker mechanism to extend the charcoal, but when the click is depressed again, the charcoal can be retracted. What will forever make this piece special to me over and above using it, is that the Montblanc outlet had it personalized to yours truly in a fine script font. This pencil has quite a wide girth, but sits extremely well in the hand for sketching. I will have to admit that I love my 149, 146 and 144 Montblanc fountain pens, but what could be better for a would-be artist, than a Montblanc Leonardo Sketch Pencil?!"

What a lovely, thoughtful gift! Our thanks to Christopher for this blog post :)