he Stumpy was a pushbutton, clutch sketch pencil made for Parker by the German manufacturer Wörthers in Baden-Baden. It’s hard to pinpoint when it was first sold, but it was probably launched in 1977-78 in Germany, since examples are found in the Parker archives with this date. While most pencils were manufactured to pair up with different fountain pen models, the Stumpy was made as a model of its own. While more a lead holder than a pencil the Stumpy was filed as a trade mark by Parker in December 1978 and registered in September of 1980. The first items to sell in the US were shipped by Parker in 1980, and distributed by Garrick in Dallas, Texas, a company purchased by Parker around 1971.
The Stumpy was a matte black, short but wide pencil, shaped as a hexagon with a steel actuated clip which pushed the thick lead out from the pen front. It was priced at $5, which was rather high for a pencil at the time, but maybe not for a professional instrument used by designers and artists. The pencil was designed by Parker's Development Center in Baden-Baden, Germany, which had been around since the early 1960's.
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