Thomas Woodward
Folding Pen / Pencil Holder
The WOODWARDS PATENT folding pen / pencil holder is an extremely rare and unusual production of Thomas Woodward. The Woodward family, originally from Britain, was headed by Thomas Senior who encouraged son Thomas Junior to emigrate to America. The new found opportunities resulted in the entire family moving to America.
Thomas Woodward, Jr., became a pencil case maker, and was awarded multiple United States patents. Research is underway to determine the extent of patent awards related to the Woodward family.
Depicted are photos of the “Woodwards Patent folding pen/pencil holder”.
Partially Folded
One of the only known folding pen /pencil cases partially folded.
Folded & Extended
The completely folded pen/pencil case with Gold Pen nib holder and Pencil extended.
The Folding Case & Patent No. 1823
No patent is found for the folding pen/pencil case. The pencil is equipped with a steel nozzle similar to d addressed in claim 2 of Woodward’s No. 1823 patent.
Folding Pen/Pencil Case Joint
The folding pen/pencil case joint was a major vulnerability point in the case design.
The top image is a partially folded view while the bottom image is a fully extended view.
Fully Extended Case
The pencil design is early to mid-1840s. Note the steel tip section on the pencil which is often found on early American mechanical pencils.
Woodwards Patent No. 1823
Woodward pencil patent No. 1823, published on October 14, 1840, contained a patent drawing depicted here.
Woodwards Patent No. 1823
Woodward pencil patent No. 1823, published on October 14, 1840, contained a patent drawing depicted here.
Woodwards Patent No. 1823
Woodward pencil patent No. 1823, published on October 14, 1840, patent specification.
Woodwards Patent No. 1823
Woodward pencil patent No. 1823, published on October 14, 1840, contained a patent drawing depicted here in magnified fashion to exhibit the highlighted components claimed as novel improvements.
Woodwards Patent No. 1823
Woodward pencil patent No. 1823, published on October 14, 1840, contains technical descriptive and claim language specifying two distinct mechanisms.
Claim 1 addresses employment of a bolt at each end of the instrument for securing the top and point a pencil.
Claim 2 addresses use in lieu of the bolt mechanism, creating a more simplified solution by utilizing a pencil tip steel nozzle design.
The original patent drawing not only has the usual component identifiers for Figures 1 & 2, consisting of identifiers a-f, the drawing is also shaded in color as depicted above for the claimed component improvements or novel design additions.
Woodwards Patent Pencil / Pen
Woodward pencil patent No. 1823, published on October 14, 1840, contains technical descriptive and claim language specifying two distinct mechanisms.
Neither of the depicted Woodward products offer a claim 1 described bolt or catch. Both instruments are equipped with steel nozzles that are very similar to d addressed in claim 2.
Woodward Pencil Endcaps
Mr. Woodward created early onion topped pencils as well as other unusual designs.
Woodward Pencil Endcaps
Mr. Woodward created early onion topped pencils as well as other unusual designs.
Woodwards & Hale
Woodward pencils were sometimes utilitarian, containing perpetual calendars. Many were marked Woodward’s & Hale while few were marked Woodward's Patent.
Woodwards Patent No. 1625
Woodward pencil case patent no. 1625 depicts a case mechanism not currently represented within the collection.
Woodward Pencil Patent No. 1625
Woodward pencil case patent no. 1625 depicts a case mechanism not currently represented within the collection.
A production example of this pencil, apparently from the David Nishimura collection, may be viewed on Jon Velez’s blog here: https://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2017/05/woodwards-patent.html .