Collections that reveal our passions remain a popular part of many a house’s interior decor. Helga Ebejer’s apartment is not only home to her family and her cat; it also houses a massive pencil collection, David Schembri discovers.

Helga plans to separate the pencils properly by category.Helga plans to separate the pencils properly by category.

We live in a time where writing has never been easier. Whether on screen or on paper, in ink or in graphite, a simple writing tool only costs a few cents, and can perform what is essentially the same task – transferring words from the mind onto paper. And despite word processors, with their infinite capacity for easy editing, being freely available, the pencil – that most humble of writing implements – is still being made and sold.

If you need proof, ask Helga Ebejer. The general manager of a local destination management company, Helga has amassed a collection of pencils that would put most stationery warehouses to shame.

“I have a large amount of pencils, of all shapes and sizes, from the small golf pencils, which are about 7cm long, to the largest one which is around 50cm long. In all, I have over 10,000 pencils from all parts of the world,” Helga says.

This impressive collection has unassuming origins: “I started collecting pencils in the summer between the end of secondary school and starting Sixth Form. My friend and I went to a stationery to purchase stuff for our new scholastic year. The shop we went to had a huge variety of pencils, and I purchased about 12 different ones, thinking that I would probably use them all within the year. When I got home, I realised they would actually make a nice collection, and that is how it started.”

She is not alone in building her collection, either.

“Now, a lot of friends help me with my collection by getting me souvenir pencils whenever they go abroad,” Helga says.

Considering the plethora of pencils housed within it, the apartment Helga shares with her husband Sean and their 10-year-old son is remarkably un-penciley.

But just to the right of the front door is a display with novelty pencils, with the subjects of the pencil-top figures running the gamut from Mickey Mouse to the Titanic – and these are just the tip of the iceberg.

Beneath the (rather impressive) display is a stack of deep drawers, where the bulk of Helga’s collection is stored.

“I recently had a special unit made to house all my pencil collection. The pencils are separated according to different categories, for example, Christmas, music, advertising, wooden twigs. Ideally, I need to spend more time sorting them in different categories, but at least, they are now all together, rather than in shoe boxes stored away in a garage,” Helga says.

A look through her collection reveals just how many variations of the humble pencil exist

The cream of the crop is displayed beneath the glass covering the top drawer. It is there that Helga keeps her most treasured pieces, including a pencil that dates back to 1937. Given that most pencils do not come with a date, it is the eldest pencil she’s aware she has. Apart from its emotional significance – it was given to her as a birthday present by a dear friend – this pencil is something of a freak in the world of souvenirs. It commemorates the coronation of King Edward VIII – an event that was cancelled after he abdicated from the throne.

But it isn’t just scuppered coronations she has the souvenirs of – among her more prized items are pencils from Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and her silver jubilee.

A look through her collection reveals just how many variations of the humble pencil exist. She owns a pencil shaped just like a matchstick; another is a dead ringer for a cigarette. She has pencils that are flexible, others shaped like drum sticks; or a musical note, with the obligatory eraser at the tip. Others, like her Isle of Wight keepsake, include materials like sand or small rocks.

A good source of pencils has been the internet: Helga sometimes finds collections that are being sold off by their owners. Among the collector’s items she owns, are two pouches containing a large variety of pencils of all shapes and sizes. These were used by travelling pencil salesmen to show off the range of products and finishes available – many pencils have elegant typography reminiscent of the middle part of the last century on them; some of them have bulbous erasers at the end. One ‘pencil’ had an eraser on each end – yet another source of bemusement.

Clutch pencils don’t have much of a place in the collection; Helga does own a pencil with a retractable tip, however.

Apart from the many novelty items, Helga’s collection also includes the workhorses of the writing world, the rather flat pencils used by tradesmen. The uncommon shape of these pencils puzzles her son Timothy, who asks his parents how they are sharpened; his father explains that this is done with a blade.

“I’m the most educated sharpener in my class,” Timothy explains. Apparently, he is the only one of his classmates who keeps the tip intact while trying to sharpen it.

On the other hand, despite her collection, his mother is not fond of sharpening pencils, nor of using them for that matter. When I ask her whether she uses the pencils, she looks at me as though I’m mad.

“No, that would be a sin! Pencils in the collection are left in their original state as they are when I acquired them – brand new ones are left as is; vintage ones might have been used, but definitely not by me.”

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