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| Vintage Rexel Cumberland Derwent pencils |
In
the first chapter of The Pencil Perfect, author Caroline
Weaver talks about the discovery of graphite in the 16th century in
England’s Lake District. Though numerous pencil manufacturing companies were in
the area at one time, the only one still remaining is Derwent. The company even
has a museum for pencil aficionados – The Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick – which is home to the world’s largest
colored pencil (26 feet long)! Derwent obviously has a long, proud history in
pencil production.
According to Wikipedia, the company we now know as
Derwent began in 1832 under the name Banks, Son & Co. The company
was eventually purchased by Acco UK (known then as Rexel) and became
a brand of their product range. This company would pass through several hands
before becoming the Cumberland Pencil Company in 1916.
A huge, lovely set of vintage Rexel Cumberland Derwent pencils recently came my way – a generous gift from someone who knows
that I eat and breathe colored pencils. I contacted Derwent to
see if I could learn approximately how old my set is, but I didn’t get a
response. But I found
at least three versions of branding in the hefty collection.
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| 3 styles of branding |
Interestingly,
one is Derwent Artist, which is still the name of a Derwent pencil line, but
the contemporary Derwent Artist pencils
I have tried are much harder than these.
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| Derwent's contemporary Procolour |
Compared
to Derwent’s vast range of contemporary colored pencil lines, these Rexel
Cumberland pencils have a very different appearance. For example, the
contemporary Inktense, ColourSoft and Procolour (at right) lines all have a solid-colored round barrel with only the
end caps indicating the core’s color. This design is consistent with all of
Derwent’s current collections. On the vintage Rexel Cumberland pencils,
however, the full length of the round barrel matches the core’s color, and the
end is unfinished. It looks very similar to Prismacolor’s long-standing design.
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| Unfinished ends on the Cumberland Derwent |
Enough
about design; we all know that the most important aspect of any pencil is its
core. When I initially swatched these, I was astounded by how deliciously soft and
creamy they are. They are probably as soft as any colored pencils I own,
including Caran d’Ache Luminance and
vintage Berol Prismacolors. In fact,
I’d say they are most similar to my old Prismacolors in softness, application
and even appearance.
My
curiosity immediately led me to trying to figure out which contemporary Derwent
line was the successor to these very soft Cumberlands. ColourSoft and Derwent’s
newest Procolour line were the likeliest candidates. They all have a 4mm core. ColourSofts
feel slightly drier than the Cumberlands and also produce more dust. The
Cumberlands are close to Procolour in softness – perhaps even slightly softer
and with a creamier texture.
(An
aside: I’ve long been flabbergasted by the number of colored pencil lines
Derwent currently has in production – I counted 10 on Blick’s site. Procolour,
ColourSoft and the limited-color-range Drawing line all are close enough in performance that only a geek making side-by-side
comparisons on a rainy afternoon would be able to distinguish them. I’m not
complaining, mind you – more for geeks like me to ponder – but it’s perplexing,
nonetheless. Next time I’m in the UK, I must make a pilgrimage to that Derwent museum
and discuss these questions with them myself.)
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| 4/1/18 Cumberland Derwent pencils in Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook |
For
my apple sketch, I used a smooth Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook. As I expected from initial swatches, the
Cumberlands blend beautifully, and it’s easy to build up layers of rich color. They
are the kind of pencils I like to use at life drawing, so I grabbed several and
took them to Gage a few days ago,
where I used them on all the 10-minute and longer poses.
I
don’t know how long these Cumberlands have been out of production, but despite
the number of similar pencil lines the company now makes, none of them is exactly
the same as these. Thanks, Ana – I’m very happy to have and use them.
Updated 10/29/21: A while back, Jane Blundell gave me several vintage Derwent pencils that were used by a family member in the 1950s (below)!
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| A spring bouquet! |
I'm so glad you liked them. If I'm not mistaken, there are still more in the archives at work. Let me know if you work your way through any color specifically and I can probably replenish it.
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Ana! What a hidden treasure!
DeleteI still have some of these - mine date from the late 1970's so difficult to get. You're very lucky to have them. I love them better than all my newer brands.
DeleteI have a small stash of their sketching pencils with similar Rexel Cumberland branding to the top one, they were purchased in the early 1990s. I also have a couple that say both Rexel and Derwent on them so Derwent must have been the name of a line at some point before it was the company name?
ReplyDeleteYes, that was my thought, too -- a transition from brand name to company name.
DeleteI have a set of Derwent Artist Rexell Cumberland's from childhood (thanks to my parents for supporting my drawing habit ealy on!), which I love, and have been trying to figure out how to replace some of the colors and what became of the Rexell Cumberland line. Thanks for the info, now I know more!
ReplyDeleteThat's very cool that you still have a set from your own childhood! Enjoy -- they are great pencils!
DeleteHi there, I hope this finds you well and thanks for writing this blog. I have a Derwent Rexel Cumberland set of 72 Artists' Colour Pencils (Series 19) and have been struggling to date them so wondered if you had any idea of their approximate ago?
ReplyDeleteThe whole pencil is coloured, rather than having just a dipped end, and each one says 'MADE IN GT. BRITAIN REXEL CUMBERLAND Derwent Artists [Colour Name] 19-[Pencil No.]
They have been used and sharpened but are in great condition. The box is quite scratched and I don't have the outer box. They've been in my family for years and I'm faced with whether to keep them despite having no keen artists among us - or to sell them on to someone who collects/could make use of them.
Any support and information you could give me would be much appreciated.
Warmly,
Jai
Hi Jai! Sounds like you have a wonderful piece of family history there! Do they look like the ones in the photo above (updated 10/29/21)? I'm sorry that I don't have much information about dating Rexel Cumberland products other than what I wrote here. The fact that yours say "made in Gt. Britain" instead of England might be a clue, though, if the factory moved at a certain point. "Made in Great Britain" is also an indication of a trade organization that Derwent is part of, so it might be a clue in that way, too. Let me see if I can do some digging for more info.
DeleteI consulted with a friend whom I know collects vintage pencils and is knowledgeable about Derwent history. He said that Rexel purchased Derwent in 1980, so your pencils would not be older than that. If you had the original tin, it would probably have more clues to a date. He speculated that by the '90s the series 19 designation was no longer being used, so your set was likely made between 1980 and 1990. He also said that mint-condition sets like yours are being sold for about the same price as current-day Derwent Artist pencils. If they did not have the "Rexel" name (meaning that they are older), they would be valued 3 to 4 times higher. If I were you, I'd hang onto that set because they are part of your family history. :-)
DeleteHi, I've just found a couple of Rexel Cumberland pencils in my mum's garage (which presumably I bought as a student in the 90's). Anyway my two aren't Derwent Artist like the previous commenter, but Derwent Drawing! They have a wood casing exactly the same wood as the current derwent drawing pencils, but are similar to the Artist ones in that they have an open end exposing the core. No colour numbers, just names - I have Chinese White & Ivory Black. The core is huge, and like the current Derwent Drawing range they are amazing! The white is possibly the best white I have ever used.
ReplyDeleteLucky you -- those Derwent Drawing pencils ARE amazing! In case you missed it, here's my blog post about the ones I have: https://tina-koyama.blogspot.com/2019/01/vintage-colored-pencils-rexel.html
DeleteDo you have any idea where I could replenish my much loved set? Some are running low. As an artist, I use them all the time. My much loved set was bought for me by my grandma over 3 years ago
ReplyDeleteIf your set was purchased at a retail store only 3 years ago, then they are not vintage. You can still get Derwent pencils anywhere. If you have a vintage set like mine (that say Cumberland or Rexel Cumberland), then the only place to get them is on the secondary market like eBay. I do see them come up on eBay quite frequently, so they are not too hard to find. But sellers are asking a fairly high price for them.
DeleteHi, would my comment still reach you now that it's 2023? I do hope so. 🙏 I saw Ana's comment about having vintage pencil crayons at her work & would help you replenish the ones you need. Is it possible for me to get into contact with her or do you know where I can replenish certain Derwent colors? I have a vintage set of Derwent, Rexel, Cumberland from 1990. But have lost my favourite color & also like some other colors that my set dies not have.
ReplyDeleteAlthough sets are still available now and then on eBay, it would probably be more difficult to find individual colors. I would contact Ana directly and ask at the Well-Appointed Desk: https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/
DeleteThank you for your post. I have a set of 72 (with a few missing) that I purchased in the late 1980's while studying art in high school. My set has the branding of the first pencil. I am now getting back into my art and wanted some more information about these pencils and how they compared to what is currently on the market. I'm looking forward to reading more here.
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky to have those from the '80s! Derwent's current offerings are nowhere near as good (except maybe the Drawing line, but the color range is very narrow). Happy to hear you are getting back into art!
Delete