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"Temple of Heaven" (Tien Tan / 天壇牌) pencil, HB grade — pictorial barrel
Object/Artifact
Round wood-cased pencil with a brass-colored crimped ferrule and a red rubber eraser at one end; the opposite end is blunt/unsharpened. Cream/natural barrel printed with a multicolored pictorial design (small figures, goldfish, and foliage) bordered by wavy black rules, with the maker's imprint and pagoda logo near the ferrule end. Both images show the same single pencil rotated to two sides.
2026.2.2
2026.2
Alberto Darias Marcos
Harbin
People's Republic of China
Asia
"Temple of Heaven" (Tien Tan / 天壇牌) brand
Maker: The specific factory/company is not confirmed beyond the brand-and-city imprint. Date: Uncertain; not independently datable. The orthography and romanization — traditional characters (天壇, 鉛筆) with Wade-Giles "TIEN TAN"/"HARBIN" and Latin "CHINA" for export — are consistent with mid-20th-century Chinese export production (circa 1950s–1970s). Possibly within the collection's 1959–1990 window but not confirmable. Tentative — see Flags.
Temple of Heaven pagoda logo; "TIEN TAN"; 天壇牌鉛筆 ("Temple of Heaven brand pencil"); "HARBIN"; grade "HB"; "CHINA"; "NO. ___" (model number, only partially legible); printed pictorial design on the barrel.
Materials: Wood barrel (cedar or basswood); graphite/clay lead (HB); brass-colored metal ferrule; rubber eraser; lithographed/printed lacquer finish. Technique: Mass-manufactured wood-cased pencil; barrel lacquered and offset/litho-printed with pictorial design and brand imprint; ferrule crimped; eraser inserted.
Good
Harbin
People's Republic of China
Asia
production
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
use
The brand is the well-known Chinese landmark Temple of Heaven (Tiantan, Beijing); "Temple of Heaven" / 天壇 has been used as a Chinese export trademark across multiple product categories. The Temple of Heaven (simplified 天坛; traditional 天壇; pinyin Tiāntán) is a complex of imperial religious buildings in southeastern central Beijing. Harbin is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang province, China.