Palomino Blackwing Pencils: Volume XIX, 19th Amendment
The Blackwing Volume XIX pencils have 36 yellow stars to represent the 36 states that ratified the 19th Amendment. The pencils are pictured here with a Kleid 2mm Grid A5 Notebook.
“Votes for Women!”
This rallying cry, which sounds like it is a distant memory from a history book, was shouted all across the United States only 100 years ago. To celebrate the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which halted voting discrimination on the basis of sex, Blackwing has released their latest special edition pencil: Volume XIX!
If you’re a fan of Blackwing, you’ll know that the XIX is the third Volumes release of 2020. The volumes sets are released quarterly, with the previous release being the Ravi Shankar pencil, and the brand also has four regular edition pencils.
The Volume XIX has a matte purple body and a matching purple eraser. Blackwing has never released a pencil with a purple body before, and this colour is a favourite of ours at Phidon! The ferrule is silver, and the graphite is Blackwing’s firm. We sell the pencils in packs of twelve, which feature the stand-up Blackwing box that doubles as a pencil cup.
You’ll find eighteen yellow stars on two of the sides of the pencils, and the 36 stars total represent the 36 states that ratified women’s right to vote in 1919. The other details, like Blackwing’s logo, are in white, as purple, yellow, and white were the colours of the suffragette flag in the United States.
Though the Volume 19 is timely because of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, Blackwing also stresses that the fight for voting equality is not over. Throughout the world, and even in our own communities, there are still barriers to voting accessibility. They’re encouraging everyone to use their Volume 19 pencils to write a letter to their elected representatives and to make their voting plans.
It’s important to remember, as well, that the fight for women’s right to vote was not universal. White women got the right to vote with this amendment 100 years go, but it was only 55 years ago with the Voting Act of 1965 that the vote was granted to Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian Americans, as well as citizens from other minority groups.
The pencils are the perfect tool for crafting your voting plans or writing a letter to elected representatives. The pencil is pictured here with an A5 Roterfaden in black leather, an A6 Roterfaden in pidgeon blue dancefloor, and a Sailor Professional Gear Slim Mini in taupe.
Many of these groups are still facing systemic inequalities and injustices, and the fight for equity at all levels continues in multiple ways. The 19th Amendment is therefore celebrated for the beginning of the fight for voting equality, a fight that still continues today.
In Canada, pinpointing a date for women’s suffrage is less clear. Most provinces had some kind of voting rights for women by the end of World War I, but suffrage was not universal. By the end of 1922, all provinces except Quebec had given full voting rights to black and white women. However, Canadians continued the fight for equal voting rights for many years to come. Indigenous people, for instance, did not have the right to vote without losing their status until 1960.
As much as this pencil celebrates the anniversary of the 19th Amendment, it also celebrates the continued fight for equality and justice throughout the world, even in our own backyards. In the famous words of Margaret Atwood, “a word after a word after a word is power.” There is still work to be done in the fight for human rights, and Blackwing hopes that the users of their pencils will take up the banner.
Whether you’re looking to expand voting rights abroad or you want to make a change more locally, we couldn’t agree with Blackwing more. Every person has the opportunity to make a change. If you’re in Canada, you can find a listing for your member of parliament here. If you’re in Ontario, you can find a listing for your member of provincial parliament here.
Do you have any change-makers that inspire you? Let us know in the comments, and happy writing!