Whitson Pencil Sharpener Artifacts

For many years, Dr. Paul D. Whitson, Emeritus Professor, taught biology and ecology at UNI, beginning in 1972. Following his retirement in 2005, he undertook the research and documentation of his collection of historic pencil sharpeners. He had collected more than 6,000 different examples, from the earliest Civil War-era artifacts to the most recent manifestations of popular culture. He researched their patent history, the lives of many inventors, and the materials and processes that enabled their production. His long-term efforts are a significant contribution to the study of the various means of sharpening pencils, and of a little-known aspect of the history of industrial design.

Included in this archive are photographs of approximately 200 artifacts from Whitson’s larger collection. Also included are items that document other related events.

In the fall semester of 2015, students in a beginning level course in graphic design (taught by UNI Professor Roy R. Behrens) were assigned the problem of designing posters (three proposals by each student) to promote an exhibition of their own resulting pencil sharpener posters. The exhibition title was Never A Dull Moment: Based on Selected Artifacts from the P.D. Whitson Collection. The posters were later exhibited in the Kamerick Art Building at UNI from November 1 through 14, 2015.
In advance of beginning the problem, the students were given access to high resolution full-color photographs of about 200 items from the Whitson collection. These photographs had been taken by Professors Behrens and Whitson, for use in this assignment, and are included in this archive.
In addition, Paul and Anita Whitson were invited to a session of the class as guest speakers, at which time the students were able to see some of the physical artifacts from the collection. Installation views of the eventual hallway poster display are included in this archive. The Whitsons were greatly pleased with the poster project, with the result that they awarded cash prizes to a number of the finest designs.
An unanticipated consequence of this took place in the spring semester of 2018, when a major design-themed exhibition was held at the UNI Gallery of Art. Sponsored by former UNI President Constantine Curris and his family, who had established (in memory of their daughter) The Elena Diane Curris Endowment for Design, this inaugural exhibition was titled The Reach and Richness of Design: The Elena Diane Curris Biennial Design Exhibition. Curated by Professor Behrens, among the major components of the exhibition were large-scale photographs of and numerous physical artifacts from the P.D. Whitson Collection. A selection of installation photographs are included in this archive.
In 2021, Professor Behrens created a series of “pandemic digital montages,” including one, titled New Acquisition, in which a man and a woman (who, by imaginative interpretation, might be assumed to represent Paul and Anita Whitson) are shown looking carefully at an historic pencil sharpener from the P.D. Whitson Collection. That artwork is also included in this archive.

Behrens Artwork

Curris Exhibition

Student Artwork

columns