This is one of a remainder lot of old pencils presented to the Thoreau Society in 1954 by Arthur W. Parke of Concord, who purchased them many years ago from Herbert Nealey, late of Concord. Mr. Nealey vouched for them as "genuine Thoreau pencils" secured by his father when the Thoreau pencil factory on Belknap Street closed. Accompanied by a wooden presentation box, and a card of provenance.

The donor will also include a copy of his book, Born Losers: A History of Failure in America (Harvard University Press, 2005). He says: "The book begins with Henry David Thoreau's funeral and includes a chapter about the summer he spent on Wall Street (yes, Wall Street) hanging out in the offices of the first credit-reporting agency. Thoreau's voice and philosophies are a constant thread of the whole book."