Fun Find

I found a bag filled with 6 of these boxes at the thrift store the other day.  The bag was hanging amongst hundreds of other bags, with no rhyme or reason as to the contents or groupings.  It must have been the turquoise that caught my eye.  That and the fact that the boxes looked so new but yet, somehow so old.

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Now, I don't know about you, but once I've done my cursory condition check to be sure I want to make a purchase, I don't like to sit and overly examine my things until I get home.  So, it wasn't until the next day that I pulled these out and tried to figure out what they actually were.

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The back reads " Turquoise leads for Draftsmen's Holders are made from a separate basic formula for each degree, giving the same precision grading, strength and smoothness found in "chemi-sealed" turquoise drawing pencils.  Scientific research has developed in these leads an opacity and evenness of line which insures perfect blue prints direct from uninked tracings."

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Here's the part of the back that I REALLY liked- copyright 1935!!!!

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Upon opening them, I found that 3 of the 6 boxes still contain their 6 unused leads.  These boxes are made of balsa wood, and there are little holes in the top and bottom to keep the leads safe.  It sure worked, wouldn't you say?

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I'm just in awe of the condition of something so fragile, after 76 years.  Wouldn't some vintage-loving architect love to have these?  Should I part with a couple of them?  How do I even figure out what to charge?  I'd love your input if you have any ideas.  For now, I'm keeping them displayed on my own shelf as a reminder that you just never know what you will find when you go a-thriftin"!!