A Victorian novelty silver telescopic pencil

A Victorian novelty silver telescopic pencil,

unmarked, probably by S. Mordan and Co,

modelled as standing Ally Soper, with a ring attachment, length closed 5.3cm, approx. weight 0.8oz.

Alexander "Ally" Sloper is the fictional character of the comic strip Ally Sloper. He is one of the earliest comic strip characters and he is regarded as the first recurring character in comics. Red-nosed and blustery, an archetypal lazy schemer often found "sloping" through alleys to avoid his landlord and other creditors, he was created for the British magazine Judy by writer and fledgling artist Charles H. Ross, and inked and later fully illustrated by his French wife Émilie de Tessier. The strips, which used text narrative beneath unbordered panels, premiered in the 14 August 1867 issue of Judy, a humour-magazine rival of the famous Punch.