INTERESTING HOBBY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19423, 7 September 1937, Page 14

INTERESTING HOBBY

WRITING ON RICE WORK DONE IN PENCIL The inscription of the Lord's Prayer on half a grain of rice and the writing of the same passage 40 times on an area amply covered by a threepenny piece is the result of a hobby adopted by Mr. Charles Grcig, Gisborne, and brought to perfection without the use of the usual engraving tools. He carries out his work with a finely sharpened pencil. The Gisborne man has now a good collection of these minute engravings. The inscription of the Lord's Prayer is the one found in the Prayer Book and not the more lengthy one taken from St. Matthew, chapter VI, the 9th to 13th verses. The latter prayer has been inscribed 25 times on a space comfortably covered by a threepence and, as stated before, the more common version has been written 40 times on a similar space. Another example of Mr. Greig's work is the transcription of the prayer on a space covered by a pinhead and encircled by the eye of a needle. In each case the writing can be read clearly with a magnifying glass. Delicacy of touch is required in the work with a pencil and the constant sharpening of the point must be carried out to maintain-the-sharpness of the strokes. » Compared with similar work carried out overseas, the Gisborne enthusiast has created a record,'- it is believed. An Englishman inscribed the ordinary prayer 13 times on the size of a three-penny piece and an American inscribed the prayer five times on a dime. Each of those efforts secured wide publicity and they were carried out with the' assistance of engraving tools. Mr. Greig's effort is all the more noteworthy' on account of his work being done with a pencil.