To this day, U. By the early s, however, additional sources of wood were needed. California Incense-cedar soon became the wood of choice for domestic and international pencil makers around the world. To ensure the continued availability of Incense-cedar, forest workers have carefully managed the stands of trees, and timber companies have committed to harvesting Incense-cedar on a sustained-yield basis.
Forests managed on a sustained-yield basis are abundant and healthy, and will continue to provide wood for people and habitats for animals for generations to come. Learn more about Pencils. The history of the pencil industry includes a great number of important companies and brands from around the world. Many now have factories globally. The earliest known description and illustration of a black 'lead' writing tool pencil dates from a book called 'On Fossil Objects' by Conrad Gessner.
In his book Conrad Gessner said "The stylus shown below is made for writing, from a sort of lead which I have heard the English call antimony , shaved to a point and inserted into a wooden handle". The word 'graphite' was not coined until when German mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner invented the word from the Greek word 'graphein' meaning "to write".
However, the association with lead and the pencil has stuck and is still often used today - even though the pencil has never contained lead! By the convenient little "black lead pencil" in its wooden holders were sold regularly in the streets in London and the graphite sticks were imported to Europe.
The 'lead pencil' caused a sensation, especially among artists. The pencil was highly portable, could be easily shaped, sharpened to a point and could be used on just about anything. In addition the marks left by a pencil was erasable. Small pieces of white bread were used by to erase pencil marks so work could start over again.
The graphite mines at Borrowdale strictly controlled the amounts mined yearly, giving England a monopoly on the substance. No one was able to find a second deposit of graphite that could be cut into sticks and used to make pencils. The substance was found elsewhere but only in a powder form that was no good for making pencils.
In a man named Friedrich Staedtler invented a 'dry pencil' made of powdered graphite, wax and china clay. It could not match the quality of the Borrowdale graphite but it was much cheaper. The name of Staedtler is still known today as makers of fine writing instruments.
The invention of the modern pencil is credited to Nicolas-Jacques Conte, a French artist and soldier. The French Revolution had erupted and in France declared war on Britain which resulted in a British blockade of French ports. It was impossible for the French to get graphite sticks from England so the artist and military man Nicolas-Jacques Conte was tasked with creating a substitute product.
He varied the proportions of clay to graphite which placed in a kiln fire and resulted in producing pencil leads of different, but uniform, degrees of blackness and hardness. The greater the clay element, the harder the pencil. His new pencils were encased in a cylinder of wood and his invention remains the basis for pencil making today. The famous octagonal and hexagonal shapes of the pencil were invented in by two American cabinet makers named William Monroe and Ebenezer Wood - who founded a factory in Concord Massachusetts which began the American pencil industry.
Other styluses—which stuck around all the way until the 16th century—were made of lead, which proved to be a harbinger of writing instruments to come. More modern pencils arose thanks to a bit of luck and some creativity. In , a tree fell down in England and unearthed a large deposit of graphite, an incredibly valuable mineral. Unlike lead, graphite could leave dark gray, almost metallic marks on paper.
Despite being made of carbon, many believed it to be lead. The most commonly used, of course, was the classic No. Today, the No.
These pencils are valuable in education because the graphite is perfectly composed to produce an easily readable mark. Their "ever-pointed pencils" were created at S. These early mechanical pencils were treated more as novelty items rather than serious writing instruments due to their poor design. After the bombing of Mordan and Hawkins's factory, over patents were registered over the course of the decade to improve the mechanical pencil. Manufacturers from around the country experimented with springs, ratchets, pushbutton clutches, and screws.
However, the mechanical pencil didn't gain true notoriety until almost a century later. A metal worker in Japan named Tokuji Hayakawa developed a shaft and screw-based mechanism that changed the pencil's design. Meanwhile, across the Pacific Ocean, Illinois resident Charles Keeran designed a ratchet-based mechanism that held two or three jaws at the tip of the pencil.
Both of these men are credited with the invention of the mechanical pencils we know and love today. Remarkable achievements in human history wouldn't have been possible without the pencil. Take for instance Thomas Edison who created the electric lightbulb in During his experiments, Edison would jot notes with specially-requested short pencils that he ordered in lots of one thousand and always carried in his pocket.
He had a specific style in mind and kept these pencils on hand in case inspiration ever hit him like a bolt of lightning. If the pencils were not to his liking, he refused to use them. In fact, Edison wrote a strongly worded letter presumably with a mini pencil to the Eagle Pencil Company to complain that "The last batch was too short.
They twist and stick in the pocket lining. At the time, Wharton noted how, despite innovations in technology like the invention of the telephone and electric lights with switches, every trade still relied on pencils. From carpenters to gamblers, pencils were a commodity everyone appreciated having on hand.
In his article, Wharton discussed how one of the greatest speeches of all time, The Gettysburg Address, was written entirely by a lead pencil in Abraham Lincoln jotted down notes and used those fragments to refine his speech and public writings. It just goes to show that some of the most influential moments in history have been shaped by the pencil. From classrooms to the White House, people used pencils to keep society moving forward.
As such, the demand for these writing instruments was increasing, leading to new methods of mass-production. Joseph Dixon, a lithographer from Massachusetts, took pencil-making to new heights after starting his own company in the early s.
After acquiring acres of cedar in Florida, Dixon secured a patent for a wood-planing machine capable of producing pencils per minute at his factory in Jersey City. This innovation was also timely in that the demand for pencils increased during the Civil War. Soldiers would use these writing instruments to make quick notes on the field and send messages to each other. By the end of the decade, the Dixon Company produced 80, pencils every day! Dixon's machinery made pencils more accessible than ever before, and they became a mainstay item in advertising.
Companies turned to imprinted pencils to promote their brands. Around the same time, pencils became the vibrant yellow color we recognize from our cases in elementary school.
The pencils were yellow because the best graphite was said to be in China where yellow is associated with royalty and respect.
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