The Brief History of a Pencil
The introduction of the pencil is like most in this modern world; evolving from humble beginnings into a mass produced necessity that has helped the world commutate for longer than any other utensil. The initial form of the “pencil” comes from the Roman empire. They called it a stylus and it was in the form on a lead rod, leaving slight, but legible, markings that could be read and comprehended. By the 14th century, they had become almost obsolete has paper mills started to become popularized.
2000-year old Ancient Roman styluses found in London a few years ago
In the mid-1500s, large graphite deposits were discovered in Cumbria, England. This material was found to be better for writing and erasing, as it was softer and darker than that of the stylus. Because of its brittle nature, a “holder” had to be created so the graphite wouldn’t break, crumble, and turn your hands black. They were typically wrapped in sheepskin or string to avoid this problem. Eventually, two cut pieces of wood were placed together with graphite in-between and that is how the modern wooden pencil came to be!
By the 19th century, Western Europe had become the world leader in the mass production of pencils and the Industrial Revolution was opening the doors for the outside world to get their cut on this advance. Many companies from Europe started settling in New York and New Jersey as these states were hosting the industrial boom for the Western world. Pencils at this time were made from red cedar wood, as they found this to be the most durable wood that couldn’t splinter like other kinds of wood. As red cedar became too expensive to maintain, recycled wood from fences and barns would become commonly used. To this day, many of the same practices from 100 years of production are still part of daily functions for pencil manufacturers.
It’s important to know how the pencil came to be because it has been the primary utensil for passed-down history and culture that otherwise would have been lost in translation. Nothing in this technological age could have been thought of or drawn out without writing equipment to look back on. The pencil is the ultimate form of history as we know it and like everything else, it had to start somewhere.
