National Pencil Day

March 30th is National Pencil Day, which makes it the ideal time to investigate these vintage writing implements. This little tool has held immense significance for humanity. It fosters self-expression, helps people discover their creative side, and accepts all manner of doodling and scribbles. A single pencil can write up to 45,000 words, in case you weren't aware. Pencils have been around for a very long time and have seen numerous design changes, but have you ever pondered who had the bright idea to put an eraser on top of a pencil? The individual who made this important discovery and brought ease into our lives was Hymen Lipman. To appreciate this magnificent creation, we celebrate this day.

The National Pencil Day History

Who would have guessed that a wooden case containing a closed graphite core could carry out so many vital and varied tasks?

Before the modern pencil was invented, humans continued to write, but they did it with tools like the stylus (old Roman writing implement) or a fine brush made of camel hair. The Greek poet Philip of Thessaloníki talked of "leaden writing instruments" back in the first century B.C.

One of the earliest writing implements was the pencil, which dates back to the 16th century, when graphite was found. around the vicinity of Keswick, England, this crystallized form of carbon was discovered around 1565 or even earlier. According to legend, a storm destroyed this tree, and graphite, a lustrous black substance, was adhering to the tree roots! We only know that this location was converted into a commercial graphite mine a few decades later; there is no proof that this is how graphite was discovered. This is around when people started writing with a graphite stick wrapped in a string.

It was called "graphite" by German scientist A. G. Werner in the eighteenth century; the word comes from the Greek word "graphein," which meaning "to write." The only people marking their sheep with graphite in the early days following the discovery were the shepherds in the area. People would refer to it as plumbago, which is the Latin word for lead, or even "black lead," because it had such a striking resemblance to lead. This meaning persisted with graphite and, by extension, pencils.

The "pencil" gained popularity throughout Europe following the publication of a drawing by Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner showing a strip of graphite enclosed in a wooden tube. At this point, Britain maintained its monopoly on the production of pencils and graphite. But by 1794, the French-British conflict had cut off France from this pencil source. Nicolas-Jacques Conté, a French engineer, is therefore credited with creating "Crayons Conté," which are made of low-grade graphite combined with clay, formed into rods, and baked. Pencil manufacturers on the continent were no longer dependent on the British supply of pencils.

The pencil industry saw more innovation as a result of Conté's invention. Pencil manufacturing became widespread worldwide as a result of the tests carried out by Germany, France, and the United States. Although the wood around them wasn't very good, these pencils were. Actually, it was frequently of poor quality. Before long, someone came up with the idea to paint pencils to hide the poor condition of the wood. The most elegant pencils remained unpainted. Subsequently, an Austro-Hungarian pencil manufacturer debuted a new, luxurious pencil at the 1889 World's Fair in Paris; it was painted yellow. It was given the name Koh-I-Noor in honor of the world's greatest and largest diamond. As a result, yellow began to be linked with excellence, and numerous other pencil manufacturers chose to employ this color to decorate their