The pencil in America Pencil

pencil, perhaps made henry david thoreau, in concord museum



pencil manufacturing. top sequence shows old method required pieces of graphite cut size; lower sequence new, current method using rods of graphite , clay.

american colonists imported pencils europe until after american revolution. benjamin franklin advertised pencils sale in pennsylvania gazette in 1729, , george washington used three-inch pencil when surveyed ohio territory in 1762. said william munroe, cabinetmaker in concord, massachusetts, made first american wood pencils in 1812. not pencil-making occurring in concord. according henry petroski, transcendentalist philosopher henry david thoreau discovered how make pencil out of inferior graphite using clay binder; invention prompted father s pencil factory in concord, employed graphite found in new hampshire in 1821 charles dunbar.

munroe s method of making pencils painstakingly slow, , in neighbouring town of acton, pencil mill owner named ebenezer wood set out automate process @ own pencil mill located @ nashoba brook. used first circular saw in pencil production. constructed first of hexagon- , octagon-shaped wooden casings. ebenezer did not patent invention , shared techniques anyone. 1 of eberhard faber of new york, became leader in pencil production.

joseph dixon, inventor , entrepreneur involved tantiusques granite mine in sturbridge, massachusetts, developed means mass-produce pencils. 1870, joseph dixon crucible company world’s largest dealer , consumer of graphite , later became contemporary dixon ticonderoga pencil , art supplies company.

by end of 19th century, on 240,000 pencils used each day in us. favoured timber pencils red cedar aromatic , did not splinter when sharpened. in 20th century supplies of red cedar dwindling pencil manufacturers forced recycle wood cedar fences , barns maintain supply.

one effect of during world war ii rotary pencil sharpeners outlawed in britain because wasted scarce lead , wood, , pencils had sharpened in more conservative manner – knives.

it discovered incense cedar, when dyed , perfumed resemble red cedar, suitable alternative , pencils today made timber grown in managed forests. on 14 billion pencils manufactured worldwide annually. less popular alternatives cedar include basswood , alder.

in southeast asia wood jelutong may used create pencils (though use of rainforest species controversial). environmentalists prefer use of pulai – wood native region , used in pencil manufacturing.