Pencils - A History
Todays pencils originated in 1565, when a grey-black glistening
substance was found in the Cumberland hills of England. This
"black-lead" was found to be more convenient for a writing an
drawing than pen and ink, as it's marks could be rubbed out
easily.
In 1761 cabinetmaker Kaspar Faber settled in Stein, near
Nurenburg, in Germany to make his first simple pencils. Graphite
was cut into narrow sticks and glued between two pieces of wood
which were cut and planed smooth. The family dynasty of pencil
makers had begun.
The oldest pencil: found during renovation work.
In 1794 the Graphite-Clay process was invented. Powdered graphite
was mixed with clay, shaped into thin rods (or leads) then fired in
a kiln at high temperature. The greater the graphite content the
softer and darker the lead. The greater the clay content the harder
and lighter the lead. In 1839, Lothar Faber, the great grandson of
Kaspar Faber, began to transform the pencil industry. He mechanised
production, using first water, then steam power and achieved a
production rate and consistency of quality previously unheard of.
He invented the hexagonal pencil and created standards for the
pencil size and grades of hardness still in use today. His products
were marked A.W. Faber, the first ever brand-name writing products
and amongst the earliest branded articles in the world.
Perhaps the giant who owns the GAA Jersey hanging nearby is a
Geocacher too and has left his pencil behind!
The Cache
The cache is a large micro unused specimen container.
Information and Images sourced from the Irish Examiner,
Cork.
