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Today, we meet another side of Henry David Thoreau. The University of Houston’s College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.

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Right now you are probably using a pencil to do your school work. But do you know where the pencil came from, or how it is made? Did you know that the Star Spangled Banner, written by Francis Scott Key was first written in pencil? And that a good sized tree can yield enough wood to make nearly…

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General Pencil Co., Inc. - Pencil Makers in the USA Since 1889

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We take pride in handcrafting quality pencils and artist materials using traditional methods passed down for six generations. Our history dates back to 1860 when Edward Weissenborn founded the…

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The Wayback Machine - http://web.archive.org/web/20120204122925/http://generalpencil.com:80/gpc_ourpencils_anatomy.html

Anatomy of a Pencil

Roll your mouse over the pencil to see all it's different parts

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The Wayback Machine - http://web.archive.org/web/20120204122925/http://generalpencil.com:80/gpc_ourpencils_anatomy.html Anatomy of a Pencil Roll your mouse over the pencil to see all it's different parts

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How Pencils are made in Factories? (Mega Factories Video)

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I, Pencil - Foundation for Economic Education

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Download your free I, Pencil book + study guide classroom kit!

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Trace the Remarkable History of the Humble Pencil

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Trace the Remarkable History of the Humble Pencil

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A class of fifth-graders from Green Acres Elementary in Lebanon, Ore., asked us to find out how pencil lead is made. That quest took us all the way back to the dawn of the universe and then all the way up to a factory in Jersey City, N.J.

In the process, we learned that pencil lead (actually not lead at all but a mineral called graphite) has a storied past.
A graphite windfall
Here's the legend: In the mid-16th century, a storm uprooted a tree in England's Lake District. Clinging to the tree's roots was a shiny black substance - graphite! We don't know how much truth there is to that story, but we do know that just a few decades later, the site had been transformed into the first commercial graphite mine.
Counting sheep
At first, local shepherds were the only ones making use of graphite - it was perfect for marking their sheep.

The stuff looked and acted a lot like lead, so some called it plumbago (from the latin word for lead, plumbus) and sometimes "black lead." That name stuck.

To make the graphite a bit easier to use, surveyors and artists wrapped sticks of plumbago in string or sheepskin. In 1565, Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner published a drawing of a strip of graphite inside a tube of wood - the first depiction of a wood pencil. The invention swiftly spread through Europe.
Vive le crayon!

In 1794, Revolutionary France was at war with Britain and completely cut off from high-quality English graphite. The minister of war asked engineer Nicolas-Jacques Conté to find a solution. Conté ground up impure, low-quality graphite, mixed it with wet clay, shaped the mixture into rods and then baked them. The result: passable pencil lead. "Crayons Conté" (from the French craie meaning chalk) proved that continental pencil-makers no longer needed to rely on the graphite deposits of their British enemies.

A version of Conté's process is still used today.
Thoreau's pencil

Conté's innovation led to decades of experimentation. German pencil-makers tried out different proportions of clay and graphite to achieve softer and harder pencils that made darker or lighter marks.

These experiments weren't confined to Europe. In America, Charles Dunbar stumbled upon a graphite deposit in New Hampshire and got into the pencil-making business with his brother-in-law, John Thoreau.

John's thoughtful son David*, unemployed after graduating from college, started helping out with the family business. He developed new refining techniques that made Thoreau pencils less brittle, less greasy - at the time, they were the finest pencils America had to offer. The Thoreaus were able to offer a variety of pencils, from No. 1 (the softest) to No. 4 (the hardest). That numbering system survives today.
*David later changed his name to Henry David and spent two famous years living in a cabin near Walden Pond. Just write

Since the 1960s, students in the U.S. have used, by and large, No. 2 pencils. No. 1 pencils are soft and smudge easily. No. 3 pencils are harder and therefore break more easily. No. 2 hits the sweet spot: perfect for filling in bubbles on the SAT.
Diamond's delicate cousin

In 1779, scientists showed that pencil "lead" wasn't lead at all. It was made entirely of carbon. A few years later, another pure-carbon mineral was revealed: diamond. The two substances couldn't be more different. Graphite is dark and brittle. Diamond is clear and incredibly strong. How could they have the same chemical makeup?

In the 1920s, the answer was revealed. In diamond, carbon atoms are stacked in a pyramid, forming tight, strong bonds. In graphite, carbon is arranged in sheets. Within these sheets, atoms form a sturdy, hexagonal lattice. But the bonds between those sheets are weak - they slide apart with ease. When you drag graphite across paper, those sheets slough off.

The layer of graphite left on the paper is incredibly thin - a thousand times thinner than a human hair. That means, according to mathematician John Barrow, a single pencil could draw a line over 700 miles long.
Follow the yellow stick road

Pencils were originally painted to help mask the low quality of their wood - only the fanciest pencils went unvarnished. But at the 1889 World's Fair in Paris, an Austro-Hungarian pencil company unveiled a new luxury pencil. It was made with the finest materials and named Koh-I-Noor after the largest diamond known at that time - a diamond that would soon adorn the British crown. And this finest of pencils was painted yellow - perhaps to honor the empire's flag.

The marketing strategy worked, at first. Yellow came to be associated with quality. But soon, copycats were painting their pencils yellow too.
Crumbly erasers

In the early days of pencils, people used balled-up lumps of old bread to erase their mistakes. But in 1770, clergyman-chemist Joseph Priestley noticed that a strange gum harvested from trees in South America was particularly good at removing pencil marks. Because some rubbing was necessary, Priestley called the stuff "rubber."
Want us to answer your questions? Ask them here. And check out other answers on NPR's science-focused YouTube channel, Skunk Bear.

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Trace The Remarkable History Of The Humble Pencil

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The classroom writing implement has roots in exploding stars, the French Revolution, the British crown jewels and Walden Pond.

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Musgrave Pencil Company | American Made Custom Pencils | 931-684-3611

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Musgrave Pencil Company is a family-owned pencil manufacturer located in Shelbyville, TN. We specialize in personalized pencils, custom hex pencils, and carpenter pencils for companies, hotels, conferences, schools, and special events. Shop our customized pencils for bulk orders made in the USA.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

eraser, piece of rubber or other material used to rub out marks made by ink, pencil, or chalk. The modern eraser is usually a mixture of an abrasive such as fine pumice, a rubbery matrix such as synthetic rubber or vinyl, and other ingredients. The mixture is processed and extruded and, if made with rubber, vulcanized to bond the ingredients. In 1752 the Proceedings of the French Academy of Sciences reported a suggestion for using caoutchouc, a vegetable gum produced by certain South American trees, to erase black lead marks. Caoutchouc was named rubber in 1770 by the English chemist Joseph Priestley, because it was used to rub out marks. The first patent on an integral pencil and eraser was assigned in the United States on March 30, 1858, to Joseph Reckendorfer of New York City for an invention by Hymen L. Lipman of Philadelphia, who devised a method for enlarging the groove in the pencil sheath intended for the lead core so that it would accept an eraser. In modern pencils an eraser plug is glued onto the end of a finished pencil and crimped in place by a thin metal strip, or ferrule.

Robert Curley.

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Eraser, piece of rubber or other material used to rub out marks made by ink, pencil, or chalk. The modern eraser is usually a mixture of an abrasive such as fine pumice, a rubbery matrix such as synthetic rubber or vinyl, and other ingredients.

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The Best Pencils for Writing and Schoolwork

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The Best Pencils for Writing and Schoolwork

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The Best Pencils for Writing and Schoolwork

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Whether you're filling in Scantron bubbles or doing the Sunday crossword, the Palomino Golden Bear #2 Pencil (Blue) should be your writing implement of choice.

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Here are 30 funny pencil jokes and the best pencil puns to crack you up. These jokes about pencils are great jokes for kids and adults.

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How a Pencil is Made - A Behind the Scenes Look at the Faber-Castell Pencil Production Process

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Faber-Castells drawing tools are primarily sourced from the company's own sustainable forests in Brazil.

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Exports of pencils and crayons accounted for $1.64 billion.

The use of pencils and crayons dates back to the 15th century when they were the only products used for writing. Initially, pencils and crayons were made out of graphite but over time, pencils and crayons made of charcoal, clay, and carbon came into existence displaying various types of these products. Although production of pencils and crayons comes from the 15th and 19th century respectively, the exportation of these products came into existence later in the 19th century when more nations were embracing the writing and drawing materials. The invention of ink pens came into existence later.

Top Producers of Pencils and Crayons

China

According to research, China ranks as the top producer and exporter of pencils and crayons in the world. Although the exportation did not start until recently in the 19th century, its production dates back to early in the 18th century when there were no pens. The country exports pencils and crayons and makes 729 million dollars annually from its export sales accounting for 44% the total exports of pencils and crayons around the world. Studies indicate that the number will continue rising in the coming years due to significant demand in the market. The majority of China's exports of pencils and crayons are to the United States (22%), followed by smaller amounts to the United Kingdom (4.3%), Indonesia (3.8%), Vietnam (3.6%), Pakistan (3.5%), and the Philippines (3.4%) among others.

Germany

Germany exports a lot of products, but the pencils and crayon industry is booming because the state is investing a lot of money in its production. Germany receives a total of 166 million dollars per year from its pencil and crayon export sales. Pencil and crayon exports from Germany account for 10% of total pencil and crayon exports. The majority of Germany exports of pencils and crayons are to European countries, including the United Kingdom (7.8%), Italy (6.4%), Spain (5.3%), Czech Republic (5.2%), and the Netherlands (5.0%) among others.

Brazil

Brazil is the third largest producer and exporter of pencils and crayons in the world at 6.4%. Brazil makes a total of 105 million dollars annually from its sales. Brazil exports its pencils and crayons to the United States (58%), Canada (7.3%), Peru (6.4%), and Argentina (6.0%) among others.

Export Share

According to the Product Complexity Index (PCI), pencils and crayons are ranked in 715th place among the most traded products and the 682nd among the most complex products. Pencils and crayons are on demand for use in writing and drawing by artists. They are readily available in the market and affordable. More nations are embracing the production of pencils and crayons because they cheaper to manufacture and produce compared to other products. Exports of pencils and crayons now accounts for $1.64 billion.

Rank

﻿Country

Export Value (Millions)

1

China

729.0

2

Germany

166.0

3

Brazil

105.0

4

Indonesia

90.6

5

Mexico

86.2

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2. World Facts

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The World's Top Producers of Pencils and Crayons

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China and Germany lead the world in pencil and crayon production.

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✏ I, Pencil - Leonard E. Read | Animated version of great essay

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Linus the Little Yellow Pencil Read Aloud

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Linus the Little Yellow Pencil Read Aloud

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Linus the Little Yellow Pencil by Scott Magoon

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Easy Family Fun- Games, Trivia, and Jokes

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Ready for some puns that will make you nice and sharp? These pencil puns won't leave you feeling pointless. So sharpen up your skills to try your hand at these.

In our family, we love good jokes and puns. They always are the perfect icebreaker and leave everyone laughing. These silly pencil puns are no different. My kids always love making each other laugh with a little pencil humor; they never say that they are pointless, that's for sure. They will be sure to make you extra sharp and witty!

And moms and dads, we have good news for you! If you are tired of puns feeling a little sketchy, there is no need to worry because these pencil puns will leave you feeling sharp because they are clean and kid-friendly. No need to use your eraser to get these out of your mind. So sharpen up your skills and see how many pencil puns you can solve.

While you are at it, check out our Art Puns and our Outer Space Puns for even more laughter!

Do your kids love jokes?

Grab these fun joke cards for them to laugh at all the time! These make great lunch box jokes, joke card series, bedtime laughs, and more!

Grab your set now! There are over 50+ pages of jokes included! This is a digital download, so it is easy! Just download, print, and enjoy!

Pencil Puns

Are pencils still considered stationary if they can roll?

The other night, someone tried to sell me a pencil with erasers on both ends. I didn't understand the point.

Sharpening pencils in the dark is pointless.

During my exam, my pencil broke. I wanted to continue with the exam, but it was pointless.

My pencil broke as I tried to draw a rectangle, making it a wrecked angle.

A police officer approached me with a pencil and paper and wanted me to trace someone for him.

My house is a little sketchy looking with all of these pencil drawings lying around.

Did you know that pencils shave to look sharp?

Scissors get a little snippy whenever the pencil makes an excellent point.

The pen only lived up to half of its name, which is the primary distinction between it and the pencil.

The sad guy said " there's no point," when he snapped his pencil.

Pencil sketching... is where I draw the line

If you roll a pencil down a hill, is it stationery?

My brother wanted to sharpen my pencil. I told him he had a point.

You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead.

Q: What is a pencil with two erasers called?
A: Pointless.

Q: What happened to the finance guy with constipation?
A: He had to figure it out with a pencil because he could not budget.

Q: When you sharpen a pencil, what do you get?
A: A great point.

I just wanted to make a little quip about a pencil.
Whatever, there's no point.

Q: What did the pencil point say to the eraser?
A: Destroy.

Q: What did the pencil say to the doctor?
A: "I can't go number 2!"

Q: Why did the pencil use the restroom?
A: It was number 2!

Q: What state do pencils like to visit?
A: Of course it is pencil-vania.

Q: Why do mathematicians rarely experience constipation?
A: They can always use a pencil to figure it out if things get difficult.

Q: What did the gunfighter say to the pencil in a match?
A: Draw!

People who draw with pencils are hard for me to trust.
They are shady.

An assortment of pencils believed to have belonged to Shakespeare has been discovered.
They are so completely chewed up on the ends that we can't tell if they are 2B or not 2B.

Q: What happened to the pencil that was hurt in prison?
A: Mid-sentence, it broke.

Q: What is the connection between John Wick and mathematicians?
A: They are able to solve any issue with a pencil.

Q: What did the sharper say to the pencil?
A: Why don't you come close? I need to make a point."

Q: What did the pencil say to the other pencil?
A: "Hey, you look sharp."

The comedian asked the audience, " have you heard the pencil joke yet?"

The crowd responded, "No."
The comedian said, " that's good, there is no point."

I was trying to draw a rectangle but my pencil broke.
Now it's a wrecked angle.

I don't like pencil drawings of dark alleys
Too sketchy

Today's my husband's birthday and he's a huge pencil enthusiast. I got him a great gift
Seems like someone's gonna get lead tonight.

Q: Why does a pencil never takes it´s medicine?
A: Because then it would be a penchealthy.

I made a pencil with 2 erasers today
It was pointless

Q: Who is in charge of the pencil box?
A: The ruler

Have you heard the story of the blunt pencil?
It's got no point

Failed my art exam by using the wrong pencil.
It wasn't 2b.

I've decided to marry a pencil.
I can't wait to introduce my parents to my bride 2B.

A pencil isn't John Wick's primary murder weapon.
But it's definitely number 2.

I'm going to stop calling them "pencil sharpeners"
And start calling them "pencil shorteners". We'll see how long my family can take it

My new pencil sharpener came with a good set of instructions.
It was full of useful pointers.

Did you hear about the artist who gave up on his uncompleted drawing after accidentally breaking his pencil?
Apparently, there was no point to continue drawing the picture

Q: Road trip - why did the Dad tell the kids to take out their pencil and pad?
A: The sign said Draw bridge.

I have been making pencil sketches of my family and it's not exciting at all.
Back to the drawing, bored

Q: Why did the pencil smell so bad?
A: It was a #2

I've been trying to solve a complicated maths question to take my mind off my constipation. Today, using only a pencil and sheer determination...
I finally worked it out.

My friend bought a microscopically precise pencil sharpener.
I don't see the point.

Q: Why should you bring a pencil sharpener to every class?
So you always get the point!

Q: Do you know who won when the Pencil Rugby Club played the Pen Rugby Club?
A: Neither, it was a draw.

Looking for a pencil, I asked in the local shop if they keep stationery.
Chap said "I move around a bit".

Q: A blind girl lost her pencil, her ring, and her dog, what did she lose first?
A: Her eye sight

Q: Why do pencils shave?
A: To look sharp.

I was going to try to post a joke about sharpening pencils in the dark...
But I couldn't see the point.

Did you hear about the constipated accountant?
He couldn't budget so he had to work it out with a pencil.

I threw a pencil yesterday
I suppose you could say it wasn't stationary anymore

What do you call a pencil you've just thrown out the window?
I don't know. But it's certainly not stationary.

Someone stole all the pencils at the police station
Detectives have no leads.

Q: Why don't mathematicians ever get constipated?
A: If things get hard they can always work it out with a pencil

I'm about to embark on a huge art conquest of Shakespeare's work and am undecided on which pencil to use...
2B or not 2B

A man showed up for a duel armed only with a pencil and paper.
He then proceeded to draw his weapon.

Q: How does a pencil hire their workers?
A: He appoints them

Being left handed I was always told I was more creative but all I noticed was that I smudge the words when writing with pencil.
I guess it's a blessing and a cursive.

I went to the doctor's office. The phlebotomist appeared, holding a sketchbook and a pencil, and said...
"Hold still so I can draw your blood."

Q: What do you call somebody who hates pencil marks because they're black?
Erasist.

The pencil sharpeners at my school are racist.
They have signs next to them that say "No Colored Pencils".

Knock, Knock

Who's there?

Broken Pencil.

Broken Pencil who?
Agh. Never Mind. Its pointless.

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70 Silly Pencil Puns That Will Make You Sharp

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Ready for some puns that will make you nice and sharp? These pencil puns won't leave you feeling pointless. So sharpen up your skills to try your hand at these.

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PENCIL A STORY WITH A POINT read aloud – Kids Story about friendship read along | Kids picture book

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Originally written by Caroline on 1/25/2018

For our first country profile it seemed fitting that I start with our home turf, especially after the recent New York Times photo essay about the General Pencil Company factory just across the river in Jersey City. If you haven't checked it out, please do--the photos are stunning, intimate and truly do the 100 year old factory justice. The Pencil Ladies took a field trip there earlier this year and were totally dumbfounded by how fittingly old-school the entire process is. We certainly have a heightened appreciation for these Made in the USA pieces of history.

Pencils may not have been invented here, but the US has played a major role in the modernization of the pencil throughout history. Though much of very early pencil history isn't well documented, it's believed that William Munroe was the first person to make and sell pencils in the US--in 1812, to be exact. Munroe, like most early pencil-makers was a craftsman, skilled in working with wood. He began making pencils out of his house in Concord, Massachusetts by hand, as this was long before any machinery had been invented for such a thing. His first pencils were sold in a shop in Boston to much local acclaim but the War of 1812 posed a bit of a road-block as acquiring graphite became nearly impossible. After the war he after teamed up with Ebenezer Wood, also a craftsman, to operate a two-man saw to streamline the process (Wood went on to invent many types of early pencil machinery, including a wedge glue press and a pencil-trimming machine).

Around the same time, John Thoreau, also of Concord was perfecting his craft with the help of his son, Henry David Thoreau (yes, that Henry David Thoreau). With the aid of a recent graphite deposit discovery in New Hampshire, Thoreau was primed to make a dent in the pencil market. He and his son labored over ideas to make a better pencil. Their pencils were simple--hand-made, round, unfinished and sold in bundles found by string and a paper sleeve. Henry David went away to Harvard, only to return to Concord to pick up where he left off with the family business. It was he who was the first American to figure out mixing graphite, clay and water and firing it in a kiln produced a stronger core (a far cry from the spermaceti they were using as a binder prior to this). By the 1840s, the Thoreaus were making the best pencils in America, though the success was short-lived as superior pencils for Germany started making landfall on US soil and John Thoreau transitioned into retirement. Shortly before his father's death in 1859, Henry David made the executive decision to cease making pencils, allegedly stating "I would not do again what I have done once".

The most recognizable name in American pencils for a long while has been Dixon--even in the 21st century the mass-produced pencil with the trademark green ferrule is still an icon. Its namesake, Joseph Dixon had a pretty rocky start. Dixon was an industrialist--an inventor of many things and pioneer in the field of crucible manufacture (crucibles made of graphite, that is). For decades he worked tirelessly to make the best pencil he possibly could and was consistently disappointed. In the 1840s he set up shop in Jersey City and build a huge, new factory to house his crucible operation, with part of it set aside for his hopeful pencil business. As the crucibles continued to make him lots of money, he lost much of it to his flailing pencil enterprise. By the late 1800s, with the help of industrialization, Dixon had mechanized the craft and was making more pencils than any other manufacturer in the US (about 20 million a year!). The rest is history--even after Dixon's death in 1869 the business was carried on and continued to hold its place at the forefront of pencil innovation. The legendary Ticonderoga, named after the upstate New York town where Dixon's graphite was mined, is still known as "America's pencil" though they're no longer American owned and no longer manufactured in the US.

Because of the plentiful cedar supply in the US and many small east coast graphite mines, the US became a hot spot for pencil manufacture in the late 1800s and the first half of the 1900s. Eberhard Faber, descendent of Kaspar Faber (of A.W. Faber/ Faber-Castell) moved from Germany to take advantage of the promising US pencil climate, as did many other Europeans looking to innovate elsewhere. It wasn't until the early 1900s that things got really interesting when Eberhard Faber's heirs introduced the revolutionary Blackwing 602 and were major contributors to the development of the indelible pencil, amongst many other things.

By the 1930s, American pencils had a distinctive personality and were competitive with those being made elsewhere in the world. Two things became trademarks of the American pencil, the first being the color. During the World's Fair in Chicago, Koh-i-Noor, a Bavarian pencil company introduced their uber-luxurious 1500 pencil, which was painted a rich yellow and dipped in gold. Legend has it that the color yellow was chosen for its connotation of wealth in China, where the best graphite at the time was coming from. American pencil makers caught on and started imitating the color as it became an indicator of quality. Separate from the color, the most unique feature of an American pencil became the addition of the attached eraser. There's no evidence of who exactly invented the ferrule as we know it, or why it became such a standard, but it did, without a doubt, set American pencils apart. The ferrule introduced a new level of convenience and also became a point of pride in a pencil's design. Early ferrules were elaborately made from brass and often featured flashy eraser shapes. Even in the 21st century, the attached eraser is considered an American feature, one that never really caught on outside of the US.

Pencils because cheap and relatively easy to produce and the market grew quickly. By the mid-1950s there were 23 pencil companies operating in the US. As each one worked to stand out amongst the competition, print advertising got more creative and the designs of the pencils became more and more inventive. All of this was short-lived, though, as by the late 60s/early 70s all off the smaller companies began being acquired and consolidated, most of which were either closed or moved overseas by the end of the century. As it stands, in 2018, there are three pencil factories operating in the US.

(Disclaimer: I could go on forever and ever about all of this old history. If your interest is piqued, check out The Pencil Perfect for more.)

Musgrave Pencil Company, founded almost exactly a century ago by James Raford Musgrave in Shelbyville, Tennesse, once called "Penciltown USA". Through the past 100 years they've continued to make quality, inexpensive pencils for the US market. Though most of their business is in promotional pencils and fun school pencils, they continue to manufacture a large number of their classics, including the Test-Scoring 100, one of the last remaining electrographic test-scoring pencils.

Moon Products, formerly J.R. Moon is currently owned by Mattel but was founded in the 1960s by James R. Moon, a veteran of the industry. Like Musgrave, they do a lot of work in custom and promotional pencils these days and still continue to make their greatest hits like the Big Dipper, which is likely the most recognizable and nostalgic jumbo pencil in US pencil history (and the pencil I fondly remember from kindergarten) and the Try-Rex line of pencils, originally made by Richard Best Pencil Co. (also the first triangular pencil ever made).

The oldest of the three is General Pencil Company, which was founded in 1889 by the family who started the American Lead Pencil Company, one of the biggest pencil makers in 20th century. The factory still operates as it did 100 years ago and churns out a large array of charcoal pencils and artist materials amongst their more traditional graphite offerings. Like their American competitors, General's has still retained the quality and design of many of their older models, most notably the Semi-Hex, which has always been their flagship yellow #2 and is the highest quality version still made in the US. Now owned by the 5th generation of the Weissenborn family, General Pencil Company is a great example of a brand whose legacy has been thoughtfully and effectively carried over for many generations, and certainly more to come.

Even though we would do anything to time travel back to the 1940s when the American pencil industry was in its hey day, we're grateful that we still have three manufacturers left, all of whom are different but equally committed to preserving their legacies and making affordable, better pencils, just like their predecessors.

Next time you look at a yellow #2 think of the many people who worked together to figure out how to cut a pencil slat, make a secure ferrule and keep the core from shattering. The pencil is a truly perfect object. It's simple in its design, though it took centuries of trial and error and the collaboration of many to arrive there. Germans may have invented it, but Americans perfected it, thanks to industrialization and the creative minds of the 19th and 20th centuries. As for the uniquely American #2 grade designation--you can thank Mr. Thoreau for that.

Originally written by Caroline on 1/25/2018

For our first country profile it seemed fitting that I start with our home turf, especially after the recent New York Times photo essay about the General Pencil Company factory just across the river in Jersey City. If you haven't checked it out, please do--the photos are stunning, intimate and truly do the 100 year old factory justice. The Pencil Ladies took a field trip there earlier this year and were totally dumbfounded by how fittingly old-school the entire process is. We certainly have a heightened appreciation for these Made in the USA pieces of history.

Pencils may not have been invented here, but the US has played a major role in the modernization of the pencil throughout history. Though much of very early pencil history isn't well documented, it's believed that William Munroe was the first person to make and sell pencils in the US--in 1812, to be exact. Munroe, like most early pencil-makers was a craftsman, skilled in working with wood. He began making pencils out of his house in Concord, Massachusetts by hand, as this was long before any machinery had been invented for such a thing. His first pencils were sold in a shop in Boston to much local acclaim but the War of 1812 posed a bit of a road-block as acquiring graphite became nearly impossible. After the war he after teamed up with Ebenezer Wood, also a craftsman, to operate a two-man saw to streamline the process (Wood went on to invent many types of early pencil machinery, including a wedge glue press and a pencil-trimming machine).

Around the same time, John Thoreau, also of Concord was perfecting his craft with the help of his son, Henry David Thoreau (yes, that Henry David Thoreau). With the aid of a recent graphite deposit discovery in New Hampshire, Thoreau was primed to make a dent in the pencil market. He and his son labored over ideas to make a better pencil. Their pencils were simple--hand-made, round, unfinished and sold in bundles found by string and a paper sleeve. Henry David went away to Harvard, only to return to Concord to pick up where he left off with the family business. It was he who was the first American to figure out mixing graphite, clay and water and firing it in a kiln produced a stronger core (a far cry from the spermaceti they were using as a binder prior to this). By the 1840s, the Thoreaus were making the best pencils in America, though the success was short-lived as superior pencils for Germany started making landfall on US soil and John Thoreau transitioned into retirement. Shortly before his father's death in 1859, Henry David made the executive decision to cease making pencils, allegedly stating "I would not do again what I have done once".

The most recognizable name in American pencils for a long while has been Dixon--even in the 21st century the mass-produced pencil with the trademark green ferrule is still an icon. Its namesake, Joseph Dixon had a pretty rocky start. Dixon was an industrialist--an inventor of many things and pioneer in the field of crucible manufacture (crucibles made of graphite, that is). For decades he worked tirelessly to make the best pencil he possibly could and was consistently disappointed. In the 1840s he set up shop in Jersey City and build a huge, new factory to house his crucible operation, with part of it set aside for his hopeful pencil business. As the crucibles continued to make him lots of money, he lost much of it to his flailing pencil enterprise. By the late 1800s, with the help of industrialization, Dixon had mechanized the craft and was making more pencils than any other manufacturer in the US (about 20 million a year!). The rest is history--even after Dixon's death in 1869 the business was carried on and continued to hold its place at the forefront of pencil innovation. The legendary Ticonderoga, named after the upstate New York town where Dixon's graphite was mined, is still known as "America's pencil" though they're no longer American owned and no longer manufactured in the US.

Because of the plentiful cedar supply in the US and many small east coast graphite mines, the US became a hot spot for pencil manufacture in the late 1800s and the first half of the 1900s. Eberhard Faber, descendent of Kaspar Faber (of A.W. Faber/ Faber-Castell) moved from Germany to take advantage of the promising US pencil climate, as did many other Europeans looking to innovate elsewhere. It wasn't until the early 1900s that things got really interesting when Eberhard Faber's heirs introduced the revolutionary Blackwing 602 and were major contributors to the development of the indelible pencil, amongst many other things.

By the 1930s, American pencils had a distinctive personality and were competitive with those being made elsewhere in the world. Two things became trademarks of the American pencil, the first being the color. During the World's Fair in Chicago, Koh-i-Noor, a Bavarian pencil company introduced their uber-luxurious 1500 pencil, which was painted a rich yellow and dipped in gold. Legend has it that the color yellow was chosen for its connotation of wealth in China, where the best graphite at the time was coming from. American pencil makers caught on and started imitating the color as it became an indicator of quality. Separate from the color, the most unique feature of an American pencil became the addition of the attached eraser. There's no evidence of who exactly invented the ferrule as we know it, or why it became such a standard, but it did, without a doubt, set American pencils apart. The ferrule introduced a new level of convenience and also became a point of pride in a pencil's design. Early ferrules were elaborately made from brass and often featured flashy eraser shapes. Even in the 21st century, the attached eraser is considered an American feature, one that never really caught on outside of the US.

Pencils because cheap and relatively easy to produce and the market grew quickly. By the mid-1950s there were 23 pencil companies operating in the US. As each one worked to stand out amongst the competition, print advertising got more creative and the designs of the pencils became more and more inventive. All of this was short-lived, though, as by the late 60s/early 70s all off the smaller companies began being acquired and consolidated, most of which were either closed or moved overseas by the end of the century. As it stands, in 2018, there are three pencil factories operating in the US.

(Disclaimer: I could go on forever and ever about all of this old history. If your interest is piqued, check out The Pencil Perfect for more.)

Musgrave Pencil Company, founded almost exactly a century ago by James Raford Musgrave in Shelbyville, Tennesse, once called "Penciltown USA". Through the past 100 years they've continued to make quality, inexpensive pencils for the US market. Though most of their business is in promotional pencils and fun school pencils, they continue to manufacture a large number of their classics, including the Test-Scoring 100, one of the last remaining electrographic test-scoring pencils.

Moon Products, formerly J.R. Moon is currently owned by Mattel but was founded in the 1960s by James R. Moon, a veteran of the industry. Like Musgrave, they do a lot of work in custom and promotional pencils these days and still continue to make their greatest hits like the Big Dipper, which is likely the most recognizable and nostalgic jumbo pencil in US pencil history (and the pencil I fondly remember from kindergarten) and the Try-Rex line of pencils, originally made by Richard Best Pencil Co. (also the first triangular pencil ever made).

The oldest of the three is General Pencil Company, which was founded in 1889 by the family who started the American Lead Pencil Company, one of the biggest pencil makers in 20th century. The factory still operates as it did 100 years ago and churns out a large array of charcoal pencils and artist materials amongst their more traditional graphite offerings. Like their American competitors, General's has still retained the quality and design of many of their older models, most notably the Semi-Hex, which has always been their flagship yellow #2 and is the highest quality version still made in the US. Now owned by the 5th generation of the Weissenborn family, General Pencil Company is a great example of a brand whose legacy has been thoughtfully and effectively carried over for many generations, and certainly more to come.

Even though we would do anything to time travel back to the 1940s when the American pencil industry was in its hey day, we're grateful that we still have three manufacturers left, all of whom are different but equally committed to preserving their legacies and making affordable, better pencils, just like their predecessors.

Next time you look at a yellow #2 think of the many people who worked together to figure out how to cut a pencil slat, make a secure ferrule and keep the core from shattering. The pencil is a truly perfect object. It's simple in its design, though it took centuries of trial and error and the collaboration of many to arrive there. Germans may have invented it, but Americans perfected it, thanks to industrialization and the creative minds of the 19th and 20th centuries. As for the uniquely American #2 grade designation--you can thank Mr. Thoreau for that.

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The Geography of Pencil History: USA - Your Site Title

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Originally written by Caroline on 1/25/2018 For our first country profile it seemed fitting that I start with our home turf, especially after the recent New York Times photo essay about the General Pencil Company factory just across the river in Jersey City. If you haven't check

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✏️When Pencil Met Eraser | Kids Book READ ALOUD

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Why March 30th?

March 30th was dubbed National Pencil Day as on this date in the year 1858, Hymen Lipman patented what is seen as the first "modern pencil": a wooden graphite pencil with a rubber eraser attached to it. Though the concept of pencils had existed for many centuries prior, this modern version of the pencil was praised highly due to its convenient light weight and the eraser on top, which made it easy to erase mistakes without having to use different tools.

Different types of pencils

Pencils come in many shapes and sizes, but the four most common pencil types we would like to highlight today are:

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On March 30th we celebrate National Pencil Day! On this day, we want to take some time to honour pencils!

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See Inside One of America's Last Pencil Factories

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See Inside One of America's Last Pencil Factories

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Wood passes through the loud whine of saws spinning at 8,000 revolutions per minute. Pencils clack-clack-clack as they shoot through a paint box and assume their various hues. Next is the din of ratcheting as aluminum ferrules and erasers are punched onto ends. Now and then a blast of air clears the machinery's crevices so the conveyor belts remain in constant, fluid motion.

But near the end of the assembly line, in a nook where pencils are imprinted with their logos, the sound is no more than the soft clink of the perfect little sticks falling into a heap. Scott Johnson plucks one from a bin and looks at the name freshly stamped in silvery foil.

"World's smallest billboard," he says.

And so it steadily goes at Musgrave Pencil Company, one of the few pencil manufacturers left in the United States-there are perhaps four, whereas there used to be some two dozen-and certainly the last in Shelbyville, Tennessee, about 60 miles south of Nashville, where the municipal seal bears the words "The Pencil City."

That reputation began with James Raford Musgrave, who founded a pencil-wood mill there in 1916. His and other milling operations were drawn to the area by its abundance of virgin eastern red cedars, the slow-growing premier pencil stock that the industry soon used up. Musgrave cut wood into the thin, flat slats that factories would sandwich around sticks of graphite, then slice into pencils. He began making his own pencils in 1923, launching what's thought to be the first pencil manufacturer in the South. Soon, other manufacturers started arriving in Shelbyville and nearby towns.

Today the family-owned business stands on the same spot where it began. Inside a two-story warehouse, unadorned but for a 25-foot-long No. 2 pencil painted on the outside, nearly 100 employees produce around 72 million pencils a year.

Johnson, 58, became president in November and is the fourth generation of the family to lead the business. (His wife, Ann Johnson, is James Musgrave's great-granddaughter.) He joined in 2021, after a career in electrical engineering, and says the factory's puzzles of precision and optimization appeal to him. He's also watchful for new ways to do business, given the onslaught of less expensive imports. Last year the U.S. imported 3.7 billion pencils from China, Brazil and elsewhere.

This is hardly the first upheaval in the long history of the pencil industry. The first came in 1564, after a high-quality deposit of graphite was found in England and quickly supplanted the lead used in earlier writing instruments; graphite made a darker line and was more erasable. In 1794, French inventor Nicolas-Jacques Conté devised a recipe to produce strong pencil cores from more plentiful, less-pure graphite. A version of his method of mixing graphite, clay and water is still used today.

Pencil-making began in the U.S. around 1812, and early industry leaders included John Thoreau of Concord, Massachusetts, and his son Henry David, the great American activist and essayist. The late 19th century brought the ubiquitous yellow pencil-made in imitation of a posh European model of the day-and, a gift to wordsmiths to this day, the built-in eraser.

By 1937 Shelbyville was producing 10 percent of the nation's pencils, by one account, or roughly 100 million a year. The industry reached its zenith in the mid-20th century. But between the 1970s and '90s, the industry began to contract, with many smaller companies closing or selling to larger ones.

Musgrave has managed to escape history's jaws, if not its grip: Most of the materials it once sourced locally or domestically now come from China. One thing it has done, taking advantage of the seemingly paradoxical forces of digital marketing and traditional artisan goods, is selling branded wares directly to the public, in addition to its longstanding business done mostly through wholesalers and distributors. Its roster of often decades-old Musgrave-branded pencil designs-from standard No. 2s to thicker carpenter pencils to the rotund Choo-Choo-has been gaining a reputation for quality and unstuffy craftsmanship among a new audience.

Caroline Weaver, an author of two books about pencils, who from 2014 to 2021 operated CW Pencil Enterprise, a New York City pencil boutique, says Musgrave pencils were popular in her shop. They appeal to "people who are serious pencil-users but aren't really snobs about it," she says. On top of being U.S.-made, "their stuff is affordable, it's beautiful-it ticks all the boxes."

In 2019, after finding a new local source of eastern red cedar, Musgrave started selling its Tennessee Red, a naturally fragrant, marbled throwback to the early U.S. pencil industry and the hallowed wood that put Shelbyville on the map. Weaver calls it "the most American pencil that one could possibly buy."

And those who do buy a box will find, when their package arrives, another timeless, uncommonly earnest artifact: a handwritten thank-you note, in pencil or pen.

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See Inside One of America's Last Pencil Factories

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The family-owned facility in Tennessee produces more than 70 million pencils annually

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This lesson is part of a collection called Map Skills for Students.

Prior Knowledge: familiarity with the map of the United States

Materials You Provide:

Required: blank paper; crayons; markers; pencils; pens

Optional: index cards; shoe box for each small group containing a variety of items, such as a rock, plastic button, piece of wood, notepad, piece of coal

Required Technology: Internet access; 1 computer per classroom; projector

Physical Space: classroom

Grouping: large-group instruction

Preparation

use a resource map to locate natural resources

identify products made from various natural resources

Overview
As the population of the world has increased, pressure on natural resources has also increased. It is more and more important to manage these resources responsibly and assure their availability in the future. Students need to be able to use a resource map to analyze where major resources are located and how these resources are used to make a variety of goods used by consumers.
Students will:

21st Century Student Outcomes

Critical Thinking Skills: understanding

Geographic Skills: Analyzing Geographic Information

Teaching Approach: learning-for-use

Teaching Methods: discussions, visual instruction
This activity targets the following skills:

What resources does the map show for our state? (Answers will vary by state; note that this map shows a select number of resources, so if there are none shown in your state, that does not mean that your state has no natural resources.)

What resource is Texas rich in? (oil)

Why is fish such a big resource in California? (California has a long coastline on the Pacific Ocean.)

What other resources do you know of that come from your state that are not included here?

How is a resource map helpful? (Possible response: It shows where resources are located, which is helpful to people making goods out of those resources.)

Directions

1. Talk about natural resources we commonly use.
Explain that when students drink a glass of water, they are using a natural resource. Natural resources are things found in nature that people use. Have students look around their classroom for other goods that come from natural resources. Ask: Where do our books and writing paper come from? (trees/forests) Point to plastic items or clothing made of synthetic fibers, such as fleece or polyester. Ask: Where does this come from? (oil)

2. Read aloud the poem in the Resources Poetry handout.
Engage students in the topic of natural resources by reading aloud the poem "Where Does It Come From?" on the provided handout as students follow along. Read the poem aloud a second time, and have students raise their hands after each verse if they can identify a natural resource in the line. List the resources on the board as students name them.

3. Explore the United States Resources map.
Explain that natural resources come from Earth and are found in different places. A resource map shows where certain natural resources are found. Project the map United States Resources. Explain that this map shows some of the natural resources found in the United States. Look together at the map key and read the items shown on this map. Ask: Where are fish found in the United States? Have students first find the fish symbol, then look for it on the map. Elicit from students that fish are found along the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico. Ask: In which states is coal found? Explain that each picture of a natural resource means that the resource is found in that state, but it does not mean just one of the item. Guide students to relate the read aloud poem from Step 2 to the map. Then ask:

Which of these resources might be used in building a home? (forest)

In painting a home? (oil)

In heating a home? (coal; mention that oil and energy from the sun might also be used for heating a home.)

What is electricity used for? (to run machines, light homes, and heat buildings)

Talk about how the resources in an area can be related to the types of work people do there. For example, if areas where forests are a resource, people may work in lumber or paper-related industries. Ask: How might the natural resources in other places in the U.S. affect the kinds of jobs people have there? (Where the natural resource is coal, copper, or gold, people might work in the mining industry. If the resource is fish, people might be fishermen or in the fish-processing business. If the resource is oil, people might work on oil rigs or in oil fields.)

4. Examine the chart of natural resources.
Project the chart titled Some United States Resources. Point out that it shows the same resources that are on the map. Ask students which items on this chart they and their family members use. Ask:

Read aloud How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A. by Marjorie Priceman. Together as a class make a chart or map of the natural resources and locations where they are found in the story.

Have students choose a natural resource and find out at least two things, not listed on the chart, that are made from this resource. Have them draw an illustration and share with the class.

Give small groups of students a shoe box containing a variety of items, such as a rock, a plastic button, a piece of wood, a notepad, and a piece of coal. Have students look through the collection and determine if each item is a resource in its natural form, or a manufactured item that is made from a resource. Each group can present its shoe box contents to the class and explain their thinking.

Tips & Modifications

For further analysis of the map, use index cards to make a flash card for each of the resource symbols on the map and chart. Project the United States Resources map. Hold up one card at a time and ask students to tell you what the symbol represents and then to name a state that shows that symbol.

Students frequently interpret one symbol in a state as meaning that there is only one of that resource in the state. For example, on this particular map a student might think that a tree means that there is only one tree in that state. Also, if there are no symbols in a state, that does not mean that the state does not have any of these resources; it just means that resources other than those included in the map key are more important in that state.

Talk about natural resources that are not included. Ask: What do you use each day that's not on this map? (Answers will vary. Possible responses may include foods such as milk, bread, produce, or cotton used in clothing.) Discuss the symbols that could be on this map for those natural resources.

5. Have students illustrate a use of one natural resource.
Provide blank paper and crayons or markers for students. Have students draw a picture of how their family uses one of these resources, including a one- to two-sentence caption describing where that resource might come from in the United States. Project the United States Resources map again to help students with the writing component.

Informal Assessment
Evaluate students' illustrations and descriptions to determine their understanding of the use of the resource and where it can be found in the U.S. You can also have students individually complete the Resources and Products worksheet.

Extending the Learning

Theme 7: Production, Distribution, and Consumption

Connections to National Standards, Principles, and Practices

National Council for Social Studies Curriculum Standards

Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information

Standard 3: How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface

National Geography Standards

Reading Standards for Informational Text K-5: Key Ideas and Details, RI.K.2

Reading Standards for Informational Text K-5: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, RI.1.7

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy

Geographic Representations: Spatial Views of the World: D2.Geo.2.K-2: Use maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations to describe places and the relationships and interactions that shape them.

Geographic Representations: Spatial Views of the World: D2.Geo.3.K-2: Use maps, globes, and other simple geographic models to identify cultural and environmental characteristics of places.

Books
Priceman, Marjorie. How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A. Dragonfly Books: 2013.

Adapted from National Geographic's Map Essentials: A Comprehensive Map Skills Program
The College, Career & Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards

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Students read a natural resource map and use a chart to determine the origins of goods that people use.