The Art and History of the Pencil

The pencil is commonly known as a traditional art supply. But, as you can imagine, it took a long journey before the pencil got its final writing & drawing purpose.


Several centuries ago, somewhere between 1500 and 1565, a massive deposit of pure and solid graphite was found in England. Locals found this form of graphite useful for marking sheeps: the first graphite sticks were born.

In 1662, the Germans made a first attempt to manufacture graphite sticks from powdered graphite. This led to an active pencil industry developed throughout the 19th century.



The first pencil containing a wooden holder was said to be created by an Italian couple. It was designed for the purpose of marking their carpentry.

Two centuries later Nicolas-Jacques Conté, a French painter, invented the modern pencil after he got a request to create a pencil that did not rely on foreign imports, as France was unable to import graphite from Great Britain.


At the same time, Joseph Hardtmuth from Austria, founder of Koh-i-Noor, found a method to combine powdered graphite with clay to create the modern artificial pencil lead. By varying the ratio of graphite to clay, the hardness of the graphite lead could also be varied.


_{Strangely enough, the black core of pencils is still referred to as 'lead' even though it never contained the element lead. It's because the substance, found in the 16th century, appeared to be a form of lead, and therefore it was called "plumbago", the Latin word for "lead ore".}


Franz Hardtmuth continued in the improvent of the production of the pencil. He introduced the well known yellow pencil with a great range of hardness and of high quality. Hardtmuth called this pencil brand KOH-I-NOOR according to the big yellow Indian diamond KOCH-I-NUR: “Mountain of light”.

Soon many other manufacturers would follow and create pencils with a yellow holder because the yellow colour became the symbol of quality for the pencil as we know today.


In honour of this incredible invention I decided to feature artworks with the pencil as the subject matter!


This feature will start with a beautiful poem about the pencil, written by Lex-Logan.
Hope you enjoy!


Love,
~Nic / Cataclysm-X


PencilPencil, Pencil in your stand
Smoothest ebony in my hand
Tell my dreams, create my myths
A graphite diamond in my grip
Hexagonal beauty tall and fine
Carve my vision from just one line
Blankest page of purest white
Stands no chance against your might
When my mind is clouded and blue
The only thing I need is you
You soothe my pain and heal my wounds
Fascinated my hand moves
Deepest trance and sweetest bliss
As I watch the sharp'ner twist
And once again you are renewed
Till I need you again to lift my mood

---

Stamps

These stamps will help you to show appreciation and make a statement!


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Rainbow Themed

Pencils come in all sorts of forms & shapes, colours & sizes. Which makes them perfect for fun and experimental designs, patterns and projects.

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Conceptual, Design & Rarities

Anything from T-Shirt designs to giant & miniature pencils.

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Avatars & Animations

Look no further for cute pencil avatars and clever animations!

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Pencil Cases

Pencils are valuable and vulnerable objects. It's important to keep them safe. These artists created some exceptional pencil cases.