For this survey, I chose to research about the invention of the graphite pencil. It’s the ancestor of the tool I seek most comfort in when drafting my creative woes. For such a simple tool, it has had a huge impact on the world with its forgiving yet bold nature which is why I felt “drawn” to researching this topic.
The pencil became a significant part of life ever since it’s discovery and creation in the early 16-hundereds. The inner core of the pencil: graphite was discovered in England after a tree had fallen over. The townspeople had originally thought it was lead (as lead was used as a mark-making tool since the romans), yet it was much darker on paper than lead thus it earned the nickname of “black lead.”
The most common use for graphite was to mark sheep until later on it was used as a writing utensil. Due to its high smudgy nature, graphite was often wrapped with paper and string. Although this worked for a while, it was still quite difficult to handle. That is until someone decided to sandwich the black lead in-between two wooden sticks which we now refer to as a graphite pencil.
With the two rectangles, one was able to hold the graphite without painting one’s hands ebony and it make access to the black lead much less of a hassle.
The wood could be shaved off with a sharp knife in order to reveal more graphite, which was significantly easier compared to the paper-string method. Which was a design choice that increased efficiency and comfort.
The creation of the graphite pencil allowed leniency in writing as people later discovered that pencil marks can be erased which allowed for more drafting. Although the pencil was impactful, the mass production of it allowed not only for more accessibility to the public, but also made graphite decrease in value as a result.
The affordability of the pencil due to its surge allowed for common folk to practice writing which led to multiple cultural advancements. Furthermore, it took up little space and was often light-weight that made it easy to carry which is one of the reasons why it’s so prominent today. The pencil eventually became a part of our culture, despite it having a presence for only 200 years. It’s one of the most recognizable objects today.
Overall, this is simply the origin of what is now a tool we often take for granted in my opinion. It’s a tool, as students, we rely on heavily and accessibility to it is abundant yet, one can only truly appreciate such common things when you forget your trusty tool or when it’s nowhere to be seen in the midst of inspiration. Maybe I’m just too appreciative of this simple tool that may or may not be caused by a certain documentary, however, I feel like it deserves some attention.
Sources:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a21567/history-of-the-pencil/
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/10/11/492999969/origin-of-pencil-lead
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