The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-03-22
HISTORY or PENCILS.
Modern Institution and the Graphite was
Discovered by IA Frenchman.

n modern institution and the Graphite was
Discovered by Frenchman.
from the Cincinnati Times-Star.l
Does lead pencil ever grow old ?This
was asked, of a local dealer who replied
that he thought nat, as his firm has had
them in stock many years. and they
seemed to be always the same The
lead pencil by the way, is a modern
institution. None were ever used till
in 1854, a mine of pure graphite was dis
covered in Barowdale, Cumberland
county, England. The mineral was SC
pure that 1t was simply sawed into
strips and glued into wood and thus
used. So precious was 1t, the mines
were guarded by soldiers and worked
only six months in the year. The min
eral was sold in London market at auc-
ton at prices ranging as high as f4O
a pound. These mines finally gave out
and for many years the world was with
out pencils. But discoveries of graphite
were made in different parts of the
world from which pencils were made,
but Of an inferior quality to the Bar
Towdale pencils. Tn the effort to pro-
duce a good pencil French workman in
1875 discovered that by mixing clay with
graphite a pencil of any desired de-
gree of softness could be produced. Yet
even with this a really good pencil
could not be obtained because no good
graphite was obtainable. In 1S46, dur
s,,s. -, -1Il GaI L.,
one John Peter Albert, a. French mer-
chant Living at Tawasthus, Siberia
started out to- search the northern riv-
ers for gold.
One day in the Irkutsk river he found
a chunk of pure graphite. He spent
whole year tracing up every branch of
the river to it's source till at last he
found the branch down which the chunk
had been washed,and at it's source found
a deposit of the mineral The discovery
created a sensation and the mountain
Batougol-wasi changed to Mt. Albert.
1t required seven years of constant dig
ging ito get down to the bed of pure
graphite, but in 1864 1t began to be
shipped in vast quantities to the Fa-
bers, who have the exclusive right to
use it for all time. The new graphite
was worked with until 1861, when the
first perfect pencil from it was given
to the world. Thus it took fifteen years
to make thesfirst Siberian graphite pen
ell. The process. however, is simple.
Graphite is ground as fine as dust. Clay
is also ground that fine. The two are
mixed and dried and ground again,
and again dried and wet and ground
over and over till at last the stuff is
kneaded into loaves by hand by work.
men.
One Of these loaves is put into a cast
iron cylinder where a tremendous and
gradual pressure forces it through
small hole In the bottom, through which
it appears in the shape of an elastic
string the size of the lead in a pencil.
1t curls up on a table as it comes out
and while still moist and elastic is
out and cut into pencil
lengths. 1t is dried at low tempera-
ture in frames to prevent warping, af-
ter which it is baked at a high tenn
in Theoretically sealed pans in
kllns and then cooled and each lead is
tested by the manufacturer himself to
see that it is exactly of the right degree
Of hardness. The wood is obtained from
Florida, cedar being the best. 1t is |
sawed into blocks the length of a pencil,
then chopped into sticks half the thick |
ness of one. Each of these sticks is |
grooved for the lead ON one side, the |
lead is put in, and two are glued togeth-
er with hot glue. The pencil is a rough |
stick and from there on is finished to |
any degree of polish desired.