Some mechanical pencils expel or retract leads through a thin tip. Man’s Best Friend (Study of Dog Skulls)īy Sherry Camhy, graphite (mechanical and wood pencils), 16 x 20. Whatever the model, mechanical pencils are distinguished from other pencils in that their cores are not bonded to their outer casings, allowing the cores to be manually or mechanically manipulated, extended, retracted, removed and replaced. T oday mechanical pencils are available in a plethora of designs, sizes and even colors. With these thin, sturdy sticks of graphite, contemporary mechanical pencils were bor n. In modern times, plastic polymers have been added to the mix, allowing the manufacture of extremely thin leads in sizes ranging from 0.2 to 0.9 millimeters. In the late 18 th century Nicolas-Jacques Conté (1755–1805) began combining powdered graphite and clay to produce pencil leads with varying levels of hardness. Examples of all sorts of mechanical pencils can be found in antique stores, not to mention old desk drawers. Some designs were crude, others ingenious. Countless variations followed in their wake, which evolved into the diverse family of mechanical pencils available today. In the 18 th century porte-crayons, extenders with metal claws designed to grasp chalk or graphite sticks, became fashionable writing and drawing implements. Class of ‘54īy John Whalley, 2007, graphite (mechanical pencil), 43½ x 56½. The substance was renamed “graphite” (from the Greek for “write”), but even now the terms “lead” and “graphite” are often used interchangeably, and the writing rods of mechanical pencils are still called “leads,” a source of occasional confusion. The actual composition of the material remained a mystery until the late 18 th century when it was discovered to be neither lead nor antimony but rather a form of carbon. He speculated that the blacklead at the core of the pencil might be antimony. Only a year after the storm Conrad Gesner, a highly reputed Swiss scholar, wrote of the existence of a new lead-holding device, a forerunner of both wooden and mechanical pencils. Thin slivers were covered with wax, pushed into hollow reeds or encased in wood or metal tubes, making them cleaner and easier to work with. Shards were chiseled into sticks and wound with string to be unraveled as needed. Soon the material was being mined and sold. A wide variety of historical mechanical pencils can be seen online at the “Mechanical Pencil Museum” (). A collection of antique mechanical pencils by Mabie, Todd & Co., circa 1870. And unlike metalpoint lines, they were erasable-rubbing with breadcrumbs made blacklead marks disappear as if by magic. Its marks were less fleeting than those of charcoal or chalk. It soon became apparent that the newly discovered “blacklead” (also called “wad” or “plumbago”) was better for writing and drawing than anything else available. To their amazement, they discovered that chunks of it could be used to make marks, among other applications. In the depths of the enormous pit where the roots of the tree had been, they found something dark and rock hard. The next morning, curious peasants came to investigate. A heavy storm toppled a huge old oak tree, roots and all. It was a dark and stormy night, as the story goes, in Cumberland, England, in 1564. The origins of mechanical pencils are linked to the discovery of graphite. Read on for a more in-depth look into the history of these handy drawing tools and the vast assortment of designs and functions available.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |