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forty centuries of ink-第53章

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long ago as the year 1618 this mode was adopted; for

Sir John Pettus; who was deputy governor of the

Borrowdale mine under Charles II; in his 〃Fleta

Minor;〃 while; speaking of black…lead says; that 〃Of

late it is curiously formed into cases of deal or cedar

and so sold as dry pencils; something more useful than

pen and ink。〃 In a general way modern black…lead

pencils; are made by sawing cedar first into long

planks; and then into smaller rods; grooves are cut

out by means of a cutting machine moved by a fly…

wheel to such a depth as will receive a small layer of

black…lead; the pieces of the mineral are cut into thin

slabs and then into rods the same size as the grooves;

into which they are inserted; the two halves of the

case are then glued together; and the whole is turned

into a cylindrical form by means of a guage。



The kind of pencil called 〃crayon〃 is a mixture

of some kind of earth with a coloring substance。

The earth employed is sometimes chalk; and at other

times pipe…clay; gypsum; starch…flour; or ochre。 The

coloring substance is yellow ochre; mineral yellow;

chrome; red chalk; vermilion; indigoindeed; any of

the usual dry colors; according to the tint required。

Besides the earth and the color; there is a gummy liquid

required to combine them together; gum arabic; gum

tragacanth; and in some cases oil; wax; or suet; are

used as the third ingredient。 The crayons here alluded

to are employed rather for drawing than for writing;

but they obviously belong to the class of pencils in

their mode of action。



The ancients drew lines and letters with wooden

styles; and afterward an alloy of lead and tin was

used。 Pliny refers to the use of lead for ruling lines

on papyrus。 La Moine cites a document of 1387

ruled with graphite。 Slips of graphite in wooden

sticks (pencils) are mentioned by Gesner; of Zurich; in

1565; he credits England with the production。 They

are doubtless the product of the Borrowdale mine;

then lately discovered。 In the early part of the seventeenth

century black…lead pencils are distinctly described

by several writers。 They are noticed by

Ambrosinus; 1648; spoken of by Pettus; in 1683; as

inclosed in fir or cedar。



Red and black chalk pencils were used in Germany

in 1450; in fact; fragments of chalk; charcoal; and

shaped sticks of colored minerals had been in use

since times previous to all historic mention。



When Cortez landed in Mexico; in 1520; he found

the Aztecs using graphite crayons; which were probably

made from a mineral found in Sonora。



The firm of A。 W。 Faber are the largest manufacturers

of lead pencils in the world。 They have compiled

a history of this implement of handwriting which

they have permitted me to use in the story which

follows。



The lead pencil is an invention of modern times;

and its introduction may deservedly be ranked with

the large number of technical innovations in which

more especially the last three centuries have been so

rich; nor can it be denied that pencils have played

an important part in the diffusion of arts and sciences

and in facilitating study and intellectual intercourse。



To the classic ages and their art the pencil; and in

general every application of lead as a writing material;

was entirely unknown; and it was not till the advent

of the middle ages that it began to be used for this

purpose。 This lead; i。 e。 metallic lead; however; was

in no way equivalent to the graphite or black…lead of

our pencils; which are only honored with the prefix

of 〃lead;〃 owing to the leaden color of the writing

done with them。



Moreover; in those days; lead was used exclusively

for ruling and in no way for writing or drawing; it

was employed in the form of round; sharp…edged discs;

similar to those which; it is said; were already used

for the same purpose in ancient classic times。 It is

only with the development and growth of modern

painting that traces of pencil…like drawings first begin

to be met。 At so early a period even as the fourteenth

century; mention is made by the masters of that

time; more especially by the brothers Van Eyck; and

again in the fifteenth century by Menlink and others;

of studies or compositions which were made with an

instrument similar to a lead pencil; upon a paper with

chalk prepared surface。



This type of drawing was commonly classed as 〃silver…

style;〃 a term; however; which was no doubt

erroneous; as there could be no question of the use of

pure silver in this connection。



In the same way it is also reported of the later

mediaeval Italian artists that they drew their subjects

in 〃silver…style;〃 upon planished fig…tree wood; the

surface of which had been prepared with the powder

obtained from calcined bones;a method; however;

which seems only to have been employed in exceptional

instances。



But in the fourteenth century; drawings were frequently

done in Italy with pencils consisting of a

mixture cast from lead and tin; these drawings could

easily be erased with bread crumbs。



Petrarch's 〃Laura〃 was portrayed in this manner

by one of his contemporaries; and the method was

still in vogue in the days of Michael Angelo。 From

Italy these pencils subsequently found their way to

Germany; but it is not apparent under what particular

name。 In Italy itself they were called 〃stili;〃 the

equivalent of the word stylus。 At no time; however;

do these varieties seem to have been the predominating

material used for drawing purposes。



In conjunction with these; pens were used for

writing and drawing; and at the zenith of the art

period of those days black and red crayons were also

used on a large scale。 The Italians imported the best

qualities of red crayons from Germany; the best black

chalk being obtained from Spain。



Vasari writes of a certain sixteenth century artist;

that he was equally skillful in handling the stylus or

the pen; black chalk or red crayon。



It was this period which witnessed the discovery of

plumbago; a mineral which was soon worked up into

an entirely new material for writing and drawing;

the lead pencil。



This discovery; which was destined to confer such

great benefits not only upon practical life; but also

upon art; was made in England during the reign of

Queen Elizabeth; for in the year 1564 the celebrated

black…lead mines of Borrowdale; in Cumberland; were

discovered。 With the opening of this mine; the first

material steps were taken to implant on English soil

a lead pencil industry which in the course of time was

to assume important dimensions。



The first lead pencils are supposed to have been

manufactured in England in the second half of the

sixteenth century。 The raw plumbago; or 〃wad;〃 as

it was locally termed; was subjected to the following

treatment: 〃On reaching the surface it was sawn

into strips of the required size; and these; without any

further manipulation; were inserted into the wood。

Strange though it may appear; the lead pencils first

manufactured in this manner are acknowledged to have

been the bestand even at the beginning of the present

century they remained unsurpassed upon the

score of the softness and fine tone of the lead。 Although

the Cumberland lead pencils were in great demand

owing to the fact that they were the first to

successfully meet a long…felt want; they nevertheless

owed their permanent and wide…spread reputation

more especially in artistic circlesto their excellent

quality。



Towards the end of the last century the black…lead

pencil industry was introduced into France; where

with some restrictions it soon developed。



With the removal of all restrictions on industrial

freedom in 1795; the idea was entertained of using

clay as a binding medium for black…lead。 This

method offered several advantages; for not only did

the addition of clay cause a saving of a large percentage

of the valuable mineral; but it greatly facilitated

the method of manufacture; so that lead pencils

could now be offered at greatly reduced prices。



By these improvements a new era in the manufacture

of lead pencils was begun in France。 Still;

there remained much to be done in the field of black…

lead pencil making in order to do justice to the increasing

demands of art and the requirements of more

civilized life。



It is true; different kinds of lead pencils of various

degrees were produced; but they did not comply by a

long way with the different uses for which they were

needed。 The manipulation of the brittle material

required not only deep study; but also conscientious

and skillful workmen; in order to impart the necessary

standard of perfection to the lead pencil。



Among the various German industries the manufacture

of black…lead pencils occupied but a very

modest place。



The first traces of its existence are to be found at

Stein; a village not far from Nuremb
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