19th century propelling and other pencils with seal to one end

A seal is an engraved stamp for making impressions on sealing-wax. The seal was made by heating sealing wax and dropping it onto the paper, and then placing the seal into the soft wax. Seals were originally used to provide authenticity to documents and proclamations, and in the 19th century to seal letters, before the introduction of the gummed flap. Seals were often set into rings, hung on watch fob chains or neck chains, and there was also a more substantial freestanding desk model with a handle. The seal could be made of any material that could be finely more... engraved with a monogram or other symbol, including agate, black onyx, bloodstone, cornelian, jasper and lapis lazuli. For desk seals, materials used for the handles included gold, pinchbeck, ivory, hardstones, silver, brass, steel, and coloured twist glass. Seals were fell out of use with the introduction of the penny post in 1840, which led to the evolution of the gummed envelope meaning it was no longer necessary to place a seal every envelope. less...

Graphite was discovered and came into widespread use for writing following the discovery of a large deposit in Borrowdale, England in 1564. It made a darker line than lead, but was soft and brittle, and required a holder.

The graphite sticks were firstly wrapped in string, but later the graphite was inserted into hollowed wooden sticks the resultant pencil being similar to those in use today.

Britain soon lost its monopoly on production of wooden pencils and they were mass-produced in Germany from the 15th century. In the mid 16th century a number of German pencil manucturers were established more... whose trade names are still in use today, including Faber-Castell, Steadtler and Lyra.

In 1822, Sampson Mordan (1770 - 1843) with his partner, John Hawkins patented a "metal pencil with an internal mechanism for propelling the graphite 'lead' shaft forward during use", now known as the propelling pencil.

This meant that the casing could now be metal, most commonly gold or silver, which had appeal to the increasingly affluent middle and upper classes in Britain in the 19th century.

Various whimsical patterns were introduced for their propelling pencils including pig and boar-shaped pencils, and horse heads, dogs, cats, fish, frogs and owls.

In Britain between 1820 and 1873, more than 160 patents were filed by the company for various mechanical pencil designs. The first spring-loaded mechanical pencil was patented in 1877 and a twist-feed mechanism was developed in 1895.

Some mechanical pencils only hold the graphite in position against gravity, while others are able to feed the lead through the pencil, as it wears down.

There are various mechanisms used to feed the lead through the pencil, including ratchet-based pencils in which the lead is advanced by a button on the end or the side; screw-based pencils in which the lead is advanced by twisting a screw, which moves a slider down the barrel and twist-based pencils in which the lead is advanced by twisting the head of the pencil.

Mechanical pencils are still in demand today by architects, draughtsmen and artists. less...