Yellow pencils used to be sold as a luxury item.

Science & Industry

B efore the 19th century, lacquered pencils were often a sign of low-quality wood that needed to be covered up, and they were usually finished in darker colors such as black or maroon. A decent pencil, meanwhile, would be either plain or varnished wood. But that all changed with the introduction of a new kind of luxury pencil — one whose distinctive color was chosen for a reason.

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By the Numbers

Hardness grades available in the classic Ticonderoga yellow pencil

Year Kaspar Faber founded his eponymous pencil company

1761

Did you know?

Pencil lead was never actually made of lead.

Pencils have always had graphite-based cores. The earliest graphite pencils were likely made in the 16th century, and while graphite was a relatively new phenomenon, people were very familiar with lead — a soft, dark mineral that leaves marks behind. The word "graphite" wasn't coined until the late 18th century, so the pencil material was often referred to as "lead," "black lead," or "plumbago" (which essentially means lead). In some areas of the British Isles, it was called "wadd," but the etymology of that one is lost to the ages. It's not that everyone literally thought the material was lead — but, unable to pinpoint exactly what graphite was, "lead" was a nice stand-in. While the term "plumbago" has since fallen out of vogue, "lead" stuck around.