The Story of Pencils - A Brief History

Welcome!

Pencils can be found in the home, classroom, and art studio. We’ve grown up using them for writing and drawing since we first started . . . writing and drawing.
They are so common and widely used that we often take them for granted.


Join us for this episode of Art Expedition, as we appreciate and tell the story of pencils.
We'll look at their history and show how they really are an important tool for the artist.

We will investigate:

• How a discovery of graphite in Borrowdale, England in the 1500s led to the creation of the pencil.
• Why the stuff inside a pencil is called “lead?”
• How a shortage of graphite in France gave us different pencil grades.
• What exactly are the differences in pencil grades (2B, HB, 2H vs. #1, #2, #3)?
• When did erasers get put on top of pencils?
• Why are so many American pencils yellow?
• Why are #2 pencils used schools?


Pencil history, pencil lore - All of this and Rusty and Bob too! We hope you enjoy!


Thanks for watching. If you do enjoy this video, please consider liking it and subscribing to our channel for more https://www.youtube.com/@artexpeditio...

Contents of this video:
00:00 - Introduction
01:01 - Moments in History w/Rusty & Bob
02:43 - Graphite
04:31 - Wood & Clay
06:14 - Pencil Grades
07:25 - #2 Pencils in School
07:43 - Hexagon Shape & Erasers
08:55 - Yellow Pencils
09:34 - The case for Pencils
10:08 - Conclusion

Music by Bensound.com

“Charlie’s Mood”

“Voulez Vous Danser”

Special thanks to the wonderful town of Casey, Illinois.
https://www.bigthingssmalltown.com


Also thanks to the people at American Science and Surplus in Geneva, Illinois for their enthusiasm and generosity.


For Gale.

#artsupplies #pencils #artfacts