A PENCIL TIMELINE
Isaac Pelepko, Mako in Profile, pencil on paper
1564
The largest graphite deposit ever discovered was unearthed in Cumbria, England. At first, the mineral was thought to be a soft type of lead, and the association stuck: We still refer to pencil “lead,” even though there is no lead in pencils.
1565
Conrad Gesner, a Swiss naturalist, is the first person to study and describe graphite.
LATE1500s to 1600s
Graphite is used as a lubricant for cannons and other armaments. It was also sawed into sticks and used as a tool for marking sheep, which led to the discovery of its possibilities for drawing. Its artistic uses soon became ...
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