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Common Pencil & the Eagle Pencil Company
Sterling Picard
Did you know the common, everyday lead pencil has a very interesting
history? While writing instruments date back to ancient history,
major pencil production started around 1560. Called a lead pencil,
to this day, it does not contain lead, but graphite, which is a
form of carbon. In early days the graphite was wrapped with string
as a holder or inserted in wooden tubes. It wasn’t until 1761,
in Nuremberg, Germany, that the first factory production of pencils
began. This company, owned by a man named Faber, made the pencils
by taking sticks of graphite and gluing them between two pieces
of wood.
In 1795, a French scientist by the name of Nicholas Jacques Conte
was the first to receive a patent for what was then a very modern
process of mixing clay with graphite which would make the graphite
harder. The clay/graphite sticks would be formed and then put in
the furnace and later inserted in wooden cases.
A few small pencil companies opened in Boston around 1812, one being
the Munroe William Company. This company made their pencils from
a dried graphite paste, thus eliminating the furnace procedure entirely.
Subsequently, many small pencil companies emerged over the years,
primarily throughout the East Coast. However, in the early 1800's,
most American pencils remained inferior to the English and French
products which were still being produced through Conte’s furnace
process. One familiar name to all is Joseph Dixon. While this company
started small, it has grown to be come a standard of today’s
pencil market. Dixon was among the first to use round cedar pieces
to encapsulate the graphite by gluing the two pieces together. These
round pencils were the easiest to sharpen.
Toward the end of the American Civil War and in its aftermath (1864-1867),
mass production of pencils began in the United States, most of it
from four large companies. These ‘Big Four’ were the
Eagle Pencil Company, Eberhard Faber (brother of the German Faber
and an immigrant to the US), the American Lead Pencil Company, and
Joseph Dixon Crucible Company. Several patents were granted regarding
machinery for this massive undertaking. Some notable patents include
numbers 43,267 (pertaining to a machine which cut pencils), and
45,679 (an improvement in the machine which sandpapered pencils).
Both of these patents were assigned to Eberhard Faber of New York.
One last patent of major importance was 54,511 owned by Joseph Dixon
of New York. Dixon’s patent was for an improvement in the
planing machine. On an average, one planing machine could put out
132 pencils per minute.
The production of U.S. pencils increased due to the Import Tariff
of 1865. Post Civil War, the demand for pencils increased greatly
in the United States. With the reconstruction, industrial revolution,
advancement and demand for public education, and railroad expansion,
the need for pencils increased markedly. In fact, by the 1870's
over 20,000,000 pencils were purchased per year in the US. By 1912,
the figure had grown in the US to be 750,000,000, while world wide
the figure was at two billion.
Now that we have a little background and history on the pencil and
its development, the company we will be spotlighting in this article
is the Eagle Pencil & Pen Company. It was a most opportune time
for Eagle. America was a relatively new country with fresh, untouched
forests of beautiful red cedar, the perfect wood for making high
quality graphite pencils.
The Eagle Pencil Company began in 1856. Stemming from a long line
of pencil makers in Furth, Germany, Heinrich Berolzheimer founded
the company. Having immigrated to New York, he established his business
in that same city. According to Roger Young of Berol Limited, in
1861, the company changed hands, but not families. Now run by Henry
Berolzheimer, most likely Heinrich’s son, the company began
expanding. In 1864, Eagle opened up its London office. Success brought
the need for a larger factory and in 1900, Eagle opened is “new”
block long office. (See picture) In 1929, they expanded again opening
a factory in Mexico and in 1931, yet another factory was started
in Canada. Later years would bring two more factory operations,
one in Colombia (1956) and one in Venezuela (1962).
The name and symbol for the company was adopted by the Berolzheimer’s
to represent the new found freedom they experienced in the United
States. In their opinion, what better symbol than the American Eagle.
Sadly, the New York factory, where Eagle Pencil Company began, was
closed in 1958, but this was not the end of the company. Over the
years, Eagle produced pencils under many names. A list of some of
the pencils manufactured through them is at the end of the article.
Moving on from early ownership, Eagle Pencil Company produced not
only pencils, but everything you can imagine related to them as
well. Included in their line were pencil holders, sharpening devices,
and yes, even dozens of different nibs for pens. Eagle also made
the first eraser tipped pencil in 1872. Additionally, Eagle factories
were involved in steel pen works. They were a producer of the Esterbrook
steel nibs in 1858, and it can be assumed that this production continued
well into a later date. Eagle was also the first company to produce
a combo pen and pencil. This was a most innovative concept for its
time. Made with 14K nibs, the Eagle Company remained a quality maker
of the combo, producing a product that could rival any combo of
its day.
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The fountain pen example seen in the picture
is documented from the 1901Pan American Exhibition. It has
an unusually long glass cylinder filler that can be attached
to the inside nipple of the section for writing or corked
up within the barrel of the pen when not in use. The barrel
is definitely marked Eagle Pencil of New York.
Eagle Pencil Company purchased Little Saint Simon’s
Island, sight unseen, in the year 1908 from the Butler Family.This
island’s intrigue for the company was its many cedar
trees which they planned to use for pencil production. Unfortunately,
it was discovered too late that the salt and wind had damaged
the trees. The wood was swirled and not good for the production
of pencils. Since the land was inadequate for wood production,
it became a private recreation spot for the family. |
In 1917, Berolzheimer brought his very close friends,
most of them New Yorkers, to the island. Becoming frequent guests,
this select group of New York aristocracy later became known as
the Eight Bandits. The author will leave this title up to the reader’s
interpretation! Finally, in 1979, Berolzheimers descendants opened
the island to the general public.
After the Little Saint Simon Island failure, Charles Berolzheimer,
grandson of the Heinrich, moved to Stockton, California. There,
he purchased the California Cedar Products (CalCedar) Company. The
Incense Cedar that grows on the west coast, made a great substitute
for the Eastern Red Cedar. Interesting to note, it is CalCedar that
produces the Duraflame log. This venture into firewood was made
as an ecologically sound move, using all the excess materials from
other production and reducing waste.
In 1969, Eagle changed its name to the American name Berol Pencil
Company. This new name was an Americanized version of the family’s
German surname. In continued growth, Eagle Pencil company purchased
Venus Pencil in 1971. With this takeover, Eagle changed the Venus
name to Berol. However, in 1987, Beral was acquired by the Empire
Pencil company of Shelbyville, Tennessee. Interesting to note, this
company was also a subsidiary of the Empire Berol Corporation, which,
in 1988, was bought out by an investment group situated in New York.
The basic pencil had been a mainstay in American society since the
Civil War. For Eagle Pencil Company, this golden opportunity stood
for freedom and the American way of life. To this date, in the office
, home, or when we by school supplies for our children, pencils
are there. Next time you pick up that yellow pencil, reflect on
its history and what it meant to those who produced it.
Names of Eagle Pencil Company brands include but are not limited
to the following:
Alpha
Arcadia
Black Warrior
Comfort
Ensign
Graphic
Manifold
Mikado
Mirror
Orloff
Patrol
Prismacolor
Radiolite
Regal
Stars & Stripes
Turquoise
Verithin
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