German luxury brand Montblanc was founded in 1906, and is best known for its high-end writing instruments. The company's early focus was on producing high-quality fountain pens, but it has since expanded to offer a range of other writing instruments, including rollerball pens, ballpoint pens, and mechanical pencils.
One of the earliest Montblanc writing instruments was the "Rouge et Noir" fountain pen, which was introduced in 1909. This pen was notable for its unique design, which featured a snake motif and a retractable nib. It quickly became popular among writers and artists of the time, and helped
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establish Montblanc as a leading brand in the luxury writing instrument market.
Over the years, Montblanc has continued to innovate and refine its writing instruments, introducing new designs and technologies that set them apart from their competitors. One of the most notable of these innovations was the "Meisterstück" fountain pen, which was introduced in 1924 and quickly became one of the company's most iconic products. This pen featured a unique piston filling system that made it easy to refill the ink, and it was designed to be a reliable and durable writing instrument that would last for years.
In addition to its classic designs, Montblanc has also collaborated with a number of famous artists and designers over the years to create limited edition writing instruments that are both functional and works of art. Some of the most famous collaborations have included pens designed by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Marc Newson.
Montblanc continues to produce some of the finest writing instruments in the world, and the brand is widely recognized as a symbol of luxury and elegance.
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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
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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.
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