forty centuries of ink-第53节

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long　ago　as　the　year　1618　this　mode　was　adopted；　for

Sir　John　Pettus；　who　was　deputy　governor　of　the

Borrowdale　mine　under　Charles　II；　in　his　〃Fleta

Minor；〃　while；　speaking　of　black…lead　says；　that　〃Of

late　it　is　curiously　formed　into　cases　of　deal　or　cedar

and　so　sold　as　dry　pencils；　something　more　useful　than

pen　and　ink。〃　In　a　general　way　modern　black…lead

pencils；　are　made　by　sawing　cedar　first　into　long

planks；　and　then　into　smaller　rods；　grooves　are　cut

out　by　means　of　a　cutting　machine　moved　by　a　fly…

wheel　to　such　a　depth　as　will　receive　a　small　layer　of

black…lead；　the　pieces　of　the　mineral　are　cut　into　thin

slabs　and　then　into　rods　the　same　size　as　the　grooves；

into　which　they　are　inserted；　the　two　halves　of　the

case　are　then　glued　together；　and　the　whole　is　turned

into　a　cylindrical　form　by　means　of　a　guage。



The　kind　of　pencil　called　〃crayon〃　is　a　mixture

of　some　kind　of　earth　with　a　coloring　substance。

The　earth　employed　is　sometimes　chalk；　and　at　other

times　pipe…clay；　gypsum；　starch…flour；　or　ochre。　The

coloring　substance　is　yellow　ochre；　mineral　yellow；

chrome；　red　chalk；　vermilion；　indigoindeed；　any　of

the　usual　dry　colors；　according　to　the　tint　required。

Besides　the　earth　and　the　color；　there　is　a　gummy　liquid

required　to　combine　them　together；　gum　arabic；　gum

tragacanth；　and　in　some　cases　oil；　wax；　or　suet；　are

used　as　the　third　ingredient。　The　crayons　here　alluded

to　are　employed　rather　for　drawing　than　for　writing；

but　they　obviously　belong　to　the　class　of　pencils　in

their　mode　of　action。



The　ancients　drew　lines　and　letters　with　wooden

styles；　and　afterward　an　alloy　of　lead　and　tin　was

used。　Pliny　refers　to　the　use　of　lead　for　ruling　lines

on　papyrus。　La　Moine　cites　a　document　of　1387

ruled　with　graphite。　Slips　of　graphite　in　wooden

sticks　（pencils）　are　mentioned　by　Gesner；　of　Zurich；　in

1565；　he　credits　England　with　the　production。　They

are　doubtless　the　product　of　the　Borrowdale　mine；

then　lately　discovered。　In　the　early　part　of　the　seventeenth

century　black…lead　pencils　are　distinctly　described

by　several　writers。　They　are　noticed　by

Ambrosinus；　1648；　spoken　of　by　Pettus；　in　1683；　as

inclosed　in　fir　or　cedar。



Red　and　black　chalk　pencils　were　used　in　Germany

in　1450；　in　fact；　fragments　of　chalk；　charcoal；　and

shaped　sticks　of　colored　minerals　had　been　in　use

since　times　previous　to　all　historic　mention。



When　Cortez　landed　in　Mexico；　in　1520；　he　found

the　Aztecs　using　graphite　crayons；　which　were　probably

made　from　a　mineral　found　in　Sonora。



The　firm　of　A。　W。　Faber　are　the　largest　manufacturers

of　lead　pencils　in　the　world。　They　have　compiled

a　history　of　this　implement　of　handwriting　which

they　have　permitted　me　to　use　in　the　story　which

follows。



The　lead　pencil　is　an　invention　of　modern　times；

and　its　introduction　may　deservedly　be　ranked　with

the　large　number　of　technical　innovations　in　which

more　especially　the　last　three　centuries　have　been　so

rich；　nor　can　it　be　denied　that　pencils　have　played

an　important　part　in　the　diffusion　of　arts　and　sciences

and　in　facilitating　study　and　intellectual　intercourse。



To　the　classic　ages　and　their　art　the　pencil；　and　in

general　every　application　of　lead　as　a　writing　material；

was　entirely　unknown；　and　it　was　not　till　the　advent

of　the　middle　ages　that　it　began　to　be　used　for　this

purpose。　This　lead；　i。　e。　metallic　lead；　however；　was

in　no　way　equivalent　to　the　graphite　or　black…lead　of

our　pencils；　which　are　only　honored　with　the　prefix

of　〃lead；〃　owing　to　the　leaden　color　of　the　writing

done　with　them。



Moreover；　in　those　days；　lead　was　used　exclusively

for　ruling　and　in　no　way　for　writing　or　drawing；　it

was　employed　in　the　form　of　round；　sharp…edged　discs；

similar　to　those　which；　it　is　said；　were　already　used

for　the　same　purpose　in　ancient　classic　times。　It　is

only　with　the　development　and　growth　of　modern

painting　that　traces　of　pencil…like　drawings　first　begin

to　be　met。　At　so　early　a　period　even　as　the　fourteenth

century；　mention　is　made　by　the　masters　of　that

time；　more　especially　by　the　brothers　Van　Eyck；　and

again　in　the　fifteenth　century　by　Menlink　and　others；

of　studies　or　compositions　which　were　made　with　an

instrument　similar　to　a　lead　pencil；　upon　a　paper　with

chalk　prepared　surface。



This　type　of　drawing　was　commonly　classed　as　〃silver…

style；〃　a　term；　however；　which　was　no　doubt

erroneous；　as　there　could　be　no　question　of　the　use　of

pure　silver　in　this　connection。



In　the　same　way　it　is　also　reported　of　the　later

mediaeval　Italian　artists　that　they　drew　their　subjects

in　〃silver…style；〃　upon　planished　fig…tree　wood；　the

surface　of　which　had　been　prepared　with　the　powder

obtained　from　calcined　bones；a　method；　however；

which　seems　only　to　have　been　employed　in　exceptional

instances。



But　in　the　fourteenth　century；　drawings　were　frequently

done　in　Italy　with　pencils　consisting　of　a

mixture　cast　from　lead　and　tin；　these　drawings　could

easily　be　erased　with　bread　crumbs。



Petrarch's　〃Laura〃　was　portrayed　in　this　manner

by　one　of　his　contemporaries；　and　the　method　was

still　in　vogue　in　the　days　of　Michael　Angelo。　From

Italy　these　pencils　subsequently　found　their　way　to

Germany；　but　it　is　not　apparent　under　what　particular

name。　In　Italy　itself　they　were　called　〃stili；〃　the

equivalent　of　the　word　stylus。　At　no　time；　however；

do　these　varieties　seem　to　have　been　the　predominating

material　used　for　drawing　purposes。



In　conjunction　with　these；　pens　were　used　for

writing　and　drawing；　and　at　the　zenith　of　the　art

period　of　those　days　black　and　red　crayons　were　also

used　on　a　large　scale。　The　Italians　imported　the　best

qualities　of　red　crayons　from　Germany；　the　best　black

chalk　being　obtained　from　Spain。



Vasari　writes　of　a　certain　sixteenth　century　artist；

that　he　was　equally　skillful　in　handling　the　stylus　or

the　pen；　black　chalk　or　red　crayon。



It　was　this　period　which　witnessed　the　discovery　of

plumbago；　a　mineral　which　was　soon　worked　up　into

an　entirely　new　material　for　writing　and　drawing；

the　lead　pencil。



This　discovery；　which　was　destined　to　confer　such

great　benefits　not　only　upon　practical　life；　but　also

upon　art；　was　made　in　England　during　the　reign　of

Queen　Elizabeth；　for　in　the　year　1564　the　celebrated

black…lead　mines　of　Borrowdale；　in　Cumberland；　were

discovered。　With　the　opening　of　this　mine；　the　first

material　steps　were　taken　to　implant　on　English　soil

a　lead　pencil　industry　which　in　the　course　of　time　was

to　assume　important　dimensions。



The　first　lead　pencils　are　supposed　to　have　been

manufactured　in　England　in　the　second　half　of　the

sixteenth　century。　The　raw　plumbago；　or　〃wad；〃　as

it　was　locally　termed；　was　subjected　to　the　following

treatment：　〃On　reaching　the　surface　it　was　sawn

into　strips　of　the　required　size；　and　these；　without　any

further　manipulation；　were　inserted　into　the　wood。

Strange　though　it　may　appear；　the　lead　pencils　first

manufactured　in　this　manner　are　acknowledged　to　have

been　the　bestand　even　at　the　beginning　of　the　present

century　they　remained　unsurpassed　upon　the

score　of　the　softness　and　fine　tone　of　the　lead。　Although

the　Cumberland　lead　pencils　were　in　great　demand

owing　to　the　fact　that　they　were　the　first　to

successfully　meet　a　long…felt　want；　they　nevertheless

owed　their　permanent　and　wide…spread　reputation

more　especially　in　artistic　circlesto　their　excellent

quality。



Towards　the　end　of　the　last　century　the　black…lead

pencil　industry　was　introduced　into　France；　where

with　some　restrictions　it　soon　developed。



With　the　removal　of　all　restrictions　on　industrial

freedom　in　1795；　the　idea　was　entertained　of　using

clay　as　a　binding　medium　for　black…lead。　This

method　offered　several　advantages；　for　not　only　did

the　addition　of　clay　cause　a　saving　of　a　large　percentage

of　the　valuable　mineral；　but　it　greatly　facilitated

the　method　of　manufacture；　so　that　lead　pencils

could　now　be　offered　at　greatly　reduced　prices。



By　these　improvements　a　new　era　in　the　manufacture

of　lead　pencils　was　begun　in　France。　Still；

there　remained　much　to　be　done　in　the　field　of　black…

lead　pencil　making　in　order　to　do　justice　to　the　increasing

demands　of　art　and　the　requirements　of　more

civilized　life。



It　is　true；　different　kinds　of　lead　pencils　of　various

degrees　were　produced；　but　they　did　not　comply　by　a

long　way　with　the　different　uses　for　which　they　were

needed。　The　manipulation　of　the　brittle　material

required　not　only　deep　study；　but　also　conscientious

and　skillful　workmen；　in　order　to　impart　the　necessary

standard　of　perfection　to　the　lead　pencil。



Among　the　various　German　industries　the　manufacture

of　black…lead　pencils　occupied　but　a　very

modest　place。



The　first　traces　of　its　existence　are　to　be　found　at

Stein；　a　village　not　far　from　Nuremb