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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 Nuremberg。 As far back
as the year 1726 the church registers mention marriages
between 〃black…lead pencil makers;〃 and; at a
later date references are found in the same registers
to 〃black…lead cutters〃 of both sexes。
The manufacture of black…lead pencils; however;
occupied a position on the very lowest rung of the
industrial ladder。
But is time proceeded the Bavarian government
directed their attention to this branch of industry;
and did all in their power to encourage it; and; as
early as the year 1766; a Count von Kronsfeld obtained
a concession to establish a lead pencil factory
at Jettenbach。 Later on; in the year 1816; the
Bavarian government established a royal lead pencil
manufactory at Obernzell (Hafnerzell); and introduced
into it the French process; described above; of using
clay as a binding medium for graphite。
CHAPTER XXVIII。
ANCIENT INK BACKGROUNDS (THE ORIGIN OF PAPYRUS)。
FROM WHENCE COMES THE NAME PAPERFIRST CENTURY
COMMENT ABOUT ITKNIGHT'S COMMENTS MORE THAN
1;800 YEARS LATERPAPYRUS AN EGYPTIAN
REEDNAMES BESTOWED BY ANCIENT WRITERSTHE
SAME NAMES AS EMPLOYED IN MODERN TIMESLEAVES
OF PLANTS PRECEDED THE INVENTION OF PAPYRUS
WHEN IT WAS THAT ROLLED RECORDS CAME INTO
VOGUEVARRO'S ESTIMATION AS TO THE ORIGINAL USE
OF PAPYRUS NOT CORRECTREAL FACTS RESPECTING
THE INTRODUCTION OF PAPYRUS BEYOND THE LIMITS OF
EGYPTCHARACTER OF MATERIALS EMPLOYED BY THE
GREEKS BEFORE THAT EPOCHEMPLOYMENT OF IT
FOR LITERARY PURPOSESADOPTION OF PARCHMENT
AND VELLUMPAPYRUS MSS。 EMPLOYED IN THE FORM
OF ROLLS AND THE REASON FOR SAMEANCIENT
MANUFACTURE OF PAPYRUS IN EGYPTSOME OF THE NAMES
USED TO DESIGNATE DIFFERENT KINDSPLINY'S
DESCRIPTION OF THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPYRUS AND HIS
MISINFORMATION ABOUT ITWHERE IT FLOURISHED
BESTPAPYRUS AS KNOWN TO THE HEBREWS AND ITS
BIBLICAL MENTIONMANUFACTURE OF PAPYRUS IN
THE ANCIENT CITY OF MEMPHISCHARACTERISTICS OF
THE PAPER EMPLOYED BY THE MEXICANSMR。 HARRIS'S
DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT FRAGMENTS OF PAPYRUS
THE STORY ABOUT IT AS TOLD BY THE LONDON
ATHENaeUMDATES OF THE OLDEST KNOWN SPECIMENS
OF GREEK PAPYRIDATE OF THE FIRST DISCOVERY
OF GREEK PAPYRIUSE OF OTHER PLIABLE MATERIALS
WITH PAPYRUSHOW THEY WERE PREPARED
FOR WRITING PURPOSESDOUBTS AS TO TIME THAT
ROLLED RECORDS SUPERSEDED TABLET FORMSSUGGESTIONS
BY NOEL HUMPHREYSVIEWS ENTERTAINED
BY EARLIER WRITERS。
THE name paper is derived from papyrus; a reed
grown in Egypt; whose stalk furnished for so many
centuries the principal material for writing upon to
the people of that country and those bordering on
the Mediterranean Sea。 In the first century of the
Christian era the younger Pliny remarks:
〃All the usages of civilized life depend in a
remarkable degree upon the employment of paper。
At all events; the remembrance of past events。〃
A statement which has caused Mr。 Knight to make
the following comment:
〃This observation; undoubtedly true 1;800 years
ago; is much more remarkably so now; indeed; in
considering that paper as we now understand it
was entirely unknown to Europe in the time of
Pliny; the expression of the great dependence
upon what seems to us so fragile and inefficient a
substitute for real paper appears strange。〃
Mr。 Knight also says that the Greek name papuros;
mentioned by Theophrastus; a contemporary of Aristotle
and Alexander; was probably the Egyptian name
of the reed with a Greek termination。 It was also
called biblos by Homer and Herodotus; whence our
term bible。 The term volumen; a scroll; indicates the
early form of a book of bark; papyrus; skin; or parchment;
as the term liber (Latin; a book; or the inner
bark of a tree) does the use of the bark itself。 Hence
also our terms library and librarian。 〃Book〃 is
also derived from the Danish word bog; the bark of
the beech。
Pliny quoting Varro; who preceded him some two
centuries; asserts that before the invention of papyrus;
the large leaves of certain plants were prepared so
that they could be written upon。 Hence originates
our term 〃leaves〃 of a book which in the Latin form
folium has also given us the modern term folio。
When; however; the reed pen and the pencil brush
and their kindred substances denominated colored
liquids or inks; came into vogue; some material on
which characters could be inscribed and preserved in
the shape of continuous rolls for record and other
uses became necessary。 The papyrus plant seems to
have met every requirement。 It is a noteworthy fact
that all information which can be derived from any
source; specifically calls attention to papyrus and
sometimes the inner barks of trees as being coexistent
with pen and ink。
Varro has been credited with many statements
which in the light of investigation and discovery are
proved to be incorrect。 One of these is in effect
that the use of papyrus was an incident pertaining to
the expeditions of Alexander the Great。 This assertion
is not only contradicted by Pliny; the historian;
who calls attention to 〃books of papyrus found in the
tomb of Numa 〃 (Numa Pompilius; the second king of
Rome; B。 C。 716…672;) but even at this late day many
monuments of ancient papyri are still extant and belonging
to periods more than a thousand years before
Alexander's time。
The real facts in respect to this matter are; that
the introduction of the use of papyrus to nations beyond
the limits of Egypt was an event that did not
take place until after the reign of the first Macedonian
sovereign of Egypt; Ptolemy Lagus (B。 C。 323) when;
in return for Greek literature; Egypt gave back her
papyrus。 Before this epoch the Greeks had been in
the habit of employing such materials as linen; wax;
bark and leaves for ordinary writing purposes; while
their public records were inscribed on stone; brass;
lead or other metals。
Papyrus as then introduced into t