And the Eraser—born on this day in 1858!

Posted by Bart Weinberger

In memory of, on this very special day, a friend in Colorado posted this to Facebook. A fun thing to know, yes?

And we all know how indispensable the pencil has been to writers of the world. Many writers, Hemmingway included, refused to write with a pen. Some—Papa as well—liked the feel of a pencil and also wanted to sharpen their own, using everything from a pocket knife to a hand-held sharpener.

The Blackwing pencil was often the instrument of choice as it could be sharpened to a long, strong point and lasted much longer than a standard #2 pencil. That eraser was also a bit different from the round one. It’s more of an oblong shape and again, lasts longer than the one on a #2 pencil.