Chicago Tribune - May 28, 2008
NEW YORK—When Hymen L. Lipman patented the world's first pencil with an attached eraser 150 years ago, he certainly didn't anticipate its having to compete one day with BlackBerrys and online crossword puzzles.
But the eraser pencil has exhibited remarkable staying power amid the rise of the typewriter, the ballpoint pen, the personal computer and all manner of modern hand-held messaging devices over its century-and-a-half existence. In fact, the U.S. is the single largest market for wood-encased pencils today, most of which now come from China. Even the more expensive mechanical pencil has not replaced what is for many writers and note-takers a tried and true basic. It has seen a steady increase in production over the last decade, according to figures from the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association.
"There's a historic preference for the pencil in the U.S.," said Charles Berolzheimer, 47-year-old heir to the Berol pencil brand. "Maybe partly because there's a tactile sensation to making a mark on paper with it." His family has manufactured pencils or their raw materials for six generations, and today he is the president of California Cedar Products Co., which exports the state's high quality incense cedari to manufacturers abroad.