“Agent For A.W. Faber’s Lead Pencils”

This notice from 1870 is another piece of (what seems to me) a complicated puzzle. Lothar Faber sent his brother Eberhard to America to run the New York office and represent the interests of A.W. Faber in the U.S. From what I understand, Eberhard arrived as early as 1843 though the year 1849 is more often marked as the beginning of his tenure (and also the date the Eberhard Faber Co. would later give as its founding year). By 1861 a new factory was opened in New York, part of A.W. Faber’s centenary celebrations. While Eberhard represented his brother’s interests he also began manufacturing his own wares. He would eventually break with Lothar—a dissolution that would marinate in legal proceedings for years to come—yet they seemed to find a way to still do business from time to time.

If you look closely, you’ll see that John Hodge and Co. of San Francisco, California, were agents for A.W. Faber’s lead pencils, at least in 1870:

Eberhard Faber published this notice to the stationery trade concerning their business arrangement:

So at least in 1870, Fabers Lothar and Eberhard still had a deal. I wonder then what precipitated the original break; whose last straw was first?