Tag Archives: Eberhard Faber Blackwing

“We choose to go to the moon…”

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Sean

A photo by Laurie Spiegel of her Eberhard Faber Blackwing, which to me evokes the image of a rocket flying past the sun or perhaps the moon. Laurie’s music was included on the Golden Records affixed to Voyager 1 and 2, all à … Continue reading →

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A New Draft

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Sean

A new cover idea: Several Eberhards Faber: A general timeline: The early years: The mills of Cedar Keys, Florida: Origins of the “Diamond Star” logo: The occasional nib and leadholder: An extraordinary pencil: The History of the Lead Pencil by … Continue reading →

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Eberhard Faber-Castell (2)

Posted on May 31, 2018 by Sean

By April of 1987 the assembly plant in Mexico was running at about 50% for pencil production, causing shipments to lag some 24% behind company projections. The top two priorities then for Eberhard Faber Inc. were to bring the Mexican … Continue reading →

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Vignette

Posted on September 17, 2017 by Sean
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Pencil Sample Books

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Sean

Based on some of the comments from the previous post, I’ve gathered together a few examples of pencil sample books and sample folders. They used to come in a great variety of shapes and sizes during their heyday, including samplers … Continue reading →

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The Alpheus Music Writer

Posted on June 16, 2017 by Sean

For Percival it was the Holy Grail; Dr. Kimble, the one-armed man. For Ponce de Leon? To find the Fountain of Youth; for Cantor, to map the Continuum. Me? The Alpheus Music Writer. Alpheus Music of Hollywood, California, was in … Continue reading →

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The Last Eberhard Faber Factory

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Sean

In 1956-57, the Eberhard Faber Company moved operations from their Greenpoint, New York location (established in 1872) to a state-of-the-art facility in Crestwood Industrial Park, located in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania. Some 37 acres of woods were cleared for the facility, which was designed … Continue reading →

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Seven Years

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Sean

WordPress informs me that Contrapuntalism has turned seven. And as it is with most anniversaries, I’m left wondering where the time has gone. I started blogging slowly with a site called Pencils and Music, which like a lot of blogs ended up being more … Continue reading →

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A View Of Some Rooms

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Sean

When you visit the Faber-Castell factory in Stein, Germany, you’ll see it has four floors and is in the shape of a giant “U”, complete with smokestack. This photo was taken from within the building, where I was standing approximately … Continue reading →

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“The other [pencils] are a snare, a delusion and utterly useless.” —Eberhard Faber

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Sean

In an interview given to the Salt Lake Herald in 1906, Eberhard Faber II offered some sage advice to pencil users. While most of what he said borders on common sense it’s still illuminating to hear it straight from the … Continue reading →

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