Ticonderoga

The Ticonderoga pencil was first created in 1812 by Joseph Dixon, who mixed graphite, clay, and water, and baked it in his mother's oven. He eventually built a very successful crucible factory. Ticonderoga sells pencils.

1812-Dixon Pencil is Created
Joseph Dixon was the son of a ship captain, and experimented with graphite found on his father's sailing vessels. He mixed the mineral with clay and water, and rolled it into strips. After baking it in his mother's oven, he put the mixture into grooved cedar wood. This created the first Dixon pencil.

1827-Dixon Begins Business
After discovering various uses for graphite, Dixon began a business in Salem, Massachusetts in 1827.

1847-Dixon Builds Factory
One of the inventions that Joseph Dixon had made was a crucible, which was used in making iron and steel in the Mexican-American War. This invention was so successful that Dixon built a crucible factory in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1847.

1850-Patents are Secured
In 1850, Joseph Dixon secured patents on his graphite crucibles for making pottery and steel. He also developed a way to use graphite to grind lenses.

1866-Pencil is Widely Used
Soldiers in the Civil War wanted a more practical alternative to the quill pen when writing home. Because of this, the pencil became widely adopted. Rising demand eventually caused Dixon to build a machine, which could produce 132 pencils each minute.

1872-Pencils Enter Mass Production
By the time Joseph Dixon died in 1869, the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company was the largest graphite product manufacturer in the world. In 1872, they were making over 86,000 pencils every day.

1913-Yellow Number 2 Pencil Introduced
In 1913, the classic Ticonderoga No. 2 yellow pencil was introduced. They were originally made with brass ferrule, but changed to a green plastic during World War II, due to a metal shortage. The widely known yellow color carried on after the war ended.

Pencil Types
You can find information about each box that Ticonderoga sells here.

Description
The Ticonderoga pencil is a yellow hexagonal pencil, which says Dixon Ticonderoga on it. It has a pink cylindrical eraser, with green metal holding it in place. The Ticonderoga pencil usually comes sharpened.