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A surge in the popularity of quality wooden pencils occurred
between 1860 and 1870 due to the advent of production
standards that ensured concentricity of the lead in relationship
to the utensil's wooden barrel. In response, a wave of
invention for mechanical pencil sharpeners occurred between
1880 and 1915. The pencil sharpener model shown here is
from the latter part of that period.
In general, most pencil sharpeners work using a combination
of systems for creating a working point on the graphite
lead. Different manufacturers tested various means of
cutting, shearing and abrading pencils' wood and filler
materials in pursuit of the perfect point. A current
quick search on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
database lists over 500 patents for this type of device.
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H. Guhl of Hamburg, Germany, patented the Jupiter
pencil pointer on November 9, 1897 (#593, 093). It was
sold in two versions, the front-crank handle and the
side- or end-crank type. There were four configurations
to accommodate the different barrel sizes of various
writing devices. Pictured here is an end type, which
is considered to be the second model of the two. It
uses a reversible, hardened milling-type cutter to produce
the point.
The Jupiter was somewhat more expensive than competitors'
comparable products. Advertisements stated it was incredibly
fast and could be used to sharpen 80 pencils in just
10 minutes, all "without breaking a single tip."
The sharpener was patented again on September 11, 1906
(#830,093). Then in 1931, A.P.M. Guhl produced patent
#1,788,347, which essentially replicated the original
patent. Clearly, the pursuit of pencil sharpening was
taken seriously as the family business.
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This
particular example is marked with the Johann Faber name,
a prominent pencil manufacturer at that time, and, the
inventor of the mechanical pencil, patent #33,034, issued
on August 13, 1861.
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