The Yard-O-Led Pencil Company is a manufacturing company founded in London, England in 1934.

History

Advert for Yard O Led from Weekly Dispatch (London) 2 December 1934

It was founded by German immigrant Ludwig Brenner to produce his patented propelling pencils which contained twelve three inch leads (that is to say, 36 inches or a yard of lead). Originally based in Premier House, 12-13 Hatton Garden, London, the company relocated in the late 1940s to 1 Great Cumberland Place, London.

After World War II, the company merged with Sampson Mordan Ltd whose founder had patented the first mechanical pencil in 1822. They built a new factory in Birmingham and acquired Edward Baker Ltd, another pencil maker.

In 1988, the company was acquired by Filofax Group, which owned it until 2015, when it was re-established as "Imperial Yard Ltd".

Yard-O-Led continues to produce fountain and ballpoint pens as well as mechanical pencils, most of which are made from hallmarked sterling silver.

Further reading

  • Collecting Old Pencils, John Watkins, Collectors Press (1970,) ASIN: B000J2HUQG
  • Victorian Pencils: Tools to Jewels, Deb Crosby, Schiffer Publishing Ltd (Oct 1998), ISBN 0-7643-0413-5
  • The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance, by Henry Petroski

External links