E. Wolff and Sons
1796 E. Wolff and Son was founded - later 'E. Wolff and Sons' (plural)
The reputation of its pencils was such that they found their way into markets all around the world.
c.1840 the source of natural graphite was exhausted. The price of graphite rose strongly. Elias Wolff conceived the idea of mixing powdered graphite with clay. This mixture he ground between millstones until he obtained the necessary fineness. Adding the necessary amount of water he then continued with a process of wet-grinding. Then he removed most of the moisture and compressed the compound, now in its desired state, into thin strips for laying into the wood. This became the basis for the pencil business.
1920 Amalgamated with B. S. Cohen as the Royal Sovereign Pencil Co