This book is a groundbreaking study of the development of mechanical and metal cased pencils in the nineteenth century. Illustrated with ove 700 color photographs, the book provides examples of the extraordinary variety of propelling pencils that were created between 1800 and 1920. Seeing the photographs of the exquisite pencils in this book, the reader will be struck by the ingenuity of the inventors and creators of this (until now) forgotten form of decorative art. From metal cased pencils that are elegantly practical, to "magic" pencils that are more whimsical than functional, this book follows the progress of the mechanical pencil as it evolves from a usable tool to something more akin to jewelry than to writing implements. This history of mechanical pencils also includes definition of terms, descriptions of various mechanisms (including automatic, clutch, ever-pointed, gravity, magazine, magic, novelty, porte-crayon, telescopic, etc.), a chapter on ornamentation and surface decoration, as well as a chapter on the multitude of combinations created by nineteenth century pencil-case makers, as they were then called (pen-pencil combinations, pen-pencil-blade comhinations, multi-colored pencils, pencil-rulers, pencil-button hooks, pencil-toothpick combinations, etc.)