ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -A Croatian museum on Wednesday displayed the world's
first mechanical pencil, marking the 100th anniversary of its invention
by a Croat.
Slavoljub
Penkala's mechanical pencil, which uses a mechanism to push a long lead
refill, received the patent as the first such pencil in the world in 1906.
The registration document praised it as a pencil that "needs no sharpening
and with which we can write continually."
The pencil, called Penkala, "was one of the first and perhaps the most
important patent among the writing instruments of the 20th century," said
Miroslav Tischler, a collector and expert on pencils and pens.
"It was extremely popular in the whole first half of the 20th century,"
especially in Italy and Germany, he added.
Miljenko Paunovic, an expert from the Technical Museum, which displayed
the original pencil, said Penkala's invention "definitely changed the world
in a way" becoming "an indispensable item for every person which knew how
to read and write."
Penkala was born in Slovakia but lived and worked in Croatia until his
1922 death. His pen factory, which employed 800 people, exported pencils
and pens across the world.
His influence in Croatia was so great that many here still refer to
any pen or pencil as "penkala."
January 25, 2006 11:15 AM
