Rub it out and start again: all about erasers
One of the many reasons I like writing in pencil is the option of erasing and correcting seamlessly. But there is more to erasers than their very practical use.
As a child I loved all stationery, and erasers were no exception. It was the 1980s, so think scented erasers and neon colours, as well as rather a lot of Snoopy. They felt like little treasures, most of them kept unused of course.
More traditional erasers tucked into my school pencil case were there to do the practical work. I remember two kinds: the classic pink and blue, for pencil and ink respectively, at primary school, and later a simple white Staedtler Mars plastic with its blue cardboard wrapper, perfect for erasing geometry drawings but also for writing or carving words onto.
Erasers feel like friendly objects: their scent (even – especially – the unscented ones), their shape and weight in my hand… They can bring back a lifetime of memories, and, being rather fidgety, I find handling them calming and comforting, an aid to thinking about the next sentence.
I still collect erasers, both to use and to keep. I have erasers for pencil, coloured pencil, ink, and even for glue. I have rectangular erasers, hexagonal erasers and one of those thin long ones in a pen-shaped holder. I have supplies of erasers for my Blackwing pencils, in assorted colours. I even still have a Snoopy eraser, a survivor from that 1980s collection brought back from my parents’ house after their last move.
Some of my favourite erasers
Hexagonal erasers – the perfect shape for detailed erasing and lovely to hold. Mine are by Monograph from Tea & Kate, but Koh-i-Noor make some too.
Eraser holder – I wish there were more aesthetically appealing options for these, but my Staedtler one is functional and works perfectly to erase pencil lines on calligraphy pieces.
ForCOLOR cpg_100 eraser – This is designed for coloured pencil but is good on any recalcitrant pencil line (and the neon yellow brings back some 80s childhood memories too). It looks like it may no longer be available to buy, but the CP-10 by the same brand looks very similar.
Typewriter eraser – I bought this one for the typography, but I’ve now switched from using the blue side of a pink and blue eraser to this for ink (from Present & Correct, but no longer available)
Blackwing replacement erasers – These are better quality than a lot of erasers found on pencils, and their shape is very good for precise rubbing out (available from Present & Correct)
Crepe eraser – A very different type of eraser, but this is a bookbinding essential, to remove any dried glue marks from paper or bookcloth (from LCBA)
A very short history of erasers
Before the modern eraser came about, graphite was erased with balls of bread. The discovery of the erasing properties of rubber and the development of the eraser date back to the 18th century.
They are credited to British chemist Joseph Priestley, more famous for his discovery of oxygen, and engineer Edward Nairne. The word ‘rubber’ for what had been known as ‘India gum’ was coined by Priestley because of its use to erase with a rubbing action.
The idea of building an eraser into a pencil was that of US stationer Hymen Lipman in 1858. His attempt to have the invention patented failed, and the design was quickly taken on by other manufacturers.
Sources
10 things you probably did not know about eraser technology, The Atlantic
Who made that built-in eraser?, The New York Times Magazine
