Cyclingpencils has a very interesting post that shows a vintage Johann Faber pencil marked “Made in Japan”!
I hope some further information will come to light.
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I’m wondering which Faber he was. The following history link doesn’t list someone with that first name:
http://www.faber-castell.sg/31471/The-Company/History-of-the-Company/The-8-Generations/default_ebene2.aspx
Hi David, that link you provide does mention the name: “In 1931-32 Faber-Castell acquires the “Johann Faber” pencil factory and thus simultaneously an interest in its “Lapis Johann Faber” subsidiary in Sao Carlos, Brazil.”
Johann Faber left A. W. Faber and started his own business at the ago of seventy-two, according to his obituary in the New York Times.
The obituary is from 1901, and states that Johann Faber had been in business for twelve years. So the Johann Faber company would have existed from 1889 to 1931, being directly run from Johann Faber from 1889 to 1894.
But Petroski’s The Pencil says Johann Faber started the company much earlier – in 1878.
Petroski is probably right, as he cites an 1883 court case about the rights to the Faber name as well as a work by Johann Faber himself.
Any J. Faber enterprise in Japan is certainly not mentioned by Petroski, so the “mystery pencil” shown at cyclingpencils is most unusual.
Johann Faber obituary:
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9E02E0DF143AE63AA15755C1A9679C946097D6CF
Johann Faber pencils at Brand Name Pencils:
http://www.brandnamepencils.com/brands/johannfaber/index.shtml
Thanks for the clarification on that. I almost ran downstairs to check my “The Pencil” book. Maybe he licensed a factory there, but the details may be lost in the sands of time.
Hi , Thank you for your mention about my post.
I can not discover evidence that foreign pencil company authorized the license to Japanese pencil manufacturer before WW2.
At that time ,Japanese pencil manufacturer was being ruled by the major wholesaler that had strong influence on a financial side and the sales side.
If J.Faber licensed some Japanese company , The other party of the contract might be a major wholesaler.
And if this Japanese made Johann Faber were official licensed products , it might be not made during WW1. Japan and Germany were in warfare from.
If anybody knows something about this-made in japan- please ¡enligth us!
Does anybody have any information on Lapis Johann Faber in Sao Carlos, Brazil?
Johann Faber was born between 1818 and 1821, and died between 1900 and 1901.
Does anybody know the exact dates?