We take pride in handcrafting quality pencils and artist materials using traditional methods passed down for six generations. Our history dates back to 1860 when Edward Weissenborn founded the American Lead Pencil Co. in Hoboken, NJ. He was an inventor and machinist and acquired 28 patents for improved machinery and processes in making 360 different kinds of pencils. 2 sold the company to The Reckford family in 1885. He then established the pencil exchange in Jersey City, New Jersey with his son Oscar, in 1889. Which was later renamed The General Pencil Company.