Bibliophilia: The Pencil – Henry Petroski

The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance – Henry Petroski

I think a lot of people will say, “Come on, a 350 page book about the pencil? Seriously?”

Yeah, I’m quite serious, and it is an interesting read. There are so many things out there that have become so ubiquitous that we rarely if ever give them so much as a second thought. Pencils being a perfect case in point. 

The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance, besides being a history of its title, lets the pencil serve as an object that explains how items go from ideas to finished objects. How objects sometimes exist for centuries in different forms before the one we currently recognize came into being. Henry Petroski (who has also written a book about tooth picks and paper clips) touches on invention, craftmanship, engineering, manufacturing, business, even culture. It may seem insignificant, but there is a lot to that simple tube of wood and graphite. Even something as seemingly simple as a pencil can go a long way to explaining how much more sophisticated objects come into being.

I identified with this quote:
“The story of initial enthusiasm, early discouragement, repeated frustration, constant distraction, prolonged determination, total isolation, and, finally, a serviceable but far from perfect product has all the ring of an honest recollection of a real engineering endeavour, an odyssey from idea to crude prototype to artifact to improved artifact as full of adventure as Ulysses’ travels. And this is a story of research and development that can be repeated, mutatis mutandis, with “lead pencil” erased and “light bulb,” “steam engine,” or “iron bridge” written in its place.”

I’m certainly not an engineer, but in making the things I do, I go through all those phases. It’s fun, it’s sad, it’s exhilarating, it’s frustrating. Getting that idea out of my head and into a physical form can be a roller-coaster of emotions at times, but it is ultimately satisfying. Acceptance of the fact that failure is often as much a part of the process as success, is a necessary prerequisite.

I like books about seemingly trivial items. I like being shown mundane things in a new light.

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky (who has also written a book about cod) is a book in a similar vein. A thoroughly readable and fascinating history about a subject most will consider banal beyond words. The subject matter may strike people as being as a dry as a pile of salt, but it really is a very edifying look at a substance that I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say, has built societies and empires. It touches on economics, politics, culinary practices, tradition, biology. 

A lot can be learned from what at first appear to be very prosaic.