What is an Indelible Pencil?
An indelible pencil is a pencil with a type of lead which cannot be erased. Classically, indelible pencils are made with silver nitrate, although other materials may be used as well, and sometimes graphite is mixed into the lead for a familiar look and feel. A closely related pencil, the copying pencil, is a form of indelible pencil with an aniline dye embedded in the lead. Indelible pencils were introduced in the early 1800s, as an alternative to the cumbersome and sometimes expensive pens of the era. Prior to the introduction of the indelible pencil, documents with any sense of permanence had to be written with fountain or quill pens. Indelible pencils created the desired lasting print, without the associated difficulties; markings made in indelible pencil would stay put if someone tried to erase the document, or if it was dropped into water or a solvent.
