Yard-O-Led

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Yard-O-Led
Company type Private
Industry Writing implements
Founded1934;91 years ago (1934) [1]
FounderLudwig Brenner [1]
Headquarters,
Key people
Tim Tufnell (Honorary President)
Products Fountain and ballpoint pens, mechanical pencils
Parent Filofax Group (1988–2015)
Website yard-o-led.com
Advert for Yard O Led from Weekly Dispatch (London) 2 December 1934 Yard O Led.png
Advert for Yard O Led from Weekly Dispatch (London) 2 December 1934

The Yard-O-Led Pencil Company is a manufacturing company founded in London, England in 1934.

Contents

History

It was founded by German immigrant Ludwig Brenner [1] to produce his patented propelling pencils which contained twelve three inch leads (that is to say, 36 inches or a yard of lead). Originally based in Premier House, 12-13 Hatton Garden, London, the company relocated in the late 1940s to 1 Great Cumberland Place, London.

After World War II, the company merged with Sampson Mordan Ltd whose founder had patented the first mechanical pencil in 1822. They built a new factory in Birmingham and acquired Edward Baker Ltd, another pencil maker. [2]

In 1988, the company was acquired by Filofax Group, [3] which owned it until 2015, when it was re-established as "Imperial Yard Ltd".

Yard-O-Led continues to produce fountain and ballpoint pens as well as mechanical pencils, most of which are made from hallmarked sterling silver.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Company history on Yard-O-Led website
  2. The story of Yard-O-Led
  3. "Filofax in swoop for city pen firm" . Birmingham Mail. England. 8 April 1988. Retrieved 27 December 2024 via British Newspaper Archive.

Further reading