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3000 BCE
Reed Stylus
The earliest record of writing documents came from the Mesopotamian civilization. Since paper wasn't invented around this time, people used clay tablets or other surfaces to inscribe their messages. -
2500 BCE
Ink
Ink was said to be invented by the Egyptians and the Chinese. It's believed that ink was made by mizing carbon and gum, molding and drying them into sticks. When you were ready to use it you had to dip it water first. -
400 BCE
Reed Pen
Scribes of Ancient Egyptian began to use these since they discovered the use of wax tablets,since they were easier to erase on. The only problem was that the was could melt easily. SO they had to come up with something that used ink. Said to have appeared somewhere around the 4'th century. -
300 BCE
Ink brush
The ink brush was invented in China, but the first intact one was found in 1954. -
600
Quill Pen
The quill pen came about when scribes decided that they could no longer use reed pens. They stopped using reed pens because, they didn't last very long and they were too stiff. Quill pens were made out of flight bird feathers, where the hallow end would be used to hold the ink, then be transferred to the paper. Which would eventually co me with it's own upgrades within ink and erasers. -
1564
"Lead" Pencils
What we know as the traditional wooden pencil, made it's first appearance in 1564. It came to existence after a graphite mine was discovered in Borrowdale, Cambria, England. The pure graphite was sawn into square sheets, then rods, where they would then be put into their wooden holders. -
1565
Mechanical Pencil
The first rendition of the mechanical pencil was invented in 1565, but it was more like a leadholder. The first mechanical pencil (that we're used to) that could actually propel the lead and could be replaced was invented in 1822 by Sampson Mordan and John Isaac Hawkins. -
Fountain Pen
Fountain pens are known as pens that had ink reservoirs. The oldest known fountain pen was designed in 1702 by M. Bion. Later modifications were also made. -
Colored Chalk
Chalk, itself had already been around, but James Pillans has been credited with inventing colored chalk. It is said that he simply did this by combining ground chalk, dyes and porridge. -
Colored Pencils
The first colored oil pastel pencil was invented in 1834. The first official art color pencil was created in 1924. -
Crayons
Crayons were invented originally in 1902, but up for sale in 1903. This mixture was created by replacing charcoal with pigments of different hues and substituting wax for oil. -
Ballpoint Pen
In 1938, the first ballpoint pen was sold by László Bíró. Many patents came along after this. -
Permanent Marker
The permanent marker was invented in 1952, by Sidney Rosenthal. Sharpie Permanent Markers hadn't launched until 1964. -
Highlighter
The highlighter was invented in 1962 by a Japanese inventor Yukio Horie of the Tokyo Stationery Company. Thid version of the highlight was known as the first predecessor. It was considered the first felt tip pen that used water based ink. -
Eraseable Marker
Dry erase marmers were patented in 1975 after the invention of whiteboards in the late 50's.
