In the early 1920s, no one could have imagined how the schoolchildren’s kits in their pencil-cases would change. Pencils, nibs, erasers – or rather, eraser-sticks – rulers and pencil sharpeners had been manufactured for decades in the same way, unchanged in terms of shape and material.
Quite the opposite, during the 20th century school supplies underwent a major change, in parallel with the evolution and modernisation of the country’s education system. The objects contained in school pencil-cases represent the red thread of an unusual journey that traces, from an unprecedented perspective, the changes in society and above all in the school world, as well as in the industry connected to this sector.
Contents
Foreword. Italian School Kit from 1900 until the Present Day
Giovanni Renzi
Between the Wars: the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s pencil case
The nib
Graphite pencils
Presbitero
G. Confalonieri
Erasers
The nib cleaner
Crayons or pastels (coloured pencils)
Post-war: the 1950s and 1960s pencil cases
The fountain pen
Aurora S.r.l.
Blotting paper
Lus (Legnani Umberto Saronno),
then Mondial Lus
Pencil sharpener
The ballpoint pen. The Biro
The ruler
1970s and 1980s.
The colour box
Markers
Rico S.r.l.
Crayons (coloured pencils) of classic lenght (18 cm)
Fila (Fabbrica Italiana Lapis e Affini)
From the 1990s until today:
the multi-ethnic pencil case
Stabilo
Invicta
Faber-Castell
Glossary