A collaboration with the historic Musgrave Pencil Co. in Shelbyville, TN, established in 1916. Drafting Set includes Red Cedar Box, (24) No. 2 Lead Pencils, Acrylic Ruler, Notepad and mini-print. Edition of 300. Designed by Invisible Creature.
Archival and factory photographs © Musgrave Pencil Co.

THE MUSGRAVE PENCIL CO. STORY

Col. James Raford Musgrave: Founder

Musgrave Pencil Company was founded in 1916 by Col. James Raford Musgrave. He situated his new facility in Shelbyville, Tennessee, where there were many cedar rail fences, which were perfect for making pencil slats. Because of its straight grain, light weight, ease of shaping, and ability to resist rot, Red Cedar was the preferred source of wood for the pencil industry, dating back to the 19th century. The largest crops of these desirable trees grew in the Eastern half of the United States. Musgrave cut the cedar fences into pencil slats and exported them to European pencil manufacturers in burlap sacks via the port of New Orleans, five hundred miles from land-locked Middle Tennessee.

From 1916 to 1923, Musgrave employed a team of workers whose job was to gather cedar fence posts and rails. The weathered wood was ideal for making pencil slats, being already dried and straight. In many cases, the farmers were happy to exchange their old wooden fences for new wire fences, installed for them by Musgrave workers. When the cedar trees needed by pencil manufacturers became scarce, this source of cedar kept Musgrave in business producing their slats for export.

Musgrave began to produce its own pencils in 1923. After the Treaty of Versailles brought an end to the first World War and opened up trade with Europe again, Col. Musgrave traveled to Europe and bartered his wooden slats for pencil-making technology from Europe. When he returned to the United States, he brought with him the machinery necessary to produce pencils of his own back in Tennessee. In nearby St. Louis, he found a German machinist who could operate the intricate machinery, and he helped Musgrave to set up shop in Shelbyville.

The Depression years were tough on the pencil industry, but Musgrave found a way to increase its business when consumers were buying fewer pencils. Musgrave helped to pave the way for advertising pencils, and that became a large part of Musgrave’s operation.

During WWII and the material rationing imposed on pencil manufacturers by the United States government, women kept the Musgrave factory running. They continued making the pencils that a nation at war still needed for its writing and educational needs while Musgrave’s male employees were fighting in Europe and the Pacific.

Several other pencil manufacturers set up shop in Shelbyville. Empire Pencil Company moved their factory from New York to Shelbyville. Musgrave helped the fellow pencil company to get their own factory up and running right across the street from the Musgrave factory. In the 1950s, the half-dozen pencil makers headquartered in Shelbyville inspired Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington to name the town The Pencil City. Generations of factory workers employed by Musgrave and other companies scented the air of Shelbyville with the smell of wood and paint.

Musgrave has operated largely unseen in recent decades, producing white-label pencils for advertising purposes and also for other brands. They have maintained a “heritage” series of pencils, and these have received increased attention in recent years. Currently about 90 employees work in the Musgrave factory and office.

Underscoring its dedication to Tennessee, in 2019, Musgrave became the first pencil manufacturer to make pencils out of Red Cedar in nearly a century. These pencils have been lauded by many pencil users.

Under its own brand, Musgrave currently produces more than a dozen different models of pencils for school-aged students, as well as high-quality pencils for the office environment. They make graded artists’ pencils and two premium pencils, the Tennessee Red and the Harvest Pro. Custom pencils are still a large portion of Musgrave’s business model, and they produce round and hexagonal pencils for their customers, as well as carpenter, golf, jumbo, and thinner bridge pencils.

In the midst of a renaissance of analog means of communication and renewed interest in handwriting in education, the arts, and psychological development, pencils in general are increasingly preferred to digital alternatives for note taking and other exercises in learning. Custom-printed and heritage Musgrave pencils can be found in many American schools.

Massive THANK YOU to Nicole Delger, Tim Delger & everyone at Musgrave for making this possible!
For the Musgrave story and factory images, additional thanks to
Johnny Gamber of Pencil Revolution and Emily Dorio Photography