Antique A.W. Faber 12 Crayons with Silver crayon holder in original box. Germany, circa 1880s, made for the French market

Antique A.W. Faber 12 Crayons with Silver crayon holder in original box. Germany, circa 1880s, made for the French market

Size box : 11 cm L x 5 cm W x 1 cm H

Size crayon : 5 cm L

Size crayon holder : 7 cm L

The company was originally established in 1761 when a carpenter by the name of Kaspar Faber (1730-1784) opened a small pencil factory in Stein, Germany. The business was called “A.W. Faber” after his son, Anton Wilhelm Faber (1758-1819), who grew the company into a flourishing pencil manufacturer. In 1900, an heiress to the Faber fortune (granddaughter of Lothar Faber) married a count of Castell and the newly united A.W. Faber-Castell soon began producing a high-quality line of “Castell” drawing and copying pencils. The company has its headquarters in Stein to this day, now operating under the name Faber-Castell with 8,000 employees worldwide.