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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Faber-Castell}}[[Image:Logo-FaberCastell.svg|center|350px|Faber-Castell Logo]]

''Faber-Castell'' activities went back to the eighteenth century, and the company is still known mainly for its work as a producer of pencils, carried out continuously from its origins. But also if pencils production has always been the main activity of the company, it can be put in the list of the main German fountain pen producer thanks to its acquisition of [[Osmia]] done in 1935, a trademark that was used up to the beginning of '60s, when the disposable ball point pushed ''Faber-Castell'' into production of economical models.

While there are some fountain pens produced before the [[Osmia]] acquisition, ''Faber-Castell'' quality production is almost identified by this brand. Later production from '60s is quite insignificant, and it was interrupted in 1975 when company underwent a rebuild, erasing this section to concentrate in its pencil core business. But fountain pen production was restarted in recent years, when the interest for this unique writing instrument arise again.{{Infobox_Brand|Faber-Castell}}{{BrandData|Ancestor=Kaspar Faber|Founder=Alexander Castell|Place=Stein|OrigDate=1761|Date=1898|ProdDate=1908|Country=DE}}
==History==

''Faber-Castell'' origins are traced back to [[1761]]<ref>good part of the company's early history is taken from the historical information once posted on the official website, which can still be reached at [https://web.archive.org/web/20070812201119/http://www.faber-castell.de:80/docs/index.asp?id=17143&domid=1010&sp=E&addlastid=&m1=10329&m2=17138&m3=17143 this address].</ref> when ''Kaspar Faber'' began a production of pencils in Stein, a village located close to Nuremberg. The activity was developed by his son ''Anton Wilhelm Faber'', who created the ''A. W. Faber'' company, and then passed to his son. The real architects of the company success, however, was the grandson ''Lothar von Faber'', which took the direction of a declining company and with the invention of modern wooden pencil, remained unchanged to this day, built the success of the ''[[A. W. Faber]]'' brand.

In the mid of 1800 ''Faber-Castell'' was already a large international company, directed by ''Lothar von Faber'' with the help of its brothers Johan and Eberhard Faber. Both Eberhard and Johan created their own companies, the first in New York, where he went to direct the U.S. subsidiary of the mother company, who in [[1861]] founded in Brooklin the ''[[Eberhard Faber]] Pencil Co.'', always producing pencils, the second in Nuremberg, where in [[1879]] he founded a personal company, which in [[1885]] became a family limited partnership, the ''[[Johan Faber A. G.]]''.

Johan Faber started also a production of fountain pens around the '20s; they were mainly [[safety]] hard rubber pens but a [[button filler]] was also produced; also some metal models were produced. The company logo consisted of two crossed hammers, and on the hard rubber models caps was imprinted the name Johan Faber, also reported on the clip. In the late '20s a [[piston filler]] series was produced, with rounded ends and up to four band on the cap.

The main branch of the company remained under ''Lothar Faber'' direction until his death, after that his wife took over the management and then, in [[1898]], the count ''Alexander zu Castell'', who had married his niece. He renamed the company using the name under which its is still known today, transforming it into the  ''A. W. Faber-Castell''. The production, however, remained focused on pencils, and the first fountain pen, a hard rubber [[safety]] pen, is traced back to [[1908]]. The pen was imprinted with the words ''A. W. Faber-Castell'' and given the similarity of its filling mechanism, is quite probable that it had been produced by [[Kaweco]] on commission.

After the death of ''Alexander Castell'' in [[1929]] the company became a family limited partnership. His son Roland obtained between [[1931]] and [[1932]] the reunification between the ''A. W. Faber-Castell'' and the ''[[Johan Faber A. G.]]'', giving life to the actual ''Faber-Castell''. In [[1935]] ''Faber-Castell'' began to buy shares of the  ''[[Osmia]] A. G.'', that at that time was between the major German fountain pen producers, taking control over the company in order to have a strong starting point in pens manufacturing.

Despite the acquisition of [[Osmia]], ''Faber-Castell'' also produced some model with just its brand, in [[1936]] was produced a model with the ''Faber-Castell'' name engraved on all parts of the pen, available in four colors, the pen was a [[piston filler]] with and finishes (band and clip) in 14k gold, and bore the logo of the company, a balance that represented trade integrity.

[[Image:1937-07-FaberCastell-n36.jpg|thumb|upright|A ''Faber-Castell'' advertising]]

After [[Osmia]] acquisition pens were just marked adding an ''A. W. Faber-Castell Dossenheim'' inscription, keeping the original trademark. In the late '30s, because of World War II, like all other German manufacturers the company suffered major difficulties, but despite the production was reduced for the call to arms of most of the employees, it remained active. After the war, not having the facilities suffered significant damage, production was resumed at full speed from [[1946]], proposing the same models of before, but with only with a [[piston filler]] and with the explicit endorsement (in addition to the [[Osmia]] brand and logo) of ''A. W. Faber-Castell''.

Since [[1949]] ''Faber-Castell'' also began producing ballpoint pens, and in [[1950]] introduced a torpedo shaped model, called [[Gentleman]] in black or gray pearl and silver. The pen had revolutionary features like a butterfly shaped clip and a particular [[piston filler]] which contained part of the mechanism in the knob, allowing a greatest dimension of the tank; it was made with a transparent body covered by an opaque plastic cylinder with a regular series of etchings that at the same time had the role of facilitating the grip of the pen and allow viewing the ink level.

In the early '60s the [[Osmia]] trademark was no longer used;  a number of hooded nib plastic models were introduced, they were thinner than previous one and marked ''A. W. Faber-Castell'',  with a transparent section for ink level view. The luxury line was called [[Faber-Castell 66|66]], with body in black, red, blue or green plastic, rolled gold cap and gold nib, the mid range models were called [[Faber-Castell Progress]] and produced in three versions: the 77S in plastic with a steel nib, the 55S with silver cap, plastic body and steel nib, the 55G with gold nib. It was also produced a student model called 54VT, because the ''Vest Tank'', with a secondary reservoir usable through a valve.

In the late '60s, as for most of the other fountain pens producers, having also completely erased a prestigious brand that enjoyed a wide popularity, sales had an irreversible decline, holding only partially for the students pens. In [[1975]], during a corporation restructuration, ''Faber-Castell'' completely eliminated the entire field of fountain pens production, resuming today, with the return of interest for this popular writing tool.

==External references==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070812201119/http://www.faber-castell.de:80/docs/index.asp?id=17143&domid=1010&sp=E&addlastid=&m1=10329&m2=17138&m3=17143] The company history from the official website (archives)
* [https://www.eberhardfaber.com/Company/heritage/history] An history of the [[Eberhard Faber]]
* [https://fountainpendesign.wordpress.com/fountain-pen-nib-design-function/fountain-pen-nib-manufacturing-slitting-tipping/fountain-pen-nib-manufacture-faber-america/] An article on nib making centered on the American subsidiary of ''[[A. W. Faber]]'' and the ''[[Eberhard Faber]]''
==Note== 
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