Hardtmuth

Hardtmuth (or "L & C Hardtmuth"), more commonly known as "Koh-i-Noor Hardtmudt", is a historic producer of pencils and office supplies that was founded in 1790 by Joseph Hardtmudt, which in 1802 patented the first pencil made of clay and coal. Born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the company was transferred from the sons of the founder from Vienna to České Budějovice, currently in the Czech Republic. The company introduced in 1889 the line of pencils "Koh-i-Noor", called by the same name of the famous diamond to magnify their quality. To distinguish them, they were painted in yellow, a color that from then has become a classic for pencils.

The Koh-i-Noor brand became the hallmark of the company, that with Faber Castell was one of the leading European pencils producers and is still on the market in the field of stationery and drawing tools. In 1919 the American branch was opened in Bloomsbury, New Jersey, and in 1931 factories in Poland and Romania were opened in cooperation with the then Johann Faber.^[1]After World War II the factories in the eastern countries (Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia) were nationalized, while the American subsidiary separated from the parent company, becoming "Koh-i-noor USA". Only the Austrian company retained its original ownership. In 1957 the Riepe Works ceded to the "Koh-i-noor USA" the rights to the nº US-3020884 of the "Rapidograph". To date, the European rights for the "L&C Hardtmuth" and "Koh-I-Noor" trademarks are held by "Crayomine", founded in 1960 in Vaduz.

The company's activities in the fountain pen market derive mainly from the marketing of pens produced by others; in particular it marketed Waterman throughout Europe, for which they were the official agent until World War I. But sometimes there was also a marketing of own-brand fountain pens. Not many details are known about the company's own productions, although there are some advertisements around the 1930s that show own-branded ones but about which very little is known, and there is evidence of relations with the Union Vulpenhouderfabriek in the 1950s.^[2]

Refererences: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

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