One could use a pencil in the Georgian era, but they didn’t have the good old No. 2 at the ready. Pencils were nothing more than a stick of graphite.

To keep the hands clean during writing, one could wrap the graphite with twine. If money were no object, then wood and metal cases could be purchased in which to encase the graphite, but these were notorious for slipping while writing.

Graphite, at the time, was as precious as gold. So precious, in fact, there were acts of Parliament making it a felony to steal graphite or mine one’s own. Graphite, and in our case here, the pencil, was expensive, well-guarded, and strictly controlled, sold only in London at a specified day and place once a month.

This first link is a must read to learn more:

Regency Redingote: The Precious Regency Pencil

Golden Romance Research: Writing Implements

Banner image: Goose Bay Workshops: Museum Reproductions (pencils in image are produced for purchase by Goose Bay Workshops)