History - Timeline of Writing Instruments

Sticks of lead, wrapped to protect the writer; and, a scrap of bread for an eraser, were commonly used in medieval times.  They were messy, and hard to come by.  Almost as hard to obtain as paper, these writing and sketching tools were still highly valued by the ones who would use them.

Photo used with permission and courtesy of Clare Dolan of the Museum of Every Day Life http://museumofeverydaylife.org