Faber, Lothar von

born June 12, 1817, Stein, Bavaria

died July 26, 1896, Stein

German manufacturer of writing products and art supplies.

He took over the family pencil business in Bavaria and transformed it into a worldwide firm, establishing branches throughout Europe and the U.S. and contracting in 1856 for exclusive control of all graphite being mined in Siberia. His brother John Eberhard Faber (1822–79) settled in the U.S. in 1849 and built a large Faber manufacturing plant. The Eberhard Faber Pencil Co. was incorporated in the U.S. in 1898, and in the same year the German company was renamed Faber-Castell. The contemporary company, Faber-Castell AG, manufactures pens, pencils, and art supplies.

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▪ German entrepreneur

born June 12, 1817, Stein, Bavaria [Germany]

died July 26, 1896, Stein

      German entrepreneur who expanded a family pencil business into a worldwide firm preeminent in the manufacture of writing products and art supplies.

      Taking over a pencil business started by his great-grandfather Kaspar Faber (died 1784) near Nürnberg, Lothar von Faber established branches of the company throughout Europe and in the United States and contracted (1856) for exclusive control of all graphite being mined in eastern Siberia at that time. He won (1881) a patent of nobility and an appointment as councillor of state for his services to German industry. The German branch of the company was renamed Faber-Castell in 1898 when Lothar von Faber's granddaughter and heiress married Count Alexander zu Castell-Rüdenhausen, who took over the company's management in 1900. Members of the Faber-Castell family continued to run the business into the 21st century.

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