5Intimate and individual, pencil and paper are a personal touch in a digital age. The pencil is our direct connection between mind and page. We tell the story of an overlooked cultural icon with anecdotes, unexpected facts, and hand-drawn pencil-and-paper illustrations. This book features profiles of pencil crafters, anecdotes about famous writers and their favorite pencils, and essays about the surprising role of pencils in world history and culture. The Pencil Perfect explores the culture, heritage, manufacture, and meaning of the pencil. The humble instrument is now more relevant and romanticized than ever because it reconnects us with a simpler time. More and more of us are putting down the smartphone--and picking up a pencil. This small, every day object brings us back to the simple and the tangible.