Today, Derwent pencils are presented in a variety of attractive packaging to appeal
to artists worldwide. However, in those early days the pencils were simply tied
up in dozens and then in half grosses (I.E. 72s), ready for sale.
Although highly labour-intensive, the original factory could turn out 5 – 6 million
pencils a year (although today it is not unusual for us to produce 1 million in
a week!)