French:
crayon conté
Key People:
Nicolas-Jacques Conté
Related Topics:
drawing
pencil

conté crayon, drawing pencil named after Nicolas-Jacques Conté, the French scientist who invented it late in the 18th century. The conté crayon is an especially hard pencil, made of an admixture of graphite and clay that can be varied for different degrees of hardness. It is usually made in black, red, or brown and is used as a drawing medium in any combination of these colours.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer.
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