--- title: "STAEDTLER History: From 1662 Pencils to a Foundation" canonical: "https://stationerytimes.com/stories/staedtler-history/" description: "STAEDTLER history from German sources: Friedrich Staedtler's pencils of 1662, the 1835 factory, the Kreutzer family, the Mars mark and the foundation owner." category: "Stories" published: 2026-10-23 updated: 2026-10-23 author: "Ellis Penhale" publisher: "Stationery Times" sources: 8 organizations: - name: "STAEDTLER SE" country: "Germany" founded: "1835" parent: "STAEDTLER-Stiftung" parent_since: "1997" brands: ["Staedtler"] source: "https://www.staedtler.com/de/de/entdecken/staedtler-zahlen-und-fakten/" --- # STAEDTLER History: From 1662 Pencils to a Foundation > STAEDTLER traces its roots to Friedrich Staedtler, recorded as a Nuremberg pencil maker in 1662, but counts its founding from 1835, when Johann Sebastian Staedtler was licensed to run a pencil factory. The Kreutzer family bought the firm in the 1880s, and since 1997 the non-profit STAEDTLER-Stiftung has owned all of it. - URL: https://stationerytimes.com/stories/staedtler-history/ - Category: Stories - Author: Ellis Penhale - Published: 2026-10-23 - Updated: 2026-10-23 ![A blue Mars Lumograph pencil and a yellow-and-black Noris pencil beside a STAEDTLER timeline from 1662 to 2024](https://stationerytimes.com/images/raster/staedtler-history-16x9.png) *Seven dates in STAEDTLER's history, from the first Nuremberg record of a Staedtler pencil maker to the company's change to a European company, as STAEDTLER's German pages and the Neue Deutsche Biographie give them.* Original drawing (SVG): . Drawings © 2026 Stationery Times, reusable with credit under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ## Key takeaways - Nuremberg baptism records call Friedrich Staedtler, baptized on November 17, 1636, a lead-pencil maker in 1662; he won citizenship of the imperial city in 1675. - Johann Sebastian Staedtler (1800–1872) made a wood-cased red crayon public in 1834 and got his factory licence on October 9, 1835; his 1860 catalogue offered 100 colors. - Brothers Ludwig and Hans Kreutzer took over J.S. Staedtler between 1880 and 1886, and its pencils carried the Mars mark from 1900, according to the Neue Deutsche Biographie. - STAEDTLER reports about 2,000 staff, 6 factories (4 in Germany, 2 in Peru) and 2023 sales of 361 million euros (about US$404 million). - The STAEDTLER-Stiftung has held every share since 1997 and says it has given more than 22 million euros (about US$25 million) to over 630 projects. STAEDTLER makes the blue Mars Lumograph, the yellow-and-black Noris and the pigment liner, and it is one of the oldest names in pencils. Every date below comes from STAEDTLER's German history and fact pages, its foundation's page and the Neue Deutsche Biographie, the German national biography, translated by us. ## What is the history of STAEDTLER? **STAEDTLER grew from a Nuremberg pencil-making family first recorded in 1662 into Europe's largest maker of pencils, markers and modelling clay, and has belonged to a non-profit foundation since 1997.** The company counts its founding from 1835, when Johann Sebastian Staedtler opened his own factory, J.S. Staedtler. STAEDTLER's fact page lists its head office in Nuremberg, six factories, about 2,000 staff and sales of 361 million euros (about US$404 million) in 2023. Our [Nuremberg pencil makers](https://stationerytimes.com/stories/nuremberg-pencil-makers/) story explains why the city became Germany's pencil capital. ## STAEDTLER timeline: 1662 to 2024 **The STAEDTLER story runs from a Nuremberg shopkeeper's pencils in 1662 to a foundation-owned European company in 2024.** Dates are from STAEDTLER's German history page unless noted; the product years are those printed on the page's milestone pictures. | Date | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | November 17, 1636 | Friedrich Staedtler baptized in Nuremberg | STAEDTLER history | | 1662 | Friedrich Staedtler recorded as a lead-pencil maker; the city council tells him to stop | STAEDTLER history | | 1675 | Friedrich Staedtler gains citizenship of the imperial city of Nuremberg | STAEDTLER history | | 1834 | Johann Sebastian Staedtler makes public a wood-cased red crayon that sharpens like a pencil | STAEDTLER history | | October 9, 1835 | J.S. Staedtler licensed to run a factory; the company's founding date | STAEDTLER history | | 1844 | Colored pencils in more colors made, at the latest | STAEDTLER history | | 1853 | Exhibits at the New York world's fair | STAEDTLER history | | 1860 | First surviving catalogue: Creta Polycolor in 100 colors | STAEDTLER history | | 1878 | Abraham Jakob Staedtler puts J.S. Staedtler up for sale | Neue Deutsche Biographie | | 1880–1886 | Brothers Ludwig and Hans Kreutzer take over | Neue Deutsche Biographie | | 1900 | Products sold under the Mars mark | STAEDTLER history; NDB | | 1912 | The Kreutzers also buy W. Staedtler & Co. | Neue Deutsche Biographie | | 1934 | The Noris gets its yellow-and-black stripes | STAEDTLER history | | 1964 | First Lumocolor overhead-projector pen | STAEDTLER history | | 1965 | Mars plastic eraser | STAEDTLER history | | 1978 | Buys Eberhard Faber GmbH of Neumarkt, with FIMO | STAEDTLER history | | 1988 | Marsgraphic pigment liner 308 | STAEDTLER history | | 1997 | STAEDTLER-Stiftung founded; holds all shares; triplus learner's pencil | STAEDTLER facts; history | | 2009 | WOPEX, an extruded pencil made from wood chips | STAEDTLER history | | January 2024 | Business of STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG moves into STAEDTLER SE | POELLATH release | ## Who was Friedrich Staedtler? **Friedrich Staedtler was a Nuremberg shopkeeper who, from about 1662, made wood-cased graphite pencils himself, and STAEDTLER calls him the first German pencil maker named in the records.** The son of a gold- and silver-wire drawer, he was baptized on November 17, 1636. What set him apart, the company says, was that he made both the lead and its wooden casing. That annoyed Nuremberg's joiners, and the city council banned him from the work, but he kept at it. The baptism records of his first two children call him a lead-pencil maker in 1662 and a lead cutter and pencil maker in 1664, and in 1675 his success earned him citizenship of the imperial city. Friedrich was an ancestor, not the founder: the company counts from 1835. Our [Nuremberg story](https://stationerytimes.com/stories/nuremberg-pencil-makers/) covers the council's 1662 ruling and the guild that followed. ## Who founded STAEDTLER in 1835? **Johann Sebastian Staedtler, born in 1800 to the Nuremberg pencil maker Paulus Staedtler, founded the company when he was licensed to run a factory on October 9, 1835.** His firm, J.S. Staedtler, made graphite pencils and an improved red crayon. STAEDTLER's history says he had made public in 1834 a wood-cased red crayon that "could be sharpened to the finest point like pencils" and kept its color and hardness. He ground pigments with binders and dried them in an oven, and other colors followed by 1844 at the latest. STAEDTLER calls this the birth of the colored pencil as we know it. By 1860 the catalogue offered Creta Polycolor pencils in 100 colors, with names such as English dark red, sea green and azure blue. After a show at the 1853 New York world's fair, J.S. Staedtler sold across Europe, to America and to the Middle East. The Neue Deutsche Biographie puts its 1866 output at over 2 million pencils, made by 54 workers, mostly at home. ## How did STAEDTLER pass to the Kreutzer family? **After a severe business crisis, Abraham Jakob Staedtler, the founder's grandson, put J.S. Staedtler up for sale in 1878, and brothers Ludwig and Hans Kreutzer owned it by 1886.** That account is from the Neue Deutsche Biographie's entry on the Staedtler family; STAEDTLER's own history page skips this chapter. The family had split into several firms by then. Johann Sebastian's sons Wolfgang and Abraham Jakob had started W. Staedtler & Co. in 1856, and the Kreutzers bought that firm too in 1912. Under the Kreutzer family, the biography says, the former Staedtler businesses grew into a large international company. ## When did the Mars, Noris and Lumograph names appear? **STAEDTLER's products have carried the Mars mark since 1900, and the Noris pencil got its yellow-and-black stripes in 1934.** STAEDTLER's history says it registered the Mars brand "in winter" and shows the year 1900 with that milestone; the Neue Deutsche Biographie gives the same year. The Noris name honors Nuremberg's old nickname. Our [STAEDTLER Noris](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/staedtler-noris/) guide gives 1901 for the Noris trademark, from a STAEDTLER anniversary page, and a German pencil blog's account of the stripes. STAEDTLER calls the [Mars Lumograph](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/staedtler-mars-lumograph/), the Noris and the Lumocolor markers cult classics but doesn't date the Lumograph. Its milestones add the [Mars plastic eraser](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/staedtler-mars-plastic-eraser/) in 1965 and the [pigment liner 308](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/staedtler-pigment-liner-308/) in 1988. The [triplus fineliner](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/staedtler-triplus-fineliner/) belongs to the triplus family, which began with a learner's pencil in 1997. ## How did STAEDTLER end up making FIMO? **STAEDTLER bought Eberhard Faber GmbH of Neumarkt in 1978, and with it the rights to FIMO modelling clay.** The clay began with Sophie Rehbinder-Kruse, daughter of the doll maker Käthe Kruse, who worked on a clay for doll heads from 1939 and launched it as FIMOIK in 1954. Eberhard Faber sold it as FIMO from 1964. STAEDTLER has sold FIMO under its own mark since 2009, and its fact page says it is the world market leader in industrial plasticine. ## Who owns STAEDTLER today? **The STAEDTLER-Stiftung, a non-profit foundation in Nuremberg, has owned all of the STAEDTLER group since it was set up in 1997.** STAEDTLER's fact page calls it a public foundation under civil law that supports research at German universities and culture in the Nuremberg region. The foundation says it has given more than 22 million euros (about US$25 million) to over 630 projects, mainly at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg. Its board is made up of business leaders, not family members. The operating company is STAEDTLER SE, registered in Nuremberg and run by an executive board chaired by Matthias Greiner. The law firm POELLATH said on January 10, 2024 that the business of STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG had been moved into the new European company. Our [who owns which stationery brands](https://stationerytimes.com/stories/who-owns-which-stationery-brands/) story lists STAEDTLER among the makers no larger group owns, and our [how a pencil is made](https://stationerytimes.com/stories/how-a-pencil-is-made/) story explains the clay-and-graphite lead that Nuremberg's makers adopted. ## What couldn't we confirm? **STAEDTLER's German and English pages disagree on how Johann Sebastian was related to Friedrich: the German says great-great-grandson, the English great-grandson.** We follow the German page. STAEDTLER's history page shows the product years only on its milestone pictures, not in the text. It doesn't name the year the Mars Lumograph came out or when the Kreutzer family's ownership ended; the 1997 foundation is the next step it records. The Neue Deutsche Biographie gives the takeover only as "1880/86". ## Frequently asked questions ### Is STAEDTLER a German company? Yes. STAEDTLER SE has its head office in Nuremberg, where the company began in 1835. It runs four factories in Germany and two in Peru, and says 75% of what it makes in Germany is exported. ### Who owns STAEDTLER pencils? The STAEDTLER-Stiftung, a non-profit foundation under German civil law based in Nuremberg. It has held all shares of the STAEDTLER group since it was set up in 1997, and funds university research, mainly at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, and culture in the Nuremberg region. ### Is STAEDTLER still owned by the Staedtler family? No. A Staedtler family member sold J.S. Staedtler in 1878 after a business crisis, and brothers Ludwig and Hans Kreutzer owned it by 1886, according to the Neue Deutsche Biographie. Since 1997 a foundation, not a family, has held all the shares. ### Did STAEDTLER invent the colored pencil? STAEDTLER says so: Johann Sebastian Staedtler made public a wood-cased red crayon, based on oil and chalk, that could be sharpened like a pencil in 1834, and colored pencils in other colors followed by 1844 at the latest. Other makers made colored crayons before, so treat it as the company's claim. ### What does the Mars head on STAEDTLER pencils mean? It is the head of Mars, the Roman god, used as STAEDTLER's mark. The company's history says it registered the Mars brand one winter and shows the logo changing over time; the Neue Deutsche Biographie dates the Mars mark on its products to 1900. ### Why is the Noris pencil called Noris? Noris is an old Latin-style nickname for Nuremberg. STAEDTLER says the Noris pencils honor the city that has been its home for almost 200 years. ### Does STAEDTLER make FIMO? Yes. Sophie Rehbinder-Kruse launched the clay as FIMOIK in 1954, Eberhard Faber of Neumarkt sold it as FIMO from 1964, and STAEDTLER bought Eberhard Faber GmbH with the rights in 1978. Since 2009 FIMO has carried STAEDTLER's own mark. ### When did STAEDTLER become STAEDTLER SE? The change was announced in January 2024. The law firm that advised on it said on January 10, 2024 that the business of STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG had passed to the new STAEDTLER SE, a European company. ## Sources - [STAEDTLER (German): Historie (Friedrich Staedtler, baptized 1636, pencil maker 1662, citizen 1675; J.S. Staedtler, 1834 crayon, licence October 9, 1835; 1860 catalogue; 1853 New York; FIMO 1954, 1964, 1978, 2009; milestones)](https://www.staedtler.com/de/de/unternehmen/ueber-staedtler/historie/) - [STAEDTLER (German): Zahlen und Fakten (founded 1835; 6 plants; about 2,000 staff; 2023 sales 361 million euros; STAEDTLER-Stiftung owner since 1997)](https://www.staedtler.com/de/de/entdecken/staedtler-zahlen-und-fakten/) - [STAEDTLER-Stiftung (German): Die Stiftung (all shares since 1997; over 22 million euros to more than 630 projects; board)](https://www.staedtler.com/stiftung/de/stiftung/) - [STAEDTLER (German): Aus Leidenschaft für Kreativität (1834 colored pencil; Upcycled Wood pencils 2009 and 2015; NORIX 2025)](https://www.staedtler.com/de/de/entdecken/staedtler-aus-leidenschaft-fuer-kreativitaet/) - [STAEDTLER (German): Impressum (STAEDTLER SE, Nuremberg, HRB 42321; executive board)](https://www.staedtler.com/de/de/impressum/) - [STAEDTLER: History (English version; says 'great-grandson' where the German page says 'Ur-Ur-Enkel')](https://www.staedtler.com/intl/en/company/about-staedtler/history/) - [Neue Deutsche Biographie 25 (2013), Richard Winkler: Staedtler (family firms, 1866 output, sale 1878, Kreutzer brothers 1880/86, Mars mark 1900, 2009 sales)](https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz125184.html) - [POELLATH: POELLATH advises STAEDTLER Group on restructuring, January 10, 2024 (STAEDTLER SE; PDF)](https://www.pplaw.com/sites/default/files/2024-01/240110-POELLATH%20advises%20STAEDTLER%20Group%20on%20restructuring_0.pdf)