Y is for… Yard O Led.
The Yard-O-Led Pencil Company was founded in London in 1934 by a Mr Brenner to produce his patent propelling pencils which contained twelve three inch leads (that is to say, 36 inches or a yard of lead). After the second world war the company merged with Sampson Mordan Ltd whose founder had patented the first mechanical pencil in 1822. They built a new factory in Birmingham and took over Edward Baker Ltd, another pencil maker.
The company is now part of the Letts Filofax Group and produces expensive fountain pens as well as pencils; most of which are made from hallmarked stirling silver.
To have a closer look at their beautiful collection of pens – check out the Filofax website.