Rubber eraser
Goma de borrar de caucho
- Date
- 1770 · confidence medium
- Place
- London, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Edward Nairne
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A piece of natural rubber that removes graphite by rubbing, sold by Nairne as a replacement for bread crumb. It is an essential companion to the pencil.
Joseph Priestley described rubber as an eraser in 1770, the same year as Nairne; priority is disputed.
What it led to
- clean erasure of graphite
- eraser attached to the pencil in 1858
- vulcanised erasers after Goodyear