Pioneering design, fine craftsmanship, family ties and a rich heritage makes the Yard-O-Led range of writing instruments so covetable.

History:
1822: Sampson Mordan, based in the city Road, London, invented and patented the first ever propelling pencil. One of his lifelong employees, who features later in the company’s history was Frank Tufnell.

1934: Ludwig Brenner moved to England from Germany shortly before the First world war. He specialised in fine jewellery and in 1934 founded the Yard-o-Led company, patenting a new version of the propelling pencil that was able to hold 12 three inch leads, thus the name..(a yard of led)

1941: During the London Blitz the premises of both Sampson Mordan and yard-O-led was destroyed, along with the records and archives of both companies.

1946: Sampson Mordan never traded again after the war. However over the coming years Mr. Brenner teamed up with Frank Tufnell’s son, eventually selling yard-O-Led business to the Tufnell family. At the same time they acquired patents for the Sampson Mordan pens, continuing the family link between the two companies. The company flourished, and became renowned for its heritage and excellent craftsmanship.

1970: Tim Tufnell, Frank’s son, joined the company and yard-O-Led continued to grow, building on a reputation for making beautiful individual pieces, and connections with the writing instrument trade reaching back to the early 19th century.

TODAY: The Yard-O-Led range of fine writing instruments is admired worldwide foir its quality, individuality and valued sense of heritage.

Influenced by original designs of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Yard-O-Led range of writing instruments includes fountain pens, ballpens and rollerball pens in addition to the unique propelling pencil. The entire line of YOL pieces reflects a devotion to Great Britain's rich heritage of constitutional monarchy, the very names of many of the collections evoking specific elements of England's noble history:
Viceroy, Viceroy Grand, and Viceroy Pocket
Edwardian
Sceptre
Diplomat
Regent
Others, such as Deco and the Topaz Limited Edition, recall the jeweller's origin of the company. Each pen or pencil, except the Retro and collections, is hand crafted from hallmarked sterling silver, individually numbered and comes complete with a lifetime guarantee. YOL nibs, made in Germany by JoWo Berliner Schreibfeder GmbH, since 1852, possess that combination of flexibility and “spring-like” tautness which allows an ever-so-slight variance in pressure, coupled with changes in the slant in which the pen is held, giving the scrivener the ability to alter stroke width. Yard-0-Led pieces are now sold all over the world, with many of the hand crafted pens & pencils that the team produces at the factory, still based on designs first created in the nineteenth century.