Victorian pencil holder, struck with marks for Thomas de la Rue & Co., Birmingham, 1899.

Victorian pencil holder, struck with marks for Thomas de la Rue & Co., Birmingham, 1899.

Size: 7.8 cm L x 0.8 cm W

De La Rue developed the first practical fountain pen in 1881. Products were marketed under the "Onoto" brand. Production of fountain pens by De La Rue ceased in Britain in 1958 but continued for a few more years in Australia.

The company was founded by Thomas de la Rue, who moved from Guernsey to London in 1821 and set up in business as a Leghorn straw hat maker, then as a stationer and printer. In 1831 he secured a Royal Warrant for his business to produce playing cards. In 1855 it started printing postage stamps and in 1860 banknotes. The company's first banknotes were made for Mauritius. In 1896, the family partnership was converted into a private company.

In 1921, the de la Rue family sold their interests. The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1947. Then called Thomas De La Rue & Company, Limited, it changed its name in 1958 to The De La Rue Company Limited.