Tablets of wax are used at this…

Tablets of wax are used at this time (prior to the invention of the rubber eraser), to erase graphite or charcoal marks from paper.

Joseph Priestley on April 15, 1770, describes a vegetable gum which has the ability to rub out pencil marks: "I have seen a substance excellently adapted to the purpose of wiping from paper the mark of black lead pencil."

He dubs the substance "rubber".

Edward Nairne, an English engineer, is credited with developing the first widely marketed rubber eraser for an inventions competition in 1770.

He reportedly sells natural rubber erasers for the high price of three shillings per half-inch cube.

According to Nairne, he had inadvertently picked up a piece of rubber instead of breadcrumbs, discovered rubber's erasing properties, and began selling rubber erasers.

This is the first practical application of the substance in Europe, and rubbing out the pencil marks gives it its English name.