Definition of "Conté"

Conté is an artificial chalk, of which there are various kinds. The square Conté, Number 1, is hard; Number 2, is soft; Number 3, is very soft. […] Dutch Chalk is a new kind, in some respects equal to the best Contés, and sold at a moderate price.

1849, H, part I, 2nd division (Light and Shade), page 10

A woman and a girl seated on chairs in a park. Conté crayon.

1992, Carol Clark, “Catalogue”, in Robert P. O’Neill, editor, American Drawings and Watercolors (The Robert Lehman Collection; VIII), New York, N.Y.: Metropolitan Museum of Art in association with Princeton University Press, page 51

Conté sticks and pencils are made of dry pigments mixed with wax or clay and compressed into square sticks or thin rods that can be held in a metal or wooden holder or sheath. Conté typically comes in varieties of whites, grays, browns, and blacks and in a range of densities from soft to hard; the harder forms have more binder or wax and the softer less.

2017, Al[bert F.] Gury, “Essential Drawing Materials”, in Foundations of Drawing: A Practical Guide to Art History, Tools, Techniques, and Styles, New York, N.Y.: Watson-Guptill Publications, page 48