Not so long ago, the time left us when instead of ballpoint and expensive fountain pens, our grandmothers wrote in school notebooks with a pen, dipping it in an ink bottle. Even earlier, their grandparents wrote with real goose feathers, and dipped them all in the same jars of ink. Not everyone now knows that these are inkwells.
Inkwell History
Everyone knows that writing has evolved differently in different countries. Somewhere, they used clay and a wand or bone to write texts, in other countries they wrote on pieces of leather with soot mixed with oil.
Finer material, such as papyrus or silk, was coated with paints extracted from plants. Some ancient ink recipes have come down to our time, but most have been irretrievably lost. Only one thing is known - if letters were applied with various devices, they kept the treasured colors in vessels that had one purpose - to save ink.
Thus, ink tanks appeared. Sometimes they were simple small barrels made of stone or ceramic. But there were also those who were not ashamed to bring a gift to the ruler.
Precious Ink Tanks
Ink vessels were very diverse. They were distinguished by material of execution. Sometimes they were made entirely of precious or semiprecious stones, additionally decorating with carving, enamel or smaller stones of another breed.
Metal vessels
Often there were inkwells made of metals, including precious ones. They were also decorated if the inkwell was made to order for a noble person or as a gift to the ruler. Often the extraordinary form in itself was the decoration of this product. And it was not always immediately clear that it was an inkwell.
Fancy inkwells
At present, it is difficult to even imagine that in ancient times simple clerks had to store liquid dyes not only in clay vessels, but also in containers less familiar to us. For example, the horn was a real find for the clerk. The skin, which was also used for storing ink, had to be processed and finished using a special method.
Transparent ink keepers
When people learned to work with glass well enough, they were able to appreciate its capabilities. For the first time glass inkwells began to be made in England. Small vessels with various facets have reached our time. These are the inkwells that made glassblowers. Sometimes the glass was specially painted over, but not to such an extent that it was impossible to understand whether the vessel was full or not.
Not a drop past
Inkpots are a container of paint that dipped a pen. Often many hours of writing a letter or document ended in an unfortunate accident - a drop of paint fell on the paper in the center or somewhere on the side of the paper and spread with an ugly blot. Or a negligent clerk knocked over an inkwell on a document. Yes, and students often brought home notebooks, abundantly stained with spilled paint. All this almost came to naught with the advent of special ink tanks. These were the vessels into which the cone went. A similar product by English masters quickly gained the respect of all who often used ink tanks. Indeed, in order for the paint to pour out of the container, it had to be shaken violently. And falling to one side or even overturning, the inkstand, thanks to its cunning design, did not pluck out a drop from itself!
Time forward!
Until people invented a refillable fountain pen, and then a ballpoint pen, it was believed that inkwell was an integral part of a desk. But time did not stand still. Progress has completely changed both the appearance of writing instruments and the principle of supplying ink to paper. Now the children, having seen the photo of the inkwell, do not always understand what this subject is, and they have to explain all the wisdom of the ancient writing.