Fountain Pen History Using Fountain Pens Nibs Fountain Pens As

These Parker Duofolds from the 1920s used the Lucky Curve feed system and self-filled using a "button filler". They were quite long; nearly 7 inches long when posted.

1 History

The earliest historical record of a reservoir pen dates to the 10th century, and the earliest reservoir pens to survive date to the 18th century. Progress was slow, however, up until the early 19th century, after which there was a steadily accelerating stream of fountain pen patents and pens in production. It was only after three key inventions were in place, however, that the fountain pen became a widely popular writing instrument. Those inventions were the iridium-tipped goldFor alternative meanings, see gold (disambiguation Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au ( L. aurum and atomic number 79. A soft, shiny, yellow, heavy, malleable, ductile (trivalent and univalent) transition metal, gold d nib, hard rubberThis article is about the material rubber, for other uses see Rubber (disambiguation Rubber is an elastic hydrocarbon polymer which occurs as a milky emulsion (known as latex) in the sap of a number of plants but can also be produced synthetically. The ma, and free-flowing ink.

M. Klein and Henry W. Wynne received US patent #68445 in 1867Events January 8 African-American men granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia January 11 Benito Juarez becomes Mexican president again January 30 Emperor Komei of Japan dies. Crown Prince Mutsuhito is expected to become the next Emperor of J for an ink chamber and delivery system in the handle of the fountain pen.

The first fountain pens making use of all these key ingredients came out in the 1850sEvents and Trends Crimean war ( 1854 1856) fought between Imperial Russia and an alliance consisting of the United Kingdom, the Second French Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire. The majority of the conflict takes place around Crimea, o, but it was in the 1880sEvents and Trends About 300 000 Swedes emigrate to the United States. First Boer War First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. First steel frame construction "sky-scrapers" The New Imperialism Science and technology J that the era of the mass-producedMass production is the production of large amounts of standardised products on production lines. It was popularised by Tony Razo in the early 20th Century, notably in his T Model Mass production is notable because it permits very high rates of production fountain pen finally began. The dominant American producers in this pioneer era were Waterman and Wirt, based in New York CitySkyline, with Statue of Liberty New York, New York" redirects here. For alternate meanings, see New York, New York (disambiguation). New York — officially named City of New York and often called New York City to distinguish it from the state of New York, and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, respectively. Waterman soon outstripped Wirt, along with the many companies that sprang up to fill the new and growing fountain pen market, and remained the market leader up until the early 1920s.

In Europe, German Günther Wagner 's office supplies production started in 1871, and " Pelikan " became a major producer of fountain pens in the 1890s. They acquired patents for the solid-ink fountain pens from the factory of Slavoljub Penkala from Croatia (patented 1907, in mass production since 1911), and the patent of the Hungarian Theodor Kovacs for the modern piston filler by 1925.

The decades that followed saw many technological innovations in the manufacture of fountain pens. Celluloid gradually replaced vulcanized "hard" rubber, which enabled production in a much wider range of colors and designs. At the same time, manufacturers experimented with new filling systems. The inter-war period saw the introduction of some of the most notable models, such as the Parker Duofold and Vacumatic , Sheaffer's Lifetime Balance series, and the Pelikan 100.

During the 1940s and 1950s, fountain pens retained their dominance: early ballpoint pens were expensive, prone to leaks and had irregular inkflow, while the fountain pen continued to benefit from the combination of mass production and craftsmanship. This period saw the launch of innovative models such as the Parker 51, the Sheaffer Snorkel and the Eversharp Skyline, while the Esterbrook J series of lever-fill models with interchangeable steel nibs offered inexpensive reliability to the masses.

By the 1960s, refinements in ballpoint pen production gradually ensured its dominance over the fountain pen for casual use. Although cartridge-filler fountain pens are still in common use in France and Germany, particularly among schoolchildren, modern manufacturers (especially Montblanc) now market the fountain pen as a collectible or a status symbol, rather than an everyday writer.

Current fountain pens manufacturers include Cross, Montblanc, Parker, Pelikan, Rotring, Sheaffer, and Waterman. Companies who manufacture high quality ink include Aurora, Cross, Montblanc, Parker, Pelikan, Private Reserve, Sheaffer, and the French company Herbin. Pilot is one of only a few companies that make disposable fountain pens.

2 Using fountain pens

Together with the mass-manufactured pencil and the introduction of cheap wood-based paper, the fountain pen was responsible for a major transformation in writing and in the nature of paperwork during the 19th century. They gave birth to the precursor of the modern office, which would only come about at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th with the gradual introduction of the typewriter and early duplicating machines.

The fountain pen, and, to a lesser extent, the pencil, replaced the relatively hard-to-use combination of the quill, blotter, and sand tray employed till then for writing. Using a quill pen was in fact a complex and often frustrating exercise due to the irregular flow of ink from the quill and other factors. In a sense, the introduction of the fountain pen can be compared to the advent of the early command line word processor and the dot matrix printer which appeared before graphic word processing software and the laser printer.

Fountain pens are widely regarded to be the best tools for writing or drawing with ink on paper. However, they are more expensive, harder to maintain, and more fragile than a ballpoint pen. In addition, they cannot be used with the various oil- and particle-based inks (such as India ink) prized by artists, as can a dip pen, reed, or quill.

3 Nibs

The nib of the fountain pen is usually made of stainless steel or gold. Gold nibs are tipped with a hard, wear-resistant alloy that typically utilizes metals from the platinum group. Tipping material is often called " iridium", even though hardly any penmakers still use that metal in their tipping alloys. Steel nibs may also have harder tips; those with steel points will wear more rapidly due to abrasion by the paper.

The nib usually has one slit cut down its center, to convey the ink down the nib. The whole nib narrows to a point where the ink is transferred to the paper. Broad calligraphy pens may have several slits in the nib to increase ink flow and help distribute it evenly across the broad point. Nibs divided into three 'tines' are commonly known as 'music' nibs, as their broad line is suited for writing musical scores.

Although the most common nibs end in a point of various sizes (fine, medium, broad), other nib shapes are available. Examples of this are oblique, reverse oblique, stub and italic.

Fountain pens dating from the first half of the 20th century are more likely to have flexible nibs, suited to the favored handwriting styles of the period. By the 1940s, writing preferences had shifted towards stiffer nibs that could withstand the greater pressure required for writing through copy paper to create duplicate documents.

4 Fountain pens as works of art

Fountain pens are often prized as works of art. Ornate pens are sometimes made of precious metals and jewels; others are inlaid with lacquer designs in a process known as maki-e. An avid community of pen enthusiasts collect and use antique and modern pens and also collect and exchange information about old and modern inks, ink bottles, and inkwells. Collectors often tend to prize being able to actually use the antiques, instead of merely placing them under glass for show.

This is not to say that all fountain pens are collectors' items, however; good quality steel pens are available cheaply, and there are even some "disposable" fountain pens available.

5 External links

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