Not so long ago, the time when instead of ballpoint and expensive fountain pens, our grandmothers wrote in school notebooks with a pen, dipping it in a vessel with ink, has gone from us. Even earlier, their grandparents wrote with real goose quills, and dipped them all in the same jars of ink. Not everyone now knows that these are inkwells.
History of the ink bottle
Everyone knows that writing developed differently in different countries. Somewhere, clay and a stick or bone were used to draw texts, in other countries they wrote on pieces of leather with soot mixed with oil.
Dyes extracted from plants were applied to thinner material such as papyrus or silk. Some ancient ink recipes have survived to this day, but most have been irretrievably lost. Only one thing is known - if they applied signs of writing with various devices, then they kept the treasured paints in vessels that had one purpose - to store ink.
Thus the inkwells appeared. Sometimesthey were simple small barrels made of stone or ceramics. But there were also such that it was not a shame to bring a gift to the ruler.
Precious inkwells
Ink vessels were very diverse. They were distinguished by the material of execution. Sometimes they were made entirely of precious or semi-precious stones, additionally decorated with carvings, enamel or smaller stones of a different 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 unusual form was in itself an adornment of this product. And it was not always immediately clear that it was an inkwell.
Fancy inkwells
Today it is hard 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 leather, which was also used to store ink, had to be processed and dressed in a special way.
Transparent ink holders
When people learned how 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 cuts have survived to our time. These are inkwells made by glassblowers. Sometimes glass is speciallypainted over, but not to such an extent that it was impossible to understand whether the vessel was full or not.
Not a drop past
Inkwells are a vessel with paint in which a pen was dipped. Often, many hours of writing a letter or document ended in an unfortunate incident - a drop of paint fell on the paper in the very center or somewhere on the side and spread into 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 disappeared with the advent of special inkwells. These were vessels into which the cone went. Such a product of English masters quickly won the respect of all those who often used inkwells. After all, in order for the paint to pour out of the container, it had to be shaken strongly. And falling on its side or even tipping over, the inkwell, thanks to its cunning design, did not expel a drop from itself!
Time is moving forward
Until people invented the refillable fountain pen, and then the ballpoint pen, it was believed that the inkwell was an integral part of the 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, when children see a photo of an inkwell, they do not always understand what kind of object it is, and they have to explain all the intricacies of ancient writing.
