Pens are one of mans greatest inventions. Without them we wouldn’t be able to record such important information in our lives or write lovely letters. Despite modern day technology such as keyboards taking over, pens will always be useful. They are constantly evolving, with many different designs and colours available to date.
Evolution Of Pens
The first pen recorded was called a reed pen and dates back to 3000 BC, during the time of Ancient Egypt. It was made of hollow tubular marsh grass, especially bamboo as the body of the pen. The writing ink would be put in the hollow body and then slightly squeezed to allow the ink to flow through.
Following this came the era where quills were in use, which was in the 6th century. People started using quills, or bird feathers, by dipping them in ink and writing on paper. An expensive quill would be from a swan while the cheaper ones from a goose.
The use of the quill lasted for many centuries and its reign came to an end in the 19th century. In 1822, the steel-point pen was introduced. Its design was a raw representation of a fountain pen and its steel tip was used the way quills were used – dipping them in ink.
While the steel-point was extremely popular, developments in its mechanics lead to the invention of the fully functional fountain pen in 1827. This has been replaced with three-channel ink feed fountain which further underwent modification like replaceable cartridges, inbuilt filler etc.
It was then in 1888 when ballpoints where introduced followed by gels which were invented in 1984.
We can count ourselves blessed to have such writing instruments in our life. Although technology continues to develop and replaces the need for pens, its still very much a necessity. We need them to express our creativity on paper!
If you want to own an antique pen of your own, shop our collection instore at Antiques of Kingston today.
