It feels great to take a break from banging away on the keyboard to write a piece by hand. Whether it is a journal entry, a love letter or a novel- writing it out by hand truly gives a unique pleasure. There are few things that can heighten this pleasure. One is having coffee while writing. Another is using a fountain pen to craft your master piece.
Fountain pens are easier and comfortable to use and they are great for cursive. Many from the old generation are fond of fountain pens because of their unique benefits. Most people are unaware how fountain pens came to be and why they were introduced to this world in the first place. Let us glance into the history of fountain pens to see how they came to be.
Ancient Era
In 973 AD people were searching for better options to write. We know this from the writings of a caliph. Someone fulfilled the wish of this man, but the pen did not survive so no one knew how the pen worked. During the 16th century, drawings of a practical pen were given by Leonardo da Vinci. Some say that Leonardo used the pen to craft his work, but there is no physical evidence that can proof this.
The Dip Pen
Frustration of people continued because of messy pens. Most materials available for writing left the hands and paper dirty. The dip pen was fountain pen’s predecessor. However, the problem that made the dip pen a bad option for writing was that the nip had to be dipped in the ink again and again to write. The dip pen later evolved into pens that carried ink within them. This brought forward fountain pens.
During the 1600s, pens with inks were being manufactured informally, but there were still many flaws in these pens. The ink used to leak because the air that goes back into the pen’s reservoir could not be regulated.
As education and industry developed, a proper writing tool became a necessity. Lewis Waterman lost one of his most important clients because his fountain pen leaked ink onto a contract. This made Waterman dedicated towards developing a better pen. In 1884, he filed a patent. He introduced an air hole and grooves that prevented ink spills and blockages.
Writing with fountain pen became much more convenient and effective thanks to the efforts of Waterman, but filling the ink in the pen remained a tedious affair. The reservoir had to be opened and the ink had to be replenished with the help of an eye dropper. Thus, improvements were still necessary.
More Developments
During the 1850s, fountain pens began to gain momentum and more developments were made. Fountain pens were sold with retraceable nibs or caps which allowed people to carry them without worrying about the ink leaking. Invention of self fillers at the turn of the 20th century made it easy to replenish the ink and users just had to put the nib in the bottle of ink and fill the pen’s reservoir by twisting the barrel or pulling a lever.
During the 1900s, ballpoint pens were introduced, but the fountain pens maintained their dominance and their popularity never wavered. Even today, increase in the sales of fountain pens is reported by vendors.
Fountain pen is truly an amazing writing tool and its history shows us why this writing instrument is still preferred by many writers. Are you mesmerized by the interesting history of fountain pens?
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