| s have been writing and making marks as far back as | | | | Waterman invented his ‘Three Fissue |
| the caveman. Initially man used his finger by dipping it | | | | Feed’ system which used an intake of air to |
| in plant juices as a drawing and writing instrument. By | | | | control the ink flow. This led to the widespread use |
| 4000 BC, bone or bronze tools were used to scratch | | | | of a reliable fountain pen and main the portable pen a |
| everyday events on to cave walls. | | | | reality. In 1894 Parker Pens invented the lucky curve |
| As language and writing developed there was a need | | | | feed system which drained the ink back into |
| for new improved, more effective tools. | | | | reservoir when not in use. |
| It was the ancient Egyptians who were the first | | | | These early fountain pens were called |
| people to write on paper. In around 3000 BC the | | | | ‘eyedropper pens’ because you had |
| scribes from ancient Egypt used thick Calamus or | | | | to drip in a day’s supply of ink using the |
| Bamboo reed brushes to write on papyrus scrolls. | | | | dropper provided. They were prone to leakage, so a |
| The reed pen was used up until the Middle Ages, | | | | new version was introduced by Waterman called the |
| although the quill pen had begun to replace it as early | | | | ‘Safety Pen’. The sac filler system |
| as the 7th century. | | | | soon followed which was much faster and cleaner to |
| European monks were to first to realise that goose | | | | fill. In the 1930s the piston filler was introduced by |
| feather quills were much better than reeds. The | | | | Pelikan and proved immensely popular because it |
| hollow quill would hold the ink and the split end | | | | allowed greater ink capacity. All these developments |
| worked as a nib. There was real skill needed in | | | | form the basis of the modern day fountain pen. |
| trimming the quill and a talented scribe could create | | | | Now that fountain pens were reliable, people |
| some very nice calligraphic effects. The downside to | | | | demanded that they were also a fashionable item. In |
| the quill was that it needed constant re-trimming, so | | | | the early days of pen manufacturing, they were |
| it gave it a very short writing life. | | | | made from hard rubber which was available in limited |
| The quill was replaced by the metal dip pen in the | | | | colours and mainly black. In 1924 Sheaffer used |
| early 19th century. The metal dip pen had a steel nib | | | | celluloid (made from plant fibres) for the first time |
| with various holes to hold the ink. The nib was | | | | which meant pens could be made in a large range of |
| attached to a wooden handle, and could be | | | | exciting colours. Perhaps the last greatest advance in |
| manufactured quite cheaply. In 1803 Bryan Donkin | | | | fountain pen technology was by Waterman, who in |
| patented a steel pen point but did not commercially | | | | 1936 invented the disposable cartridge pen. |
| exploit his patent, so this left it open to exploitation | | | | Then came the ballpoint pen, which was first |
| and in 1830 steel makers in Birmingham, England, | | | | patented in 1888. It wasn’t until Laszlo |
| pioneered the mass production technique for cheap | | | | Biro’s new patent in 1943 though that the |
| long wearing steel pen nibs. | | | | ballpoint pen went into commercial production. The |
| The dip pen had to be constantly dipped in ink, which | | | | ball pen uses a tiny ball that picks up oil based ink as |
| meant it wasn’t long before people | | | | the pen moves along the paper. |
| demanded a pen that contained a reservoir of ink, | | | | The most recent developments were the felt tip pen |
| the fountain pen. | | | | in the 1960s by Yukio Horie from Japan and the |
| There were many attempts at creating the fountain | | | | rollerball pen in the early 1980s, operating like a ball |
| pen, most of which failed because the ink flow was | | | | pen but using liquid ink for smoother ink flow. |
| very inconsistent. In the 1870’s Lewis Edson | | | | |