Now the most popular and widely used pen, the ball pen has an interesting history that is first linked to American inventor John H. At that time during the 19th century, this was a revelation that essentially ended the era of ink writing. It was a durable, more convenient writing pen that could write on surfaces such a wood, cardboard and even underwater. The ballpoint pen was a turning point in the evolution of the pen that takes us up to modern day. Throughout the 20th century, the design underwent a number of innovations, including the use of a replaceable and refillable ink cartridge and range of plastic, metal and wooden fountain pens.
#Image of pen and paper portable#
The design ensured a smooth flow of ink during writing, and revolutionised the pen into a portable tool. It was in 1884 that Lewis Edson Waterman developed and gained a patent for the three-channel ink feed fountain pen.
However, the design was never perfected and had major flaws: the flow of ink was not regulated and resulted in either no ink at all or blotting It was first Petrache Poenaru, a Romanian inventor, who received a patent for the invention of the very first fountain pen with an ink barrel in 1827. The inconvenience of having to keep dipping a pen to replenish its ink supply fuelled the creation of the fountain pen, which holds in a reservoir and passes it through to the nib. 1827: Fountain Penįrustration is the real mother of invention, and that is precisely how the fountain pen came about.
Even the development of education and literacy can be attributed these more accessible writing instruments.Īlthough this was the point of mass production and popularity for the steel-point pen, archaeologists have discovered metal nibs in Ancient Egypt and bronze pen points in the ruins of Pompeii, dating them back to around year 79. Their popularity took off and historians believe that by the 1850s half of all dip pens were made in Birmingham. These were still ink pens and functioned in the same way as quill, needing to be dipped into ink, but were sturdier and much less expensive. The reign of the quill ended when John Mitchell from Birmingham began developing a machine-made steel-point pens on a mass scale. Source: William Zhang 1822: Steel-point Pen At first, language was written using all capital letters, but as the pen became smoother to use, they developed faster styles, more decorative styles of handwriting with smaller letters. This type of pen actually also changed the way that people wrote. To do this, the writer needed a specific knife, which is where the term "pen-knife" originated. These ink pens were durable, but had to be sharpened often. This was then dipped into an inkwell to fill the hollow shaft of the feather that acts as a reservoir. Next, the end of the feather must be shaped and sharpened with a knife. These feathers were then dried with a gentle heat to remove any oils that may interfere with the ink. Europeans used bird feathers to produce this tool the best feathers were those taken from living swans, turkeys and geese. Of all the writing instruments, the quill pen was in use for the longest period of history - from 7th to the 19th century. One end of this tool was cut into the shape of a pen nib or point and then the reed’s stem was filled with a writing fluid that would flow down to the nib when squeezed. These early pens were fashioned from the hollow, tubular stems of marsh grasses - especially bamboo plant. To write upon parchment and papyrus, the Egyptians created a reed pen. To answer the question in more depth and address each particular invention, we’ve put together an in depth timeline of the pen’s evolution: Pen Timeline 2000 BC: Egyptian Reed Pen
This evidence suggests that they were the first to create a tool that allowed them to make their language tangible and permanent. The oldest piece of writing on papyrus dates back to 2000 BC. However, the first people to invent the pen as a basic tool to write were the ancient Egyptians. There are several different answers to this question because of the varying types of pens there are available in the 21st century. But how did it all start? We’ve taken a look at the history and evolution of the pen. Today, there’s so much choice when it comes to pens. The writings of Shakespeare and Milton wouldn’t exist if they didn’t have the tools to somehow immortalise them physically. Pens have made it possible to retain and communicate knowledge and information and create works of art. It is through writing that we have been able to create, share, and learn. The creation of the pen has essentially facilitated the very basis of our civilisation.