16, Aluminum Nibs,

[rhr]

Trademark no. 12886, William D. Marvel, "Aluminum Pens", Dec 29, 1885, used since Dec 30, 1884, is for the word "Ne-Pen-The", a trademark from a time when aluminum was still considered a precious metal. Nepenthe is the ancient Greek medicine for grief, or sorrow, the pharmakon of forgetfulness. But as Jacques Derrida reminds us, the Greek word "pharmakon" has two meanings. It stands for both "medicine" and "poison". In that sense, writing is a way of recording our memories, but it also stands in place of and displaces remembering. Memorization is hard work, so we opt out for writing things down instead, which lulls us into complacency. We feel that we know something when it is written down, but there is always the possibly of forgetting it. So the pharmakon of writing is, in a sense, both memory and forgetfulness, which is actually the opposite of what writing should be. But it's okay, the writing is still there. If we forget it, we can always look it up in some book. ;~) Trademark no. 27043, Abram L. Salomon, "Writing-Pens", Sept 10, 1895, used since Apr 1, 1895, is for the word-symbol "Aluminoid", probably for an aluminum-alloy nib. This trademark is the first instance in the pen trademarks of the use of the word "word-symbol" for a specific typographic design. Trademark no. 74112, Aluminum Pen Co., "Metal Writing-Pens, Lead-Pencils, And Penholders", June 22, 1909, used since Apr 20, 1898, is for the letters "EGS" inside an oval, by a company owned by Edward G. Seiders. Also see such UK patents as 1,106 from Apr 20, 1857, Richard F. Sturges, "Pens Made Of Aluminum, Or Alloys Of Aluminum", and patent no. 455 from Feb 19, 1863, Robert Pinkney, "Pens Of Aluminium Bronze [Aluminum And Copper Alloy]", and patent no. 682 from Mar 13, 1863, Charles T. Lutwyche & Alfred Lutwyche, "Nib Made Of Aluminium Bronze", which could also "have iridium-osmium points", and patent no. 1,165 from May 9, 1863, Joseph Page & Alfred T. Wayne, "Nib Made Of Aluminium Bronze".

 

George Kovalenko.

 

 

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Edited May 22, 2010 by rhr