Ink In The 1920's

[usk15]

Hi

 

I'm very curious about ink colour used in the 1920's to 1940's time-frame. It was a very wide selection of blue, black, BB, red, green and other variations? Or they use classic blue, black, BB and red? I'm imagine using a Parker Duofold from the 20's with a colour close to that times.

 

Thanks,

Nick

[KBeezie]

Talking bout permanents that would be used for offices, letters and legal? Or just anything (+school/home)?

[usk15]

I believe the Parker Duofold wasn't use in the school by that time, being very expensive, so I'm thinking more about lettering, office, legal.

[Paddler]

I have seen blue, black, BB, red, green, and brown used in letters and post cards. Back in the day, most people had just one pen and one ink. There wasn't all this frantic mixing, hoarding, swapping and flushing going on. Some still used the dip pens they were taught to use in school.

[Pickwick]

Green,Red, Blue, Blue/Black and Black were used during that period. Noodler's make a Color which they say was popular in New York during the 1930s named: "Manhattan Blue" They also make one named: "Ellis Island", a very dark Blue/Black purported to have been used at the height of the immigration into the United States.

[Bo Bo Olson]

In the US

Carter inks was very big '20-50's. Perhaps long before..

 

1902 Danns was what was sold by Sears and Robucks as best ink.

 

1881 in a city slicker western I'm writing a character uses purple ink.

I found purple inks back to Jane Austin's day....not who made it, but as an ink color used.

 

England Standford??? Stephens (thanks to Inkysloth later int he thread for the real name.) Was the ink....for many decades.

Now only the BB ESSR.

One of the managers managed to get that as part of the settlement after the conglomerate that bought it up, bottom line decided the lot where the factory stood was more valuable to this years bonus, than keeping it going.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[Inkysloth]

You could peruse the old ink bottles here: http://1001inkbottles.com and see what colours were available.

 

My understanding is that black, blue-black, blue, green, red, and brown and I think purple would have been readily available.

[markh]

They also make one named: "Ellis Island", a very dark Blue/Black purported to have been used at the height of the immigration into the United States.

 

I seem to remember Nathan's note that the color of Ellis Island blue was intended to look like the documents he had seen that were written at Ellis Island at the turn of the last century. If my memory is correct, he saw these documents at a museum on Ellis Island.

 

It seems quite reasonable that the color, when used at the time appeared quite different. A century of aging might have changed the color considerably.

 

.

[markh]

I was once shown government exit documentation for an acquaintance written just before WW II, from somewhere in Eastern Europe (probably Poland, though I don't really remember)

 

I was surprised to see that it was written in turquoise ink. A bright blue.

 

I remember (again, can't remember where, but it was recently) that certain colors were reserved for certain official functions. Have to track that down...

 

 

.

[welch]

You can come close to the ink itself, although the oldest available inks are about early '50s. Check EBay for old bottles of Sheaffer Skrip and Parker Quink. Judging from Ebay, Parker and Sheaffer must have dominatyed the ink market, with Carters a somewhat distant third.

 

Skrip will, of course, have a blue and yellow label and box. Check the price on the box...cheaper is older. About 1960, a standard 2-ounce bottles was about 25 cents. Look closely for a couple of clues: "Chemopure" Skrip is before 1960. RC-35 is Skrip from the '60s. I have a Skrip Royal Blue that advertised their Snorkel on the box ("takes the dunk out of filling").

 

I'd guess that any of the 32-ounce "master bottles" would be about 1955 or earlier.

 

Skrip used an elegant art-deco bottle in the '40s and probably into the early '50s. Maybe as early as the late '30s.

 

If the bottle has been sealed well, the ink is probably usable. Check, of course.

 

I have a bottle of Carter's American Blue...with ink...but that was a lucky find. Usually, Carters' bottles will have "ink dust".

[usk15]

Thank you everyone for adding informations on this thread!

[Inkysloth]

If you're in the UK, Stephen's were a large ink manufacturer too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stephens_(doctor)#Products

[gregamckinney]

Data points from the Waterman 1925 catalog:

 

In standard, 2 oz size: Blue Black, Green, Red, Blue, Jet Black

In larger sizes (from 6 oz to 1 gallon); Same colors as above, but also violet.

A gallon went (wholesale) for $4.00, with Red at $5.

 

Best Regards, greg

[HandLikeAFist]

Grandfather (a doctor): strong blue-black, medium nib, unknown pen.

Grandmother: vibrant deep blue, broad nib, unknown pen.

Father (in the fifties): blue-black, Parker.

Mother (in the fifties): peacock blue, red, brown, green, fine nibs, many Esterbrooks, all of which leaked.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

From my reading I believe that the standard inks already mentioned dominated. But I have also seen people carping about various individuals who used non-standard colors like violet and lilac. I think I read something once about someone who mostly used brown ink. The people complaining about them usually seemed to consider the users of those inks to be pretentious show offs.

 

Given that fountain pens were a part of everyday life in the '20s, I suspect that there were quite a large range of ink colors available, some of the inks with less mass appeal may have been the specialty items of smaller, maybe even regional, manufacturers.

[inkstainedruth]

Green,Red, Blue, Blue/Black and Black were used during that period. Noodler's make a Color which they say was popular in New York during the 1930s named: "Manhattan Blue"

I bought a bottle of Manhattan Blue a couple of years ago, back when Art Brown's was still in business. I had been trying to match the (somewhat) reconstituted ink that had been in an Estie SJ I'd picked up a month or two before. The salesclerk I had been dealing with (when not having a whole lot of luck with their swab sample book) pointed me at Mrs. Brown herself (I had brought the actual journal with me to show, both there and at FPH "This is what I'm trying to match for color and shading"). I explained to her what I was trying to do, and she said "Oh, you want Manhattan Blue, because it's trying to match the old Carter's inks from the 1930s and 40s." (It turned out to be a little bluer than what I was trying to match, but it's probably my favorite blue ink now; Diamine Denim, which I *also* bought that day, was a little closer color match but didn't have the lovely shading...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[amberleadavis]

From my reading I believe that the standard inks already mentioned dominated. But I have also seen people carping about various individuals who used non-standard colors like violet and lilac. I think I read something once about someone who mostly used brown ink. The people complaining about them usually seemed to consider the users of those inks to be pretentious show offs.

 

Given that fountain pens were a part of everyday life in the '20s, I suspect that there were quite a large range of ink colors available, some of the inks with less mass appeal may have been the specialty items of smaller, maybe even regional, manufacturers.

 

 

I've seen the lilac on letters in my grandmother's hope chest. (They belonged to her mother). The haven't faded so it's not purple that faded. I don't know that the lilac was readily available, a family member was part of the Pony Express so maybe she got a special bottle, but more likely it was home made or from one of the powdered inks.

[amberleadavis]

BTW, this was cool and from the US Government archives.

[white_lotus]

Now someone will have to make a replica of the US Government Standard Ink of 1935.

[amberleadavis]

Well, it must be an iron gall.