I visited the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, ND today. Roosevelt worked on some of his books and wrote a lot of letters in this location. They still have his writing desk in the cabin. It has an ink well which was not owned by him, but they believe is similar to one that he used. One picture showed him holding a pen, but I couldn't tell what it was, but looked like it might be a dip pen. Anyone have any definitive knowledge of what pen(s) he used?

He was a very prolific writer, so went through a lot of ink!

Dip pens definitely still seemed to be mainstream in the early 1900's. However, it's possible that he used self-fillers along the lines of Conklin like Mark Twain. I hope someone here knows for sure.

That was kind of my thinking. He probably used the dip pens on the ranch because I'm assuming they were more common away from the city; but could have used something more "modern" when in New York City, Albany or Washington, DC.

He wrote quietly and carried a big pen.

I've seen pictures of Roosevelt with a dip pen at a writing desk. But I've also seen pictures of him on trains(I assume multiple) with what looks to be an old hard rubber eye dropper(I see no filler in any of the pictures).

Kamakura Pens (not affiliated) has a section on Presidentlal Pens, and TR is conspicuously absent insofar as information regarding his usage of pens is concerned. If there are any pen historians on the forum, TR would be a good subject to research regarding which big pen he used while speaking softly.

Donnie

I've been wanting to know the answer to this question for quite some time myself! I e-mailed the folks at Sagamore Hill, but no one responded. So, I'll try to hit them up again. I have a couple of books on TR, but they have the same photo of him standing at a desk, and I can't make out the pen. Since he was a good friend of Mark Twain, and Twain did endorse Conklin, it's not too much of a stretch to think he may have used one of their self-fillers. I wonder what kind of pen he took with him on his trip down the "River of Doubt."

Dale

I'll try to contact the rangers at his birthplace in NYC. They were very helpful and informative when I was there, but didn't think to ask about the pen at the time. Rangers here in ND were very helpful, but didn't really have much to go on. This is mostly wilderness anyway. I wonder if there are any household records that would indicate purchases of ink, nibs, etc. I don't know how detailed they were kept at the time. They may have been just part of the regular purchase and not indicated separately. It would make more sense for there to be information at either Sagamore Hill or NYC on this, or in his presidential papers which may include personal things beyond those of the presidency.

I would think, if you go out in the wilderness, you take pencils.