Kovel: Vintage inkwells are a hot collectible | Home | projo.com | The Providence Journal
Writing a letter? You’re probably using a ballpoint pen or a computer. But our ancestors used other writing instruments. If you wanted to write a letter in the 17th century, you were probably wealthy and had a scribe do the writing for you. By the 18th century, educated men and women wrote their own letters. Ink was made from powder and water until a ready-mix was invented in 1836. At first, ink had to be kept in an airtight container made of pottery, not glass, because ink lost color in sunlight. An inkwell with a tight cap was one solution. An inkwell, pen, pounce (used to dry ink) and wafers used to seal letters were kept on the desk. Sometimes they were all inside a large box.
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