quill pen and wax set
While the first truthful writing instruments were fabricated by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia near v,000 years agone, writing tools take evolved over time simply like technology as a whole. Among the many writing tools used is the quill pen, which has lasted for centuries and is yet used today by calligraphy artists and antiquity geeks. Only how did this beloved pen become popular and when did it phase out? Permit'due south accept a look at the history of quill pens and who knows–maybe you'll learn some fun facts forth the way.
A Cursory History
The famous quill pen beginning came into play effectually the 6th century A.D.–at the get-go of the Middle Ages. The quill was the mechanical pencil of its time—it was new engineering that helped develop culture and writing as a whole. In social club to empathize the quill pen and why it was such a large deal, we accept to sympathize what came before it. Earlier the quill was the reed pen, besides known as the cane pen, which was used for writing on papyrus. The cane pen was used from antiquity to effectually the start of the Middle Ages (800 B.C- 400 A.D roughly), but still remains the favored tool for Standard arabic calligraphy. Archaeologists have also found reed pens in sites from Egypt, many of which were thinner than typical pikestaff pens and were used for carving hieroglyphics or with ink for writing on papyrus.
The biggest difference between reed pens and quill pens is the materials that each is made of. Reed pens were made out of reed or bamboo, and needed to be especially carved and required the use of an undamaged piece of reed that was around 20cm (a picayune less than viii inches) long. Existence skilled at making reed pens was also very important for scribes because of the low durability of the pen. Reeds were stiffer but do not retain a sharp point for equally long every bit a quill pen does, making quill pens a much needed improvement. Quill pens retain their shapes well and just require infrequent sharpening. They could also last until at that place was not much of the pen left, like pencils today are often used. Quill pens also offer greater flexibility than both reed and metal pens, and many calligraphers still adopt them for their sharp stroke.
Although quill pens offered much more flexibility and lasted much longer than their predecessors, they became replaced by a much more user-friendly pen: the fountain pen. In 1827, Petrache Poenaru invented the fountain pen equally a solution to the issue of having to stop and dip for ink, aiming to salvage time for writers and scribes. Just over 50 years later, this invention was improved upon to forbid ink from flooding the page. This new innovation made pens available to the lower classes, making it easier for the poorer folks to acquire how to write. Even though fountain pens were invented in the 19th century, many of our grandparents today remember nonetheless using quill pens and other dip pens well into the 1940s–over a century later the invention of the fountain pen. Later the invention of the inexpensive version of the ballpoint pen in the early 1950s, though, quill pens brutal even further out of popularity and became the rare treasure they are today.
5 Fun Facts well-nigh the Quill Pen
Now that you are familiar with the history of quill pens, allow'due south take a look at some fun facts that you probably didn't know most quill pens.
#1: The best feathers for quills are swan and goose feathers
Did yous realize that the type of feather matters? Neither did we. But every bit it turns out, goose feathers are preferred over duck feathers and other bird feathers because they are larger and stronger. Swan feathers are ideal because they are larger birds than geese, but swans are scarier birds than geese, which explains why their feathers are less commonly used.
#2: Another name for "quill" is calamus
The word quill can be used to not just describe the entire bird plume itself, but as well refers to the long narrow tube of the feather. The give-and-take calamus is some other name for that tube, or "stalk" as information technology's also called. And so if y'all refer to your make new quill pen as a calamus pen, you lot would be right and could sound fifty-fifty more impressive, also.
#3: The quill pen was used to write the Declaration of Independence
Yep, and the Magna Carta too. Want to impress your history buff friends? Now you tin can.
#4: The strongest quills were obtained from living birds
During the birds' new growth period in the spring, their feathers were especially ideal for writing. The second and third outer fly feathers were most ideal as well.
#5: Crow quills brand the thinnest lines
Smaller bird, smaller quill. Crows accept durable simply small feathers, making them ideal for thin strokes.
So there yous accept it, folks. You now know enough virtually quill pens now to impress your friends and even practice more research to learn near the specifics. For further reading nigh quill pens, check out our introduction to quill pens. Or, if y'all'd like to learn how to make a quill pen for yourself, nosotros have a slap-up article for that, likewise. If you're not actually the crafty type just still desire a great quill pen to show off to your friends or coworkers, hither's our commodity most the best quill pen sets.
Here are some of our favorite quill pen sets:
Sources:
- Writing Instruments – Visual Lexicon Online
- Quill Plume – Britannica
- The Writing Musical instrument (The Reed and Quill) and Ink – Dartmouth
- History of Penmanship – Calligrapher's Order
- Fountain Pen Network
- Reed Pen – Wikipedia
- History of Pens – Preceden
Source: https://pensguide.com/facts-and-history-of-the-quill-pen/
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