Pens
By: Ross Bainbridge
Even in today’s world of computers, one really can’t imagine life without a pen. Our ability to communicate is a result of the evolution of writing instruments, with the help of which we were able to record our thoughts and express them to others. It was a long journey from the cave man’s stone-sharpened tool to the present day pen. The Greeks were the first to use something that resembled a pen to make marks on wax-coated tablets, but this was still a form of etching. It was the Chinese who invented "˜Indian Ink’ in 1200 B.C. using natural dyes and colors. At around the same time the Egyptians and Greeks began using paper, in the form of papyrus. The Romans used hollow stems of marsh grasses to create the first fountain pens.
Around 700 A.D., the quill pen was introduced and was used for another thousand years. Essentially a bird feather with a sharpened tip, the quill pen was dipped in ink, and didn’t last very long before it needed to be replaced. In time, the dip pen with a metal nib was invented. Not only did such a pen do away with untidy splatters of ink, it lasted much longer than the quill pen.
As superior types of paper and inks were developed, there was a need for more refined writing instruments. The search for a convenient pen that could hold its own ink intensified in the early 1800s, and the first fountain pen was designed in 1884 by L.E. Waterman, an insurance salesman based in New York City. Waterman’s name became synonymous with quality fountain pens, along with others like Parker and Sheaffer.
The next landmark invention was the ballpoint in 1938 by two Hungarian brothers, Laszlo and George Biro. Millions of people who delighted in its convenience enthusiastically adopted it as a standard writing utensil.
Pens today are more than mere utility items. A style statement, they come in widely differing shapes, sizes and price ranges, and are among the most popular gifts for all occasions.
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