The History of Pens

You don’t always realise how important pens are in our daily lives. Often, they’re sitting in convenient places in our houses for when we quickly scramble to find a pen and paper.  They are also generally personalised with engraving or printed with company logos or branding, often a cheap plastic pen, but sometimes, a nice metal pen that can be refilled and kept.

The breakthrough of pens changed lives and allowed people to be able to communicate and write for future generations. Pens have been around for thousands of years with the first pen used in 3200 BC. Have you ever wondered how we went from using a bamboo reed pen to the ballpoint pen we use today? Jump into our time machine to find out where and when the first pens were created.

 

Reed Pen - 3200 BC

Source: doreenelepore.com/2013/04/14/the-reed-pen/

The earliest known form of writing began in Ancient Egypt where pens were created to write on papyrus. The pens were carved from plants including bamboo and reed as the base of the pen. One end was sharpened into a pen nib with a split at the point and when the Egyptians invented ink in 2500 BC, they were required to fill the reed tube with ink. The pens were then used to carve hieroglyphs on tablets made from clay. Reed pens were a lot stiffer than quills and lost their point very quickly, whereas feathers for quills were more flexible to write with. 

 

Fun fact: The skill of making reed pens was an important skill to have because reed pens didn’t last long, so they constantly needed crafting.

 

 

The Quill - 600 AD

The earliest known form of writing began in Ancient Egypt where pens were created to write on papyrus. The pens were carved from plants including bamboo and reed as the base of the pen. One end was sharpened into a pen nib with a split at the point and when the Egyptians invented ink in 2500 BC, they were required to fill the reed tube with ink. The pens were then used to carve hieroglyphs on tablets made from clay. Reed pens were a lot stiffer than quills and lost their point very quickly, whereas feathers for quills were more flexible to write with. 

 

Fun fact: The skill of making reed pens was an important skill to have because reed pens didn’t last long, so they constantly needed crafting.

 

 

Steel-Point Pen - 1822

Source: historyofyesterday.com/a-brief-history-of-pens

The steel-point pen was developed by John Mitchell from Birmingham in England. As they were ink pens, they still needed to be dipped in ink similar to the quill, but they were less expensive and sturdier. Although archaeologists discovered metal nibs in Ancient Egypt in around 79 AD, 1822 was the year of popularity for steel-point pens.

Fun Fact: Historians believe that by the 1850s half of all dip pens were made in Birmingham.

 

 

The Fountain Pen - 1827

The fountain pen was fuelled by the inconvenience of having to keep dipping a pen in ink to replenish it. The fountain pen was invented by Romanian inventor Petrache Poenaru and was described by him as a "self-fuelling endless portable quill with ink." It holds ink inside the pen and the ink passes through the nib when it touches paper. Unfortunately, the design was never perfected and had problems: it tended to clot and needed to be refilled often with an eyedropper.

 

Fun fact: In 1884, Lewis Edson Waterman developed a three-channel ink feed fountain pen which ensured a smooth flow of ink when writing.

 

 

Ballpoint Pen - 1888

The ballpoint pen was a turning point in pen history and is what we still use today. It was found to be a working writing pen that could be used on multiple surfaces including paper, cardboard, wood and even underwater. The ballpoint was first linked to John J. Loud, an American inventor who received a patent, but the design unfortunately didn't have a smooth flow of ink. 

 

The era of ink writing ended in the middle of the 20th century when the ballpoint pen became the most durable and widely used pen. In the 1930s, a Hungarian journalist named Lazlo Biro found the smudging of ink on the paper annoying and instead came up with the idea to use quick-drying ink and introduced a rotating small metal ball. 

 

Fun fact: The purpose of the  round metal ball was to prevent the ink from drying out and would distribute the ink smoothly.

 

 

History of Pen Manufacturers

We have taken a look at some of the biggest moments in history for pen manufacturers and some great turning points for the pens we use on a daily basis.

 

 

A.T. Cross Company - 1846

Source: cross.com/cr_en_us/about-cross

This company opened in 1846 and became the first American pen manufacturer with a factory in Rhode Island. This same year, the first Cross Fountain Pen was created with the name Peerless to signify its design and technology. Cross pens are still popular today as they can be engraved as gifts for loved ones.

 

 

S.T. Dupont - 1872

Source: uk.st-dupont.com/collections/writing-instruments-fountain-pen

S.T. Dupont opened a factory in Paris to fill a large gap in the market for fountain pens. Dupont stood out from the market because of his intricate and unique designs on the barrels and caps. Even in the modern day, S.T. Dupont is known for their design and quality with the chiselled gold nib and palladium clip on the cap.

 

 

Parker Pen Company - 1894

Source: parkerpen.com/legacy.html

George Safford Parker invented the anti-leak system and created his first pen, the Lucky Curve, which was a major breakthrough. These new pens had a feed that curved against the side of the barrel, which prevented ink from blobbing onto the paper. Parker Pens are still a renowned business today for their sleek pen designs that can be engraved with a name, monogram, or logo.

 

 

Conklin Pen Company - 1897

Source: conklinpens.com

George Safford Parker invented the anti-leak system and created his first pen, the Lucky Curve, which was a major breakthrough. These new pens had a feed that curved against the side of the barrel, which prevented ink from blobbing onto the paper. Parker Pens are still a renowned business today for their sleek pen designs that can be engraved with a name, monogram, or logo.

 

 

Sheaffer Pen - 1907

Source: sheaffer.com/sh_en_us/about

William A. Sheaffer was a jeweller who wanted to make his mark on the growing fountain pen industry. He created the idea of fountain pens filling instantly from any ink-well with a touch of the finger and opened his company, Sheaffer Pen, in Iowa. In 1924, they were the first to manufacture plastic pens, which allowed the business to offer fountain pens in a variety of colours and is also cheaper than metal.

In further development the felt tip pen was created by Yukio Horie in 1910. It is a pen with pressed fibres and a reservoir inside the pen that holds the coloured ink. The cap on a felt tip pen prevents the nib, where the ink flows, from drying out. 

 

 

Writing has had a huge impact in our everyday lives and has formed our humanity and culture. Even in the world of technology where we can use smartphones, tablets and laptops to make notes, the pen continues to be a key tool within society and will go down in history as one of the best creations of mankind.