PENS. 



733 



kind of etching which is intended to imitate 

 prints. Quills may be hardened by steeping them 

 in alum-water, at a boiling temperature, for a few 

 minutes. 



There is a modern contrivance by which six or 

 eight pens may be made out of one large quill. 

 The narrow end, and also the stalk of the pen be- 

 ing cut off, leaving the barrel only remaining, the 

 latter has a cylinder inserted through it, a little 

 smaller than its own diameter. It is then placed 

 in a machine in such a way that two cutting edges 

 pass along the barrel, one on each side, by which the 

 quill is cut longitudinally into two semi cylindrical 

 halves. These pieces are then placed in a groove 

 with the convex side undermost, and the edges are 

 made straight and smooth by having a plane run 

 along them. These half-cylinders of quill are then 

 cut into three or four pieces, according to their 

 length, and each piece is operated on by the nib- 

 bing machine, which is a sort of cutting press. A 

 few strokes with a pen-knife then brings each little 

 piece to the form of a pen, which, fixed in a han- 

 dle, is fit for use. 



The first attempt at the construction of perma- 

 nent pens, appears to have consisted in arming the 

 nibs of Turkey-quill pens with metallic points or 

 nibs. As the friction of the quill pen upon the 

 paper, and the softening produced by the ink, are 

 the causes which wear away the nibs of ordinary 

 pens, it is obvious that metal is better calculated 

 to withstand these two influences than quill. But 

 although the metallic nibs greatly increased the 

 durability of the pen, it was at the expense of the 

 elasticity of the quill; and since the durability of 

 the metallic-nibbed pen was not adequate to its 

 additional cost over the common quill pen, this 

 method was soon abandoned. 



Pens have been made, from time to time, out of 

 horn and tortoise and other shells. These pens 

 were of course more expensive than common quills, 

 and nearly all of them more durable. Nibs have 

 even been formed, somewhat successfully, of pre- 

 cious stones, the advantage of which is, that they 

 are subject to no wear and corrosion. In 1823 

 Messrs Hawkins and Mordan employed horn and 

 tortoise-shell, which were cut into nibs, and soft- 

 ened in boiling water ; small pieces of diamond, 

 ruby, and other precious stones were then embed- 

 ded into them by pressure. In this way were in- 

 sured durability and great elasticity. In order to 

 give stability to the nib, thin pieces of gold, or 

 other metal, were affixed to the tortoise-shell. 

 Pens somewhat similar were formed by Mr Doughty; 

 his nibs were rubies set in fine gold. With these 

 pens a person could write as finely as with a crow- 

 quill, or as firmly as with a swan-quill, or the two 

 modes might be combined. These pens possessed 

 considerable elasticity, and by their means an uni- 

 form manuscript, unattainable by means of ordinary 

 pens, could be produced. Pens of this construc- 

 tion have been in constant use for upwards of six 

 years, and at the end of that time exhibited no 

 signs of wear, they were as perfect then as ever. 

 In using them, however, care is necessary to pre- 

 serve the nibs from contact with hard bodies; they 

 require occasional washing with a brush in soap and 

 water. Mr Doughty states that, although they are 

 costly at first, yet, in the end, they will be found 

 economic, on account of their permanency. To 

 prevent injury to the points, in the act of dipping 

 this pen into an ink-stand, Mr Doughty lines the 

 interior of his elegant ink-stands with India-rubber, 



or places a bottle of that material within the stand, 

 to contain the ink. 



Dr Wollaston also constructed pens from two 

 flat slips of gold, placed angularly side by side, and 

 which were tipped with the metal rhodium ; others 

 have employed the metal iridium ; but these pens 

 have been abandoned on account of their expense, 

 and the great care necessary to their preservation. 

 These pens were, however, very durable, though 

 not equal to the ruby nibs. 



Many of the pens to which we have alluded, 

 were sadly deficient in that indispensable quality, 

 elasticity. To supply a remedy to this defect, it 

 was proposed to place springs on the backs of such 

 pens, sliding backwards and forwards to vary the 

 elasticity according to the different hands required 

 in writing. This plan was somewhat successful, 

 but a great objection was, that the ink drying upon 

 the pen, in a great measure neutralized the action 

 of the spring. 



Metallic pens appear to have been introduced 

 into various seminaries, from time to time as rari- 

 ties, among writing materials ; they were given as 

 prizes, rewards for merit, &c. But the first men- 

 tion that we find of steel pens for writing, is in 

 1803, when Mr Wise constructed barrel-pens of 

 steel, mounted in a bone case for convenience of 

 carrying in the pocket. These pens were very 

 dear, and produced to their inventor but a scanty 

 income. For many years, however, Wise's pens 

 were the only steel pens that could be had, and by 

 means of great activity in " pushing a sale " of 

 them, they were to be had at almost every station- 

 er's shop in the kingdom. 



About 1826, the celebrated Perryan pens first 

 appeared. Mr Perry may be regarded in the light 

 of a great improver ; many of his pens are in- 

 genious and original in construction. He arranges 

 his pens into genera and species, advertises their 

 beauties and their merits in prose and rhyme, and 

 has thus, not altogether undeservedly, acquired 

 fame and renown, and, we doubt not, profit, to 

 which, years ago, a mere pen-maker would not have 

 aspired. Mr Perry first overcame the rigidity com- 

 plained of in steel pens generally, by introducing 

 apertures between the shoulders and the point of 

 the pen ; thus transferring the elasticity of the pen 

 to a position below instead of above the shoulder. 

 This was the object of his patent of 1830. In 

 1832 further improvements suggested to him the 

 propriety of seeking a second patent, which he ob- 

 tained for a pen now bearing the odd cognomen of 

 " The Double Patent Perryan Pen." Perry's 

 " Regulating Spring Pen" is furnished with a slid- 

 ing spring, which increases or diminishes its flexi- 

 bility, according as it is placed farther from or 

 nearer to the point. In another case, Mr Perry 

 employs a thread of India-rubber round the nibs of 

 his pens, the yielding of which allows the points to 

 open in proportion to the pressure. 



One of the most extensive manufacturers of steel 

 pens is Mr Joseph Gillott, of Birmingham. This 

 gentleman employs three hundred pairs of hands, 

 and consumes fifty tons of steel annually. Now 

 one ton of steel is sufficient to make about two 

 millions of pens ; hence this manufacturer alone 

 furnishes about one hundred millions of pens an- 

 nually. 



The kind of pen made by Mr Gillott is similar 

 to the original pen by Wise. The improvement of 

 the modern maker consists in employing metal of a 

 better quality, and in a thinner and more elastic 



