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Inkwell

Container used for holding ink

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  • 1 chapter
Glass inkwell 2¼" square with rounded shoulders and corners. silver collar, slightly domed and hinged silver top (Hallmark Bimingham 1910). Picture taken by author John Beniston.
The original uploader was Palmiped at English Wikipedia . · CC BY 3.0

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Origins

The inkwell's origins may be traced back to Ancient Egypt where scribes would write on papyrus. Knowledge of hieroglyphs was at the time highly restricted. Only scribes knew the full array of hieroglyphs and would write on behalf of their employers, usually the pharaoh. After Rome invaded Egypt, inkwells became more popular in Italy as a larger percentage of the population were capable of writing.

Inkwells gradually fell out of use in the middle part of 20th century as the reservoir fountain pen (which needs to be filled only occasionally) replaced the dip pen, which needed to be dipped in ink after writing a few lines. Old school desks had round holes for inkwells.

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