The Thought Behind Quillcards
In creating the name of Quillcards, we wanted to bring to mind a recognition of the power of written communications across the centuries that has included the quill pen as well as our modern-day computer.
In the Beginning: Cave Wall Writings
Of course, the history of writing instruments started way before the quill pen – all the way back to the cavemen and perhaps cavewomen who used sharpened stones to scratch pictures onto the walls of their dwellings to represent major events such as hunting victories or the seasonal planting of crops.
It is known that people of the Stone Age also dipped their fingertips into crushed berries and other plant material and even blood to make markings.
The Discovery of Clay Which Led to Portable Records
Clay tablets were used as the first writing medium. In this way, portable records then became possible, a development which meant that communication could also literally go way beyond the cave wall.
Traders also used clay tokens with pictographs to record what was being traded or shipped. Such clay tokens date back to about 8,500 B.C.
Pictographs vs. Abstract Figures
However, record keepers saw the need to develop systematized symbols to represent words and sentences that were easier and faster to draw. It was also hard to retain a lot of picture detail with the repetition and high volume that is part of record keeping of such trade.
So slowly but surely, the pictographs evolved into abstract figures representing sounds in spoken communication. In the area around the Sinai Peninsula, that gave rise to the ‘alphabet’ replacing such pictographs between 1700 and 1500 B.C.
The Origins of Some Ancient Alphabets
The ancient Hebrew alphabet, like its modern-day counterpart, runs from right to left, and was widely used in around 600 B.C.
The Greek alphabet, which followed in about 400 B.C., was the first script written from left to right.
The Byzantine, the Roman, and then the Latin writings followed on from there.
Interestingly, alphabetic writing systems only had uppercase letters in the beginning. It was only around 600 A.D. when writing instruments were refined enough for detailed depictions that lowercase letters started being used in some alphabets.
Using the Reed Pen for Writing
The ancient Hebrews, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans wrote their alphabets on parchment and later on papyrus, using reed pens for their writings.
Sources vary on which ancient culture created the reed pen.
Everyone agrees on how it was created, however, namely that people cut and then shaped a single reed straw or length of bamboo.
One end was cut into the form of a pen nib or point. Just like with a fountain one, the stem was filled with writing fluid or ink, and when the red was squeezed, the fluid was forced into the nib ready for writing.
Reed pens are still used by calligraphers who use it primarily for making bold strokes.
The Quill Pen Appears on the Scene
Reed pens were very stiff. Also, they could not retain a sharp point for a long time. For these reasons, eventually they were replaced by quill pens.
Introduced around 700 A.D., the quill pen was the writing instrument that dominated for the longest period in history (that is, for more than one thousand years) – followed by the dip pen, metal-nibbed pen, fountain pen, ballpoint pen and onwards to the typewriter and then the computer which have became the machines of choice for our present-day communications.
However, the hand-cut goose quill is still used today by calligraphers because it provides a sharp stroke and it’s more pliable than the steel pen.
The Origin of the Word ‘Pen’
Although in modern times we use the word ‘pen’ to talk about reeds which were used for writing, the word ‘pen’ actually relates to the quill pen.
This is because ‘pen’ comes from the Latin word ‘penna’ which means ‘feather’, a logical word derivation because the quill pen is made from a flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird.
The shaft of the feather serves as a reservoir for the ink which flows to the tip through the feather’s capillaries.
On Selecting Feathers for Quill Pens
Not all flight or wing feathers can be used by quill makers. Sometimes only two or three feathers from a suitable bird can be used, with the strongest quills coming from the primary flight feathers taken from living birds in springtime.
Goose feathers were most commonly used. Swan feathers were used too, but they were less common and therefore more expensive. Crow feathers were the best for making fine lines. Eagle, owl, hawk, and turkey feathers were also used.
Interestingly, the left wing is best for creating quill pens that right-handed people like because the feathers curve out to the right, away from the body of the writer holding the pen.
The Origin of the Word ‘Penknife’
After plucking the feather, the barrel or shaft needed to be carved. This required a special type of sharp knife, which led to the origin of the word ‘penknife’.
Writers often had a set-up with a high-top desk with a coal stove underneath. The stove was used to dry the ink as fast as possible.
About Inks Through the Ages
The use of colored fluids for drawing characters on parchment, hide, or cloth was common in ancient Egypt and China at least as early as 2000 B.C.
It was the Chinese who invented and perfected ‘Indian Ink’: A mixture of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with the gelatin of donkey skin and musk, this ink that was invented by the Chinese philosopher Tein-Lcheu in 2697 B.C. became common by 1200 B.C.
Other cultures created inks using natural dyes and colors.
For example, there was ink made from indigo from the galls of oak and nut trees, or from fluids secreted by octopus, cuttlefish, and squid. Berries, plants, and minerals were also the sources for other inks.
About Papers Through the Ages
The invention of inks paralleled the introduction of paper.
The early Hebrews, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans used papyrus and parchments papers. Wood-fiber paper was invented in China in 105 A.D., but the Chinese kept their knowledge secret. By 700 A.D., the Japanese knew about their invention, and then in 711 A.D. the Arabs brought the discovery to Spain.
Plant-fiber paper eventually became the primary medium for writing after another dramatic invention occurred, namely Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press with replaceable wooden or metal letters in 1436.
About Handwriting Through the Ages
At first, the handwriting of scholars who wrote their articles by hand resembled printed letters until they began to change for form of their writing, using capital and small letters, connecting the letters and including more of a slant in their writing.
Then in 1495 A.D., the Venetian Aldus Manutius invented Italian ‘running hand’ or cursive handwriting with Roman capitals and small letters.
By the end of the 16th century, the old Roman capitals and Greek letterforms had been transformed into the twenty-six alphabet letters that we use today, both for the upper- and lower-case letters.
Quill Pens Have Their Day(s) At Court
Quill pens are still used today in the 21st century – and not only by calligraphers.
For example, each day that the Supreme Court convenes in Washington, DC, quill pens have remained part of the courtroom scene: At the tables where counsels sit, white goose-quill pens are laid out neatly crossed before each chair.
Since most lawyers appear only once before the Supreme Court, it is said that they often take the quills home as souvenirs.
Some Famous Quill Pen Users Today
The American Historic Quill & Document Company claims on its website that it carves and ships more than a hundred thousand quill pens a year.
Not only do they supply the US Supreme Court as noted above, but some of its other clients include various museums around the globe, Queen Elizabeth the II, the White House, Independence Hall, and TV documentary companies.
References:
A Brief History of Writing Instruments by Mary Bellis
Websites:
Helium
Historic Quill & Document Co.
Penscollection
The Supreme Court Historical Society
Wikipedia