Part 27 (1/2)

The original flexible iron pen ofmentioned by Chamberlayne as far back as 1685

The first steel pens in regular use were made by Wise, in London, in 1803, and for many years thereafter

His pen was ht handle In its portable form it was mounted in a bone case for the pocket

Prejudice, however, was strong against them, and up to 1835 or thereabouts quillsthe old-fashi+oned folks

To hi the inventor of the ht of soenitor of the steel pen, but he was not

Arnoux, a French mechanic, made lishrine Williaed as a jeweler in the city of Baltimore, made steel pens in 1800

Perry's first pens were of steel, rolled fros a pound Five shi+llings each was paid the work thes per gross, which price was continued for several years

It was Joseph Gillott, however, originally a Sheffield cutler, and afterwards a workht steel articles, as buckles, chains, and other articles of that class, who in 1822 gave impulse to the steel-penthe business the pens were cut out with shears and finished with the file Gillott adapted the sta out the blanks, for the maker's na the , and polishi+ng, and, in short, ive them the required flexibility to enable thereat difficulty to be overcome was their extre slits at the side in addition to the central one, which had previously been solely used A further i the points, was subsequently adopted The first gross of pens with three slits was sold for seven pounds In 1830 the price was 200; in 1832, 150; in 1861, 12 cents, and a coross About 9,300 tons of steel are annually consu about 8,000,000,000

Bra the semicylinders into sections which were shaped into pens and adapted to be placed in a holder These were, perhaps, the first nibs, the progenitors of a host of steel, gold, and other pens

Hawkins and Mordan, in 1823, made nibs of horn and tortoise shell, instead of quill The tortoise shell being softened, points of ruby and diamond were imbedded

Metallic points were also ceold pens with ruby points

Gold pens with rhodium or iridium points were introduced soon afterwards

Mordan's oblique pen, English patent, 1831, was designed to present the nibs in the right direction while preserving the customary positions of the pen and hand

The fountain pen carries a supply of ink, fed gradually to the point of the instrument The first made by Scheffer was introduced about 1835 by Mordan

The pressure of the thumb on a stud in a holder caused a continuous supply of ink to flow froraphic” is a reservoir pen shaped like a pencil, in which the flow of ink is regulated by pressure of a style or fine needle with blunt point upon the paper It must be held in a vertical position

All marks made with one, both up and down strokes, are equal in width

Gold pens are now usually tipped with iridiu what are commonly known as diamond points

”The iridiuhtly alloyed with this latter old for pens is alloyed with silver to about sixteen carats fineness, rolled into thin strips, from which the blanks are struck The under side of the point is notched by a small circular saw to receive the iridium point, which is selected with the aid of a microscope A flux of borax and a blowpipe secure it to its place The point is then ground on a copper wheel of emery The pen-blank is next rolled to the requisite thinness by the means of rollers especially adapted for the purpose, and tempered by blows froes, stah the solid iridium point by means of a thin copper wheel fed with fine e the pen itself

The inside edges of the slit are s and haree of elasticity”

It is asserted that more steel is used in the uns in the world This fact partly verifies the old saying, ”The pen is hty sith men, The Sword, the Sceptre, and the Pen; Who can the least of these command, In the first rank of Fame will stand”

CHAPTER XXVII

SUBStitUTES FOR INK UTENSILS (”LEAD” AND OTHER PENCILS)

”BLACK-LEAD” PENCILS AN EXCELLENT PEN SUBStitUTE UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS--ITS COMPOSITION-- ”BLACK-LEAD” CONTAINS NO LEAD, HENCE THE NAME IS MISAPPLIED--THE DISCOVERY OF ITS PRINcipaL SOURCE OF SUPPLY AN ACCIDENT--A DESCRIPTION OF HOW IT IS MINED--TREATMENT BEFORE BEING INTRODUCED INTO THE GROOVED WOOD--USE OF RED AND BLACK CHALK PENCILS IN GERMANY, 1450--THEIR USE IN MEXICO IN EARLY TIMES--WHO MANUFACTURES LEAD PENCILS--EMPLOYMENT OF THE COMPOSITION OF LEAD AND TIN IN MEDIAEVAL TIMES--BAVARIAN GOVERNMENT IN 1816 A MANUFACTURER OF LEAD PENCILS

THE black-lead pencil, under many circumstances, is a very useful substitute for the pen, in that it requires no liquid ink forthe characters on paper or other materials The peculiar substance which fills the central channel of the stick of cedar has the property ofwhen it touches paper; and, as the marks thus made are susceptible to easy removal, a pencil of this kind is available for purposes which would not be answered by the use of pen and ink

The substance misnamed ”black-lead” contains NO LEAD and is a carburet of iron, being coenerally occurs in Mountain districts, in s in size fro various strata, and is met with in different parts of the world