Steel dip pen
The mass-produced steel nib that replaced the quill – stamped in Birmingham by the million.
Steel nibs had long been made by hand, but only in the 1830s could they be mass-produced cheaply. Birmingham became the world centre of the trade.
The steel pen needed no recutting, and schools and offices soon switched over. Dip pens were used in schools well into the 20th century.
Materials: Steel; holder of wood or bone
Manufacture: Nibs were stamped, embossed, hardened and ground in factories in Birmingham; the work was done mostly by women.
An interchangeable nib with a slit and a small hole that guides the ink.
The maker’s name and number stamped into the nib.
A holder with a sleeve; the nib is dipped in the inkwell every few words.