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35-438: A quill is a writing tool made from the wing feather of a large bird. Quill may also refer to: Quill As with the earlier reed pen (and later dip pen), a quill has no internal ink reservoir and therefore needs to periodically be dipped into an inkwell during writing. The hand-cut goose quill is rarely used as a calligraphy tool anymore because many papers are now derived from wood pulp and would quickly wear

70-426: A nib using a pen knife or other small cutting tool. A quill pen is in effect a hollow tube which has one closed end, and has one open end at which part of the tube wall extends into a sharp point and has in it a thin slit leading to this point. The hollow shaft of the feather (the calamus ) acts as an ink reservoir and ink flows to the tip through the slit by capillary action . In a carefully prepared quill,

105-462: A fountain pen that used a quill as an ink reservoir. The French Government patented this in May 1827. Fountain pen patents and production then increased in the 1850s. The first patent on a ballpoint pen was issued on October 30, 1888, to John J Loud. In 1938, László Bíró , a Hungarian newspaper editor, with the help of his brother George, a chemist, began to design new types of pens, including one with

140-482: A pen knife and a quill knife, in that the quill knife has a blade that is flat on one side and convex on the other which facilitates the round cuts required to shape a quill. A "pen" knife by contrast has two flat sides. This distinction is not recognised by modern traders, dealers or collectors, who define a quill knife as any small knife with a fixed or hinged blade, including such items as ornamental fruit knives. While quills are rarely used as writing instruments in

175-473: A pen with a reservoir dates back to the 10th century AD. In 953, Ma'ād al-Mu'izz , the Fatimid Caliph of Egypt , demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes, and was provided with a pen which held ink in a reservoir and delivered it to the nib. This pen may have been a fountain pen, but its mechanism remains unknown, and only one record mentioning it has been found. A later reservoir pen

210-556: A penknife, and afterwards reduce it to a roundness with your fingers. If you have a number to harden, set water and alum over the fire; and while it is boiling put in a handful of quills, the barrels only, for a minute, and then lay them by. An accurate account of the Victorian process by William Bishop, from research with one of the last London quill dressers, is recorded in the Calligrapher's Handbook cited on this page. From

245-505: A point made of some porous material such as felt or ceramic. A high quality drafting pen will usually have a ceramic tip, since this wears well and does not broaden when pressure is applied while writing. Although the invention of the typewriter and personal computer with the keyboard input method has offered another way to write, the pen is still the main means of writing. Many people like to use expensive types and brands of pens, including fountain pens, and these are sometimes regarded as

280-410: A quill down. However it is still the tool of choice for a few scribes who have noted that quills provide an unmatched sharp stroke as well as greater flexibility than a steel pen. The shaft of a flight feather is long and hollow, making it an obvious candidate for being crafted into a pen. The process of making a quill from a feather involves curing the shaft to harden it, then fashioning its tip into

315-552: A small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity that had to be periodically recharged by dipping the tip of the pen into an inkwell . Today, such pens find only a small number of specialized uses, such as in illustration and calligraphy . Reed pens, quill pens and dip pens, which were used for writing, have been replaced by ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, fountain pens and felt or ceramic tip pens. Ruling pens, which were used for technical drawing and cartography , have been replaced by technical pens such as

350-473: A tiny ball in its tip that was free to turn in a socket. As the pen moved along the paper, the ball rotated, picking up ink from the ink cartridge and leaving it on the paper. Bíró filed a British patent on June 15, 1938. In 1940, the Bíró brothers and a friend, Juan Jorge Meyne, moved to Argentina , fleeing Nazi Germany . On June 17, 1943, they filed for another patent. They formed "Bíró Pens of Argentina", and by

385-771: Is a specific reference to quills in the writings of St. Isidore of Seville in the 7th century. Quill pens were still widely used in the eighteenth century, and were used to write and sign the Constitution of the United States in 1787. A copper nib was found in the ruins of Pompeii , showing that metal nibs were used in the year 79. There is also a reference to 'a silver pen to carry ink in', in Samuel Pepys ' diary for August 1663. 'New invented' metal pens are advertised in The Times in 1792. A metal pen point

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420-697: Is still used in some parts of Pakistan by young students and is used to write on small wooden boards. The reed pen survived until papyrus was replaced as a writing surface by animal skins, vellum and parchment. The smoother surface of skin allowed finer, smaller writing with a quill pen, derived from the flight feather. The quill pen was used in Qumran, Judea to write some of the Dead Sea Scrolls , which date back to around 100 BC. The scrolls were written in Hebrew dialects with bird feathers or quills. There

455-465: Is today with modern steel pens. It was much later, in the 1600s, with the increased popularity of writing, especially in the copperplate script promoted by the many printed manuals available from the 'Writing Masters', that quills became more pointed and flexible. Quills are denominated from the order in which they are fixed in the wing; the first is favoured by the expert calligrapher, the second and third quills also being satisfactory, together with

490-597: The Juncus maritimus or sea rush. In his book A History of Writing , Steven Roger Fischer suggests, on the basis of finds at Saqqara , that the reed pen might well have been used for writing on parchment as long ago as the First Dynasty, or around 3000 BC. Reed pens continued to be used until the Middle Ages , but were slowly replaced by quills from about the 7th century. The reed pen, made from reed or bamboo,

525-651: The Administrative Office of the United States Courts . They also appear in the coats of arms of several US Army Adjutant general units which focus on administrative duties. Quills are on the coats of arms of a number of municipalities such as Bargfeld-Stegen in Germany and La Canonja in Spain. Three books and a quill pen are the symbols of Saint Hilary of Poitiers . A quill knife

560-562: The Rapidograph . All of these modern pens contain internal ink reservoirs, such that they do not need to be dipped in ink while writing. Pens commonly used today can be categorized based on the mechanism of the writing tip and the type of ink: These historic types of pens are no longer in common use as writing instruments, but may be used by calligraphers and other artists: Ancient Egyptians had developed writing on papyrus scrolls when scribes used thin reed brushes or reed pens from

595-502: The harpsichord . From the 17th to 19th centuries, the central tube of the quill was used as a priming tube (filled with gunpowder) for cannon fire. The quill pen evolved from the reed pen , of Egyptian origin. Quills were the primary writing instrument in the Barbarian Kingdoms from the 6th to the 19th century. The best quills were usually made from goose, swan, and later turkey feathers. Quills went into decline after

630-419: The reed pen had been used, but a finer letter was achieved on animal skin using a cured quill. Other than written text, they were often used to create figures, decorations, and images on manuscripts , although many illuminators and painters preferred fine brushes for their work. The variety of different strokes in formal hands was accomplished by good penmanship as the tip was square cut and rigid, exactly as it

665-695: The 19th century in radical and socialist symbolism, quills have been used to symbolize clerks and intelligentsia . Some notable examples are the Radical Civic Union , the Czech National Social Party in combination with the hammer, symbol of the labour movement , or the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro . Quills appear on the seals of the United States Census Bureau and

700-517: The Court only once, and gladly take the quills home as souvenirs ." This has been done since the earliest sessions of the Court. In the Jewish tradition quill pens, called kulmus ( קולמוס ), are used by scribes to write Torah Scrolls, Mezuzot, and Tefillin. Plectra for psalteries and lutes can be cut similarly to writing pens. The rachis , the portion of the stem between the barbs, not

735-656: The Croatian entrepreneur Edmund Moster , he started the Penkala-Moster Company and built a pen-and-pencil factory that was one of the biggest in the world at the time. This company, now called TOZ-Penkala , still exists today. "TOZ" stands for " Tvornica olovaka Zagreb ", meaning " Zagreb Pencil Factory". In the 1960s, the fiber- or felt-tipped pen was invented by Yukio Horie of the Tokyo Stationery Company, Japan . Paper Mate's Flair

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770-531: The calamus, of the primary flight feathers of birds of the Corvidae was preferred for harpsichords. In modern instruments, plastic is more common, but they are often still called "quills". The lesiba uses a quill attached to a string to produce sound. Pen A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper , for writing or drawing . Early pens such as reed pens , quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held

805-541: The feather curves away from the sight line, over the back of the hand, the quill barrel is cut to six or seven inches in length so no such consideration of curvature or 'sight-line' is necessary. Additionally, writing with the left hand in the era in which the quill was popular was discouraged, and quills were never sold as left- and right-handed, only by their size and species. Goose feathers are most commonly used; scarcer, more expensive swan feathers are used for larger lettering. Depending on availability and strength of

840-432: The feather, as well as quality and characteristic of the line wanted by the writer, other feathers used for quill-pen making include those from the crow , eagle , owl , turkey , and hawk too. Crow feathers were particularly useful as quills when fine work, such as accounting books, was required. Each bird could supply only about 10 to 12 good-quality quills. On a true quill, the barbs are stripped off completely on

875-613: The invention of the metal pen , mass production beginning in Great Britain as early as 1822 by John Mitchell of Birmingham . In the Eastern Mediterranean and much of the Islamic world, quills were not used as writing implements. Only reed pens were used as writing implements. Quill pens were the instrument of choice during the medieval era due to their compatibility with parchment and vellum . Before this,

910-528: The modern day, they are still being produced as specialty items, mostly for hobbyists. Such quills tend to have metal nibs or are sometimes even outfitted with a ballpoint pen inside to remove the need for a separate source of ink. According to the Supreme Court Historical Society , 20 goose-quill pens, neatly crossed, are placed at the four counsel tables each day the U.S. Supreme Court is in session; "most lawyers appear before

945-405: The pinion feather. The 5th and 6th feathers are also used. No other feather on the wing would be considered suitable by a professional scribe . Information can be obtained on the techniques of curing and cutting quills: In order to harden a quill that is soft, thrust the barrel into hot ashes, stirring it till it is soft; then taking it out, press it almost flat upon your knees with the back of

980-417: The slit does not widen through wetting with ink and drying. It will retain its shape adequately, requiring only infrequent sharpening; it can be used repeatedly until there is little left of it. The strongest quills come from the primary flight feathers discarded by birds during their annual moult . Although some have claimed that feathers from the left wing are better suited to right-handed writers because

1015-472: The summer of 1943, the first commercial models were available. Erasable ballpoint pens were introduced by Paper Mate in 1979, when the Erasermate was put on the market. Slavoljub Eduard Penkala , a Croatian engineer and inventor, became renowned for further development of the mechanical pencil (1906) – then called an "automatic pencil" – and the first solid-ink fountain pen (1907). Collaborating with

1050-445: The trailing edge. (The pinion for example only has significant barbs on one side of the barrel.) Later, a fashion developed for stripping partially and leaving a decorative top of a few barbs. The fancy, fully-plumed quill is mostly a Hollywood invention and has little basis in reality. Most, if not all, manuscript illustrations of scribes show a quill devoid of decorative barbs, or at least mostly stripped. Quill pens were used to write

1085-477: The vast majority of medieval manuscripts. Quill pens were also used to write Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence . U.S. President Thomas Jefferson bred geese specially at Monticello to supply his tremendous need for quills. Quill pens are still used today mainly by professional scribes and calligraphers. Quills are also used as the plectrum material in string instruments , particularly

Quill (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-467: Was among the first felt-tip pens to hit the U.S. market in the 1960s, and it has been the leader ever since. Marker pens and highlighters, both similar to felt pens, have become popular in recent times. Rollerball pens were introduced in the early 1970s. They use a mobile ball and liquid ink to produce a smoother line. Technological advances during the late 1980s and early 1990s have improved the roller ball's overall performance. A porous point pen contains

1155-577: Was developed in 1636. In his Deliciae Physico-Mathematicae (1636), German inventor Daniel Schwenter described a pen made from two quills. One quill served as a reservoir for ink inside the other quill. The ink was sealed inside the quill with cork . Ink was squeezed through a small hole to the writing point. In 1809, Bartholomew Folsch received a patent in England for a pen with an ink reservoir. A student in Paris , Romanian Petrache Poenaru invented

1190-400: Was patented in 1803, but the patent was not commercially exploited. A patent for the manufacture of metal pens was advertised for sale by Bryan Donkin in 1811. John Mitchell of Birmingham started to mass-produce pens with metal nibs in 1822, and after that, the quality of steel nibs improved enough so that dip pens with metal nibs came into general use. The earliest historical record of

1225-429: Was the original primary tool used for cutting and sharpening quills, a process known as "dressing". Following the decline of the quill in the 1820s, after the introduction of the maintenance-free, mass-produced steel dip nib by John Mitchell, knives were still manufactured but became known as desk knives, stationery knives or latterly as the name stuck "pen" knives . There is a small but significant difference between

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