So that's what it really is.

[vakkotaur]

For about as long as I can remember my folks had an item I'd seen used as a toothpick holder. It's a fairly heavy clear glass block with a slightly tapered hole open on top and descending more than halfway through it. This thing did not start out as a toothpick holder.

I recently obtained another such glass block and was informed of what it was. It's an inkwell. As I've never used a pen that required an inkwell, and had only seen the thing holding toothpicks, that was something I wouldn't have otherwise known. Yet after being told what it is, it seems if not obvious, at least a very good design.

Thinking over what the properties of an inkwell should be, it seems the maker gave it some thought or perhaps more likely inkwell design evolved over time to include this. An inkwell needs a broad base - tipping over is bad. It should be fairly heavy, so any jarring wouldn't be likely to knock it over. The well itself should be deep enough that sloshing (from being jarred) won't splash ink all over. But it should not be so deep as to be inconvenient for a pen to reach. And it would be nice if you could tell how much ink was left at a glance. The glass block seems to fit all that rather well.

It's a good design and I can appreciate that, even if I've never had need of an inkwell for its originally intended purpose.

Comments

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Never used a fountain pen? They still need an inkwell for tidy filling. And good ones are extremely pleasant to write with.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Nope, I've never used a fountain pen. It's always been ballpoints or the occasional felt tip pen.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I should point out that inkwells like the one you describe sell for as much as $100 or more today. Antique ones made of lead crystal can go for much more.

As an incurable fountain pen addict, I own half a dozen different models of pen, all of which fill from a bottle or inkwell. It's a slightly messy process that gives you time to pause and think while writing. A good fountain pen has a weight and tactile feel in your hand that no ballpoint can match.

In a purely practical sense, it writes a virtually unalterable check. So it isn't all esthetics. :) And there's something delightfully archaic about blotting your signature. I have a blotter shaped like a little rocking horse.