Inkstands

Inkstands (standishes) were much favoured in both sterling silver and, from about 1760, Sheffield plate. Silver examples include the treasury inkstand: a rectangular box which contained an inkpot, pounce box and wafer box — a small adhesive disk for sealing letters — with a single- or double-hinged lid and perhaps a drawer below for quills. Another type, made in both silver and Sheffield plate, consisted of a rectangular tray, standing upon four small feet, which had three sockets. In the case of the silver version, the inkpot and pounce box would fit into the outer two sockets, while the middle one would contain a small hand bell, or taperstick for sealing. The pens would either be placed in a trough at the front of the tray or stood in holes around the top of the inkpot. The Sheffield plate version would contain three flint-glass pots for ink, pounce and shot. This tray type provided the basic form for subsequent inkstands, and continued to be made until the later years of the eighteenth century when the word inkstand replaced that of standish, and when flint-glass containers also appeared on silver trays. The design was maintained throughout the nineteenth century.

An unusual shape was the ‘globe‘ inkstand, also made in sterling silver and Sheffield plate, which was formed as a spherical container standing on either four elegantly-scrolled feet, or one circular foot. John Robins of Clerkenwell Green, London, produced the silver examples which appeared towards the end of the 1780s and which were soon being copied in Sheffield plate. The globe had a hollow body divided into two separate parts, the whole being contained within a framework. The hollow globe was opened by pressing a spring-loaded terminal, and contained various items of writing equipment including two or three glass bottles sometimes in Bristol blue glass cut square with chamfered shoulders - penknife, pencil and ivory writing tablets. The globe might be decorated with swags of foliate motifs and lion’s head masks, or other classical ornament. The usual size was around nine-and-a-half inches in height and five inches in diameter, but giant examples up to 12 inches in height and nearly six inches in diameter were also made.

Antique Collector MagazineGeorgian and the better nineteenth century inkstands command high prices, but it is still possible to find individual pieces from disbanded inkstands. Perforated pounce dredgers, for example, are an interesting reminder of the necessity to sprinkle absorbent writing paper with pounce (the powder of gum sandarach) so that the ink would not ‘run’. When glazed paper was introduced in the nineteenth century the ink was dried by sprinkling fine sand over it. There might also be a container for lead shot which was used to remove from the quill the imperfections accumulated in the thick, crude ink. When glass containers came into fashion, the quill cleaner, too, would be of glass, and the rim of the cover would be pierced with holes in which the quills were inserted. Sometimes the quill cleaner and ink were in the same container, the ink being kept within a glass liner and the lead shot in an exterior cavity.

Sheffield plate inkstands were made in a vast number of designs, and the shapes of their glass containers, like those in silver examples, included either plain or diamond-cut shoulders. A square-shaped container also became popular, which was fluted to the shoulders and decorated with the fashionable diamond-cutting. After George IV ascended the throne, the shapes of containers included urn, vase, melon and circular forms. Covers were generally loose until about 1815, from which time they were given hinges.

Shapes of late eighteenth century inkstand trays included a rectangular form with pierced sides and matching container sockets. There was as well a canoe-shaped tray with pierced sides, and sometimes with swing handles. It was a particularly fashionable example and its popularity continued well into the Victorian era. Cheaply-produced machine-made inkstands of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries which chiefly emanated from Birmingham and Sheffield were made concurrently with beautifully-produced and decorated examples made by master craftsmen. Whatever category inkstands fell into, the range and variety was enormous, amounting to hundreds over the years, the diversity of which increased as the nineteenth century progressed when even more shapes and types of ornament appeared in the miscellany of designs. Collectors looking for cut-glass inkstand containers with sterling silver mounts should remember that these will nearly always be hallmarked, since, although small, they were not exempt from hallmarking.

The little hand bells incorporated in eighteenth century standishes are among the separated items which occasionally become available. They are smaller than general table bells and much sought-after, with the result that these sweet-sounding bells are costly. They have been much-copied over the years.

Propelling pencils and novelty pens

The interest in writing implements as collectable items has increased greatly over recent years, and now the sort of articles which at one time would not even have commanded a second glance have become established in their own right. Among the general pieces dating from the late eighteenth century are such objects as paper knives, quill pen cutters, pen holders and propelling pencils. The latter two in particular fall into the province of sterling silver, and nineteenth or early twentieth century propelling pencils offer scope for beginners. These were made in a variety of forms and were decorated, plain or in the form of novelties. They are not always hallmarked and tests should be made to ensure in doubtful cases that they are of silver. Some tend to be shoddy, but others are substantial and well-made. Sterling silver cases which fitted over a blacklead pencil like a sheath — sometimes oblong with an oblong pencil — are generally undecorated with a slip-on cover which goes over the lead. Decorated examples, when found, are most attractive.

Ink erasers, sometimes with a die-stamped silver handle and steel blade for eradicating blots by judicious scratching, may also be added to the list of recently-popular collectables, as well as certain types of penknives, including early twentieth century examples which have now risen in price. These are the sort of pieces which are appropriate for beginners, since a collection of writing paraphernalia as a whole need not be limited to sterling silver objects only and thus the general cost can be lessened. Reputable London auction houses already consider this sort of writing equipment of sufficiently high value to hold periodical sales of this once-valueless equipage.

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