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Hi everyone! I recently picked up this pen that I believe to be from the civil war era. The nib says "John Foley's Bank Ben New York No. 7" I have seen varying versions online, but they all have a date on the nib; this one does not. Is that a problem? This does seem to be from the civil war era, but again, I am not an expert in this. I'm looking for more information on this such as when was it made, if it is okay that there is no date on it, what is its worth, that sort of thing. Any and all help is much appreciated. Thank you! Pictures can be found here because they are too big/too many to upload https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RuRTQbTIIVBUo-FK_QZFKnIdYjC7RXjJ

Hi everyone! I recently picked up this mechanical pencil that I believe to be from the civil war era. It is a slide pencil, has a screwable jewel top, and the name "Ezra C. Dean" engraved on it. The mechanical mechanism slides in and out, the jewel top comes off, and the hook loop on it also slides. I'm looking for more information on this such as who made it, when was it made, what is it exactly, what is its worth, that sort of thing. Any and all help is much appreciated. Thank you! Pictures can be found here because they are too big/too many to upload https://drive.google.com/open?id=1y0mBbdECrPOceGDBoCoLkEj-yrhHq12v

Hello! I haven't been around FPN lately, but I do pop in and lurk on occasion. I'm hoping that you all can give me a hand here (pun intended!). I'm currently working on some fan fiction for _Alias Smith and Jones_, and I got curious as to what the fellows' handwriting might have looked like. Heyes and Curry were born roughly 1850 - 1852, so I'm assuming that they would have learned manuscript penmanship in school about 1860. Since this would have been in the Midwest/frontier, say Kansas, my thought is that the school script they were taught would have been from a somewhat earlier time as schools on the prairie would not have had "all the latest" materials to use. I don't really intend to learn to write that way, but I'd like an idea of what it would have looked like, or what copy books were used in that period, so that I can find a script font that looks similar to use for letters written by the guys in the story I'm working on. Many thanks to my fellow FPNers! Addendum: I did find the IAMPETH site, and have looked at the books and materials from the mid-19th century. What boggles my mind is the highly flourished and ornamental capitals that are characteristic of Spencerian script. Teachers really taught that style to dozens of seven- and eight-year-olds in a one-room schoolhouse on the frontier? Little children in those one-room schools had flexible dip nibs? Clearly they went to school on a different planet than I did. Was there a standard school script of that period that didn't have all the ruffles and flourishes, comparable, say to the Vere Foster script in England?

“This is a pretty picture. here I am sitting before a guard fire writing at midnight with my knee for a desk and all around the fire are sleeping guards … it is not time to wright.” Cheap pocket journals for the common person became hugely popular during the U.S. Civil War and played a significant role in what we know about it. It played a bigger role at the time in connecting people and entertaining lonely soldiers of the day. Sort of the iPhone of the 1800s, in a much slower, maybe more glorious way. Thought some might be interesting in this blog on it.