What Were The Inks That Were Used In The Old Days? 1800S To 1900S

[senor47]

Hi,

 

Did not know where to put this since this is not an inky thought but more of a question(s).

I am curious about the inks that were used in the early days when fountain pens were used daily. I see Einstein's writings that look great and visible almost 100 years later. Is it the ink or perhaps the documents are just that well maintained? I am sure many government agencies had to keep records and washable inks were not that practical.

If one is to find some of these old inks, are they safe to use or are they dangerous to use in modern pens?

 

Many thanks!

[Cepasaccus]

From 1800 to 1900 fountain pens were probably very very rarely used. Most common was the penholder and pencil. From maybe 50 postcards from around 1900-1910 none were written with pencil, 49 with a dark brown/black ink which is certainly iron gall ink and one with a blue ink. Most probably all these cards were written with a penholder. The lines are extremely fine to fine and can show nice variation, i.e. flex. Most iron gall inks today have a rather low concentration with dye added. A pure iron gall ink with high iron gall concentration is Gutenberg's document ink. The darkness is similar to the old texts, but with neutral gray. The brown hue probably develops over the decades. These high concentrated iron gall inks are not without risk to a pen. It should be possible to disassemble a pen completely including nib and feed for a thorough clean if necessary. You will find more about iron gall inks if you use the search function of this forum.

 

Cepasaccus

[senor47]

From 1800 to 1900 fountain pens were probably very very rarely used. Most common was the penholder and pencil. From maybe 50 postcards from around 1900-1910 none were written with pencil, 49 with a dark brown/black ink which is certainly iron gall ink and one with a blue ink. Most probably all these cards were written with a penholder. The lines are extremely fine to fine and can show nice variation, i.e. flex. Most iron gall inks today have a rather low concentration with dye added. A pure iron gall ink with high iron gall concentration is Gutenberg's document ink. The darkness is similar to the old texts, but with neutral gray. The brown hue probably develops over the decades. These high concentrated iron gall inks are not without risk to a pen. It should be possible to disassemble a pen completely including nib and feed for a thorough clean if necessary. You will find more about iron gall inks if you use the search function of this forum.

 

Cepasaccus

 

Thank you.

 

I have seen some documents from people in asylums and other institutions from the 1880's. Its all in ink that resembles fountain pens. Its most likely iron-gall ink.

[whych]

... A pure iron gall ink with high iron gall concentration is Gutenberg's document ink. The darkness is similar to the old texts, but with neutral gray. The brown hue probably develops over the decades. These high concentrated iron gall inks are not without risk to a pen. It should be possible to disassemble a pen completely including nib and feed for a thorough clean if necessary. You will find more about iron gall inks if you use the search function of this forum.

I know it's a bit off topic, but does that explain why some of the old bottles of Pelikan Blue Black turn to the gray shade as shown in the scans on this thread?

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/238211-pelikan-blue-black-bottle-vs-cartridge/

 

Over time the iron gall in the old blue and white label bottles has turned the ink gray perhaps.

 

Getting back to the original topic.

Even going back to the 60's and early 70's most inks were made using permanent dyes. When Parker started it's 'Washable Blue' ink, they made a point of stressing that the ink stains washed out. All other colours were permanent and no matter how much washing you tried, it was as permanent as the dye in your clothes.

 

With a dip pen, you aren't too worried about corrosion - the nib will wear out before it corrodes. So they would use just about any mix that they could use, so long as it would make some sort of indelible line on the paper.

[N2theBreach]

Over in the Inky Recipes forum, there are recipes that one of our members posted for old inks. Most people recommend not using iron gall inks in a fountain pen; however she uses them in inexpensive pens without trouble. I think she flushes them regularly.

[Cepasaccus]

Regarding the blue gray: I have read here, that the blue gray ink in cartridges is different from the bottles, i.e. without IG. This doesn't explain, the gray color. But from my experience the cartridges are not neccessarily airtight and watertight. I have cartridges from the 80s which are only halve full. And another experience is that a drop of standard royal blue in an open glas of water will turn colorless. So in the case of the gray cartridges the blue might have been oxidized.

 

I do use the Gutenberg IG ink in an eyedropper from the 20s which I can completely disassemble incl. nib and feed. So in case something gets clogged I can scratch it clean. From the rust-like stuff in the feed when I bought the pen I do assume it was heavily used with IG ink in its youth.