Researching Book About History Of Ink

[robedelstein]

Hello everyone,

 

My name is Rob Edelstein and I'm presently working on a book about the history of ink. I was astonished to find that there is little up-to-date information on the topic and, being a fountain pen lover and a writer I thought I'd combine the two. And after Brian Goulet was kind enough to point me in the direction of this group and this forum, I figured I'd reach out.

 

What I'm wondering is: Does anybody have some great old or new facts/fascinating historical anecdotes that would help to tell the tale of ink's rich history? I'm talking about things such as: the tale of Thomas Sterry Hunt, who invented the green ink in U.S. currency, the story behind the ink in the Fisher Space Pen, the story of how "red ink" and "black ink" came to be used as terms for success or failure, the ink in Torah scrolls, comic artist writer Mark Gruenwald's desire that, upon his sadly premature death, his cremated ashes be mixed in with the print run ink of one of his comic books...things of that nature.

 

Anything fascinating regarding the history of ink would be helpful and fascinating to me--tattoos, anything involving forgeries, disappearing ink, squid ink, the strangely unknowable origins of ink, you name it.

 

I'd greatly appreciate anything that comes to mind, either listed here or sent to my email--or both!

 

I'm presently well into the book proposal on the topic, with my agent speaking to interested parties and waiting for me to get off my behind and give him something. I just want to make sure to get the best stuff in there.

 

Thanks very much to anyone taking the time to read this.

 

--Rob Edelstein (redel@comcast.net)

[Mangrove]

Books:

 

- Circular of the National Bureau of Standards, Issue 413.
- Inks: their composition and manufacture

 

Articles:

 

- Report on the different inks used in Codex Sinaiticus and assessment of their condition.
- The Vercelli Gospels laid open: an investigation into the inks used to write the oldest Gospels in Latin.

 

Films:

 

- The Twenty-Six Old Character

[spinningtrees]

I don't have any cool stories, but want to encourage you in your endeavor. I think your approach will make it interesting even to those outside the fountain pen lovers group.

One book to check out if you haven't is Forty Centuries of Ink by David Carvalho, published a century ago. I haven't read much of it, and what I did was a bit "dry" for my taste, but it should have some good historical info.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[robedelstein]

Mangrove: First of all, isn't the Internet archive.org the most wondrous place? It never ceases to amaze me what you can find there. And second, thanks VERY much for all these links. I'm going through so much material, some of it brand new, some of it hundreds of years old. This stuff is great.

 

And spinningtrees: Thanks so much for the supportive words. I find myself wanting to work non-stop on this stuff. Carvalho's book is phenomenal, period. I agree; it can sure be dry. But the history he recounts--and, perhaps as importantly, the "history" he either refutes or offers mixed opinions of--is invaluable.

 

I'm trying to take as much of this stuff into account as possible, going back to Thoth and ahead to the bio-ink that is helping to create bones and organs for transplants. I have interviews set up next week with comic book folks and I'm waiting to hear back from U.S. Currency security ink folks.

 

I'm going to have to get myself some real hands-on experience as well, and try to add a little soot, ash, gum and water and dip a pen in to see what I can create.

 

Thanks again for any and all suggestions.

[jbb]

I write with a dip pen & make iron gall ink if any of that will help.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8524/8670317406_37f17ed98f_o.jpg

[SamKl]

Afraid I can't help, but it seems propitious that your name is Edelstein...

[enchiridion]

Maybe try contacting the Plantin Moretus museum in Antwerp.

regards

 

Lode

[enchiridion]

I have a few titles that might be helpful:

1) Chinese calligraphy. by Nakata,Y NY, Tokyo, Kyoto, Tankosha 1983

2) L'aventure des écritures Matières et formes. Paris, BNF 1999

3) L'aventure des écritures Naissances. Paris, BNF 1997

4) Van pen tot laser. Amsterdam, De Buitenkant 1996

 

but there should be better

[robedelstein]

Thanks everyone--my goodness, contacting the Plantin Moretus museum in Antwerp is a phenomenal idea. I'm gonna get right on that. And those book titles are terrific; I'm compiling quite a list of older and newer sources, and the newer ones--with history that updates whatever I've studied in Carvalho--are always valued.

 

And SamKI, when I first began this project I ordered a bunch of samples from Goulet of inks that looked good to me, mostly in blue-black (a color that always appealed to me because I associate it with "the past," and the romanticized view I always had of pens and inks). One of the first ones I loaded into my fountain pen was Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite. I thought, hmmm...maybe it makes sense for me to be writing about this after all.

[northlodge]

You should probably get in touch with Avenue House, Barnet, London. This was the family home of 'Inky Stephens' and now houses a museum that focuses on the history and products of The Stephens Ink Company.

I suspect the UK WES Writing Equipment Society) has a number of documents and magazine articles that would be of use. Drop the Librarian an email (and think of joining at the same time).

[Steven Avery]

 

- Report on the different inks used in Codex Sinaiticus and assessment of their condition.

You will notice that this has never been tested.

 

"The Codex Sinaiticus inks have never been chemically characterized, and the type and proportions of ingredients mixed together have never been determined. Therefore, the composition of the writing media can only be roughly guessed by observing their visible chracteristics and their degradation patterns. ...

 

After more than 1600 years, it is clear that the quality of the writing medium originally used by the scribes was truly exceptional, as is the quality of the parchment. The ingredients appear to be well balanced creating a smooth and thin fluid perfect for writing on parchment. The recipe and the manufacturing technique seem to be exquisite too, revealing high craftsmanship and skilled experience for producing good quality inks.

 

No significant degradation process seems to affect the writing media."

 

However, this manuscript is one with many glaring anomalies in material, production, history and provenance. So I would be slow to accept the standard story. And you might find the explanations given in the standard history do not fit well.

 

To give one example, the parchment that was taken from Sinai to Leipzig in 1844 is a pristine white parchment. The parchment that left Sinai in 1859 for St. Petersburg and later London in 1933 is an aged yellow and stained. Afawk, this glaring anomaly was not commented on in the literature for 150 years.

 

Steven Avery

Bayside, NY

Edited November 13, 2014 by Steven Avery

[dogpoet]

Rob, first of all, good luck with the book. That sounds a worthy project, and should be a great read when you get it done.

A few things that you should be able to research some information on spring to mind pretty quickly.

Mark Gruenwald's ashes weren't used for comics ink, but the first printing of Marvel's KISS special from the '70s supposedly had a vial of blood from each of the four band members mixed into the red ink. Whether this is true, or just more of the ridiculous hype KISS have based their lengthy career on, I don't know.

It'd be worth investigating Parker: there's no doubt that they patented the first quick drying ink, then had to design a special pen to use it (the legendary Parker 51) because it was very bad for the components of rival companies' pens, and older models of Parker.

The whole issue of iron gall ink that jbb mentions is definitely worth looking into. The companies that make registrar's inks might be able to help with that one. Diamine and Pelikan both make the stuff and may well have some sort of historical handout for the curious.

[robedelstein]

Thanks much, dog poet...I hear you about Mr. Gruenwald, although I spent about an hour on the phone with his widow and I'm afraid she would beg to differ. She offered a pretty vivid account of the events. Of course, she may just be adding to the legend but in any case, it makes for pretty compelling copy.

 

Thanks for the added info on Parker. For this project, I decided to make some ink using Isaac Newton's formula, getting a beer that seemed like it would be similar to the "strong ale" formula of that era, buying and mashing gall nuts with a mortal and pestle and then letting it sit for a month. The result was pretty wondrous. Granted, it didn't work as well as the inks I'm using right now (Noodler's Baystate Blue at the moment)...but it was "mine." It was, in fact, pretty thrilling. And no...I didn't mix any of my own blood into it, though that does give me an idea...

 

Thanks again. I was emailing Mr. Avery above about the Codex Sinaiticus, looking into what the ink formula was. One of the things I'm loving about this project is reading through all these books from the late 1800s-early 1900s offering formulas. It's all fascinating stuff, and it's endless in the fact-checking department. I really appreciate all the great source info everyone has provided.

[robedelstein]

...and I did find an article about KISS doing this, though it could also be the stuff of legend.

[Maurizio]

Rob - good luck with the book.

 

If you haven't already thought of it, you should consider devoting a chapter or at least several pages to Noodler's Ink and its proprietor/ink wizard Nathan Tardiff. Someone here - was it Brain Goulet? - has described him as a real life Willy Wonka of ink. He has invented all sorts of innovative fountain pen inks including "bulletproof" inks which can not be erased or forged, highlighting inks, inks which work at extreme temperatures, invisible ink, innovative colors such as Bay State Blue, a stunning cobalt color, and inks which start on the page as one color, but then morph into another. I think it's more accurate to say that he's the Thomas Edison of ink.

[dan in montreal]

I have not read this book yet, but it may contain some of the information you are looking for:

The Social Life of Ink, by Ted Bishop.

http://www.amazon.ca/The-Social-Life-Ink-Relationship/dp/0670068616

[Maurizio]

I have not read this book yet, but it may contain some of the information you are looking for:

The Social Life of Ink, by Ted Bishop.

http://www.amazon.ca/The-Social-Life-Ink-Relationship/dp/0670068616

Hi Dan. I was very interested to learn of this book. I saw an article about it and the author in Pen World magazine a couple of years ago and it piqued my interest in the book. I don't why this book hasn't received more exposure on the FPN. I think the publisher is doing a disservice to both the reading public and the author by not promoting it more. Sadly the book is not available on Amazon US except in hardcover and from 3rd party sellers. In contrast, it is available as a Kindle book, but only on Amazon Canada. Weird.

 

If you have read it, how about posting a quick review here for us ?

[dan in montreal]

Hi Dan. I was very interested to learn of this book. I saw an article about it and the author in Pen World magazine a couple of years ago and it piqued my interest in the book. I don't why this book hasn't received more exposure on the FPN. I think the publisher is doing a disservice to both the reading public and the author by not promoting it more. Sadly the book is not available on Amazon US except in hardcover and from 3rd party sellers. In contrast, it is available as a Kindle book, but only on Amazon Canada. Weird.

 

If you have read it, how about posting a quick review here for us ?

Hi Maurizio. It's on my radar but I haven't read it yet.

[tedbishop]

Hi,

 

Just dropped in on this. The book has generated considerable interest in Canada, and if you want to read reviews or hear interviews you can go to my website:

http://www.tedbishop.com/news/

I've asked my editor about the Kindle situation, as well as about foreign rights, and haven't had any firm response.

Rob, there was a ton of stuff I couldn't fit into the book, and whole areas, like the Torah, that I didn't explore because I had too much already, in part because it's a travel book as well as cultural history and commodity biography. There's room for several more.

(Yes, it was Brian Goulet who, in an interview, referred to Nathan Tardif as the Willie Wonka of ink).

 

all best,

Ted Bishop

[tedbishop]

... as for hardcover, the book has gone into a second printing here, but still only in hardcover.

TB