Lord Byron's Ink - Brown Ink Suggestions

[sandy101]

Here is a link to a letter Lord Byron wrote, whilst in Italy.

 

https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/letter-from-lord-byron-to-douglas-kinnaird-about-other-poets

 

He's using dark brown ink. Could anyone suggest a brown ink that would look similar in colour to this?

 

I'm thinking Waterman's Havana Brown is probably too light - and Platinum's ink cartridges is close, bust still not quite dark enough.

 

Does anyone have a suggestion? It's difficult to get an idea looking at ink samples on the screen.

 

Thank you.

[MuddyWaters]

Diamine chocolate brown in a wet pen is a dark one

Edited August 25, 2019 by MuddyWaters

[Uncial]

Edelstein Smokey Quartz might be close

[Mr.Rene]

I think Lord Byron did not use a brown ink really...It should be black...Nevertheless, a kind of vintage ink formula with Campeche (a kind of tree) turns brown when ages..interesting letter. Regards.

[BDarchitect]

Iroshizuku yama-guri looks like a possible match.

[Carrau]

+1 for Smoky Quartz or Yama guri. You might also consider R&K Sepia, or Birmingham Pens Winkys Hamburgers Root Beer (which has some water resistance and writes like silk). Another to look at might be the FPN ink GalileoManuscript Brown.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Herrjaeger

[inkstainedruth]

I'm thinking that it might be some sort of iron gall ink that's oxidized. But if you're looking for a modern replica, Smoky Quartz could very well be a close substitute.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Honeybadgers]

I'm thinking that it might be some sort of iron gall ink that's oxidized. But if you're looking for a modern replica, Smoky Quartz could very well be a close substitute.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

Came here to say this, that's almost 100% certainly iron gall.

 

I think pelikan smoky quartz doesn't have the right washed out feel. I'm thinking maybe noodlers or rohrer & klinger sepia?

[Bo Bo Olson]

Looks like a Sepia to me.

There is a wide color spectrum in sepia inks from gray to brown....in some are made traditionally from cuttlefish.

 

MB Toffee is about that shade....give or take.

As suggested Pelikan Smoky Quartz is not quite a match....but an ink one 'needs', and Herbin Lie de Thee is even lighter but again an ink one should have. Both are very good shading inks, if you are using 90g or + papers.

 

I've got R&K sepia, not yet used, but that is a different color from my reading more grayish, to grayish- brown....and is an ink that requires getting a pen very clean, in that ink don't mix at all. The company warns about that.....more than likely why I've not tried it.

I might needle load an empty cartridge, in using a rubber bulb syringe cleans out a C/C pen clean quickly.

 

My 'go to' sepia is the discontinued MB Sepia.

[sandy101]

Thanks for your suggestions everyone.

 

I thought it might be oxidised black ink - John Keat's writing is a similar colour now.

 

I was thinkin ghtis spidery dark brown would probably look good on a nice cream paper.

[Honeybadgers]

Looks like a Sepia to me.

There is a wide color spectrum in sepia inks from gray to brown....in some are made traditionally from cuttlefish.

 

MB Toffee is about that shade....give or take.

As suggested Pelikan Smoky Quartz is not quite a match....but an ink one 'needs', and Herbin Lie de Thee is even lighter but again an ink one should have. Both are very good shading inks, if you are using 90g or + papers.

 

I've got R&K sepia, not yet used, but that is a different color from my reading more grayish, to grayish- brown....and is an ink that requires getting a pen very clean, in that ink don't mix at all. The company warns about that.....more than likely why I've not tried it.

I might needle load an empty cartridge, in using a rubber bulb syringe cleans out a C/C pen clean quickly.

 

My 'go to' sepia is the discontinued MB Sepia.

 

 

R&K sepia probably needs some dilution but I think it's pretty close, looking at my swab.

[Tas]

Ahh, I searched for a very similar colour having visited The British Library and seen some of Leonardo De Vincci's incredible sketches and notes.

This fella "Sailor School Brown" came pretty close.

Then, I went a step further and had a go at mixing my own. Having become obsessed and succesfully mixing & matching

1.5 Douou
5 helianthus

3 Ancient Copper

1 Zhivago
1 PR American Blue
3 Infinity Grey
3 Kiowa Pecan

5 R&K Sepia
and 10 Cacao de Brazil

I went back to the drawing board and simply mixed 1:1 KWZ Hunter Green with Kiowa Pecan. Pow.

I ended up deciding that the warm paper colour played a significant role.

Best of luck.

[SchaumburgSwan]

Came here to say this, that's almost 100% certainly iron gall.

...

 

Hi.

 

Yes, iron gall would be the authentic choice here!

Gutenberg Urkundentinte G10, our german IG registrar's ink, has that color and should be historically as correct as possible. It looks like this:

 

 

It is made for fps, any pen that works well with other strong IG inks like ESSRI is fine with it.

 

Best

Jens

Edited August 26, 2019 by SchaumburgSwan

[mana]

Most definitely iron gall, you can clearly see that it has completely eaten through the page in some places and there is also very visible ghosting due to the same effect.

[JakobS]

The brown color is because the ink was an iron gall ink that had an excess of iron left over after it oxidized and thus is degraded with a brown haloing of the letters as hydrogen (increasing acidity) and peroxides (strong oxidizing compounds) are created from the iron's interaction with the paper and other acids and pre acid pollutants in the air (Fenton Reaction). All but one of the modern "fountain pen friendly" IG inks are chemically balanced to avoid excess iron from occurring (Organic Studio's Aristotle's first version at least being the exception), so a sepia ink would be the best bet for a similar effect. There are a number of traditional iron gall inks being sold for use with a dip pen, which because they are using natural, or raw materials may not be able to create a chemically balanced ink, but depending on how pure their materials are may also not degrade to this degree over time as they would with inks made during Bryon's time.....

Edited August 26, 2019 by JakobS

[sidthecat]

Another plus one for the Smoky Quartz: I use it to duplicate the look of that ancient ink.

 

Love those ascenders...I wonder if he was using a deliberately antique writing style?

Edited August 26, 2019 by sidthecat

[JulieParadise]

L'Artisan Pastellier Encre Classique Brun Ours is another ink that looks very vintage, especially on cream coloured paper.

[AAAndrew]

Or you could go fully old school and use a dip pen with inexpensive Walnut Ink (just don't use in a fountain pen).

 

[sidthecat]

The British Library is a DANDY resource! Here's an excerpt of a letter written by Captain Soame Jenyns, describing the Charge of the Light Brigade:

[Maurizio]

The British Library is a DANDY resource! Here's an excerpt of a letter written by Captain Soame Jenyns, describing the Charge of the Light Brigade:

Wow love this

 

Great color and history

 

Thanks for posting