1899 letter, what type of pen?

[Nightjar]

I found this letter at an antique fair, for about the price of a flat white. It's from Lord Walsingham (Thomas de Grey) to Lord Amherst (William Amhurst Tyssen-Amherst), both Norfolk landowners. Walsingham proposes reintroduction of the Great Bustard on their estates...

 

But my question: is this a dip pen? [It certainly gets paler towards bottom, but I guess that might be differential fading.] I think (?) dip pens still very widely used at turn of century.

 

The letter continues for another two pages; and the bustard story continues too, and is fascinating, but I'll spare y'all that...

 

 

 

[Claes]

Guess 1: dip nib (presumably cut like a J-pen, even if the thins look too thick).

Guess 2: a quill.

But of course it could also have been a fountain pen...

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

[Nightjar]

Thank you @Claes! 

 

My un-expert gut feeling is dip nib. But a quill: that would be very appropriate!

 

 

[Beechwood]

The Walsingham House Hotel on Piccadilly was were you would find the Ritz today, one of the best hotels in London, if not the best. It would have been commonplace for good hotels to provide a writing desk, ink, paper and a dip pen for the convenience of guests.

 

Thank you to Nightjar @Nightjarfor showing the picture of a bustard, I read that word as having an A and not a U, and thought we have plenty of those already.

[Nightjar]

Interesting history per Wikipedia, thanks for pointing me to this... a flamboyant building that stood for only 16 years before being demolished!

 

Dip pen for guests (or the owner, in this case) sounds very plausible! Nominal owner, at any rate.

 

Yes, I think we've all had enough of stupid bustards with illusions of greatness...

[encremental]

And I suppose this family is responsible for the naming of the Lady Amherst pheasant! I always wondered who she was.

 

Furthermore, did you know that one third of the UK landmass is set aside for shooting (and a further third for golf courses) ? Explains a lot ...

 

John

[Beechwood]

  On 4/5/2025 at 9:41 AM, encremental said:

 

 

Furthermore, did you know that one third of the UK landmass is set aside for shooting (and a further third for golf courses) ? Explains a lot ...

 

John

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It is a pity that they cannot combine the two pastimes on a single piece of land, gives an entirely different meaning to 'Hole in One'.

 

It took over 100 years for the bustard to be re-established in the UK, eggs were brought over from southern Spain and three years later the first breeding pair got their act together.

[Nightjar]

In fairness to Walsingham (who I think did more than his share of grouse massacring), I don't think he reintroduced them as gamebirds, rather as an early version of rewilding.

 

Yes I think that's probably the Amherst of pheasant fame, but several generations before the Amherst addressed in this letter... the pheasant was named for Sarah Amherst (b. 1726, naturalist, lived in India).