It seems pretty rare that our office supplies and writing instruments involve glass, except for, perhaps, bottles of fountain pen ink. Prior to the convenience of filling mechanisms, cartridges, and disposable pens, people primarily relied on pencils, dip pens, and inkwells.
I purchased this J. Herbin glass dip pen from JetPens, and it is not only visually striking, but it brings a warming sense of nostalgia to mind. According to the packaging, glass dip pens were rather popular in the 17th century Italy, and J. Herbin, founded in 1670, has been producing ink, wax seals, and a variety of other products since this innovative instrument first became a fad. The fad has been revived, and I've heard good things about this handmade pens.
The pen itself has a nice weight, and the nib section has spiral glass flutes that hold ink, enough for several lines. I will be doing a review of the performance in my next post.
I was gifted this antique inkwell for Christmas, and I thought the pairing of the two was a nice pairing of materials and contrast of style. The inkwell is more Art Deco than anything else, and may have been produced in between the 30s and 50s.
I like how these two items look together - classy, functional, and stylish.
I have yet to commit myself to putting an ink in the inkwell, because it seems easier to just draw from the bottles of ink, but I might dump some ink samples in the inkwell. Many samples come in small plastic vials, and I'd obviously rather not have one tip over and pour ink over the stuff on my desk.
Let me know if you've had any experience working with a glass dip pen or inkwell. If you acquire ink samples, how to you typically try them out - dip pen, eyedropper, cotton swab?