The Technical Development of The Pen Through History

The pen, as a writing instrument, is  common to everyone in today’s society. Most of the modern pens are cheap and easy to use, but their forerunners were the opposite. The pen had been greatly developed and changed throughout history. To understand its process of development, we need to look into each period of time and see how the pen had changed.

In the Pre-Industrial Revolution era, the goose quill was the most common type of pen used because it was cheap and affordable (pen, 2009). Although the goose quill was popular, the steel nib pen was another type of pen that was available (pen, 2009). At the time, the steel nib pen was handmade and was very expensive. Both goose quill and steel nib pens did not contain ink, therefore, they required the writers to carry the ink separately causing them to be inconvenient to use. The predominant usage of the pen was for Christian biblical record and between the scholars who needed to record their studies (Houston, R. A., 2001). This centralization of pen usage was likely due to the low literacy in common society; as in agricultural society, people of that time did not write on a daily basis. One large impact that  the pen had was the quill production industry. Special types of geese were bred for their feathers throughout Europe and became one of Europe’s important industries(SIC 3951 pens, mechanical pencils and parts, 2005).

In the Industrial Revolution era, the steel nib pen had gained greater popularity, because the prices began to decrease (pen, 2009). The decline of the prices was due to the introduction of the factory system which divided the production process into steps (Industrial Revolution, 2009). This division of labour allowed the pen to be made faster and resulted in more products. Toward the 1850s, screw press machines were introduced to the pen industry (pen, 2009). The screw press machine reduced labour involved in manufacture of pen by accurately stamping out pen nibs from thin pieces of steel . As a result, the cost of pen production dropped significantly allowing the use of steel nib pen to completely replaced the use of goose quill (pen, 2009). Many changes in the Industrial Revolution era reshaped the way pens are made and marketed. The emergence of mass production and factories influenced the pen to be made in batches and have lower prices. Furthermore, the emergence of railways allowed pens to be transported to farther areas (Vries, P., 2008), hence the distribution of pens was decentralized and the pen became available to the majority. Generally, the development of the pen in this era did not have much impact on society other than being the main writing instrument. The reason was that the pen at this stage still required external source of ink and was inconvenient to use.

In the Post-Industrial Revolution era, the pen had been developed substantially. Many of the inventions and the developments of the pen occurred during this period. In 1884, Lewis Edson Waterman had invented the fountain pen which stored ink in its reservoir (pen, 2009). This addition of a reservoir in the pen eliminated the need to carry ink separately. The manufacture of pen in the Post-Industrial Revolution era employed high applications of science which was the trend of this time (Vries, P., 2008). One of the most important science application in the pen was the use of oil-based ink in ballpoint pens (pen, 2009). The use of oil-based ink allows the ballpoint pen to create smooth and continuous lines. This development of the pen in the early 20th century had a great impact on the way the pen was used. The pen was able to produce better lines and became dramatically cheaper. Because the pen became cheaper and more useful, the distribution of pens had been extended to the largest point where everyone in the society could possessed the pen. The impact made on the society was the change in the way people wrote from dipping the pen into ink to writing without need of having a bottle of ink on the side.

Throughout many decades before and after the Industrial Revolution, the pen evolved from a hard-to-use tool to the mostly used writing instrument. In the twenty-first century, the pen has become one of the most basic and common tools that is available to everyone. Looking at its development allows us to see how humans were affected by different technologies in each time period. The understanding of its development is valuable and will help us predict and prepare for the effects that the pen might has on us in the future.

Reference

Houston, R. A. (2001). Literacy. In P. N. Stearns (Ed.)Encyclopedia of European Social History, 5(pp. 391-406) Detroit: Charles Scribner’s Sons Retrieved March 14, 2009, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale: http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=sfu_z39

Industrial Revolution. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 9, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/eb/article-9042370

pen. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica.  Retrieved February 9, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/eb/article-9059036

SIC 3951 pens, mechanical pencils and parts(2005). (4th ed.). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3434500476&v=2.1&u=sfu_z39&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w

Vries, P. (2008). Industrial revolution. In P. N. Stearns (Ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Modern World. Oxford University Press.