You must permit me to get a little romantic about writing and art supplies now and then. It’s hard to resist sharing about the delights of onion skin paper and Georgian brushes delicately made out of quills. I appreciate the combination of form and function that is lost in the modern plastic disposable pen. While my affection for writing and art supplies has been unearthed in just the past couple of years, I have appreciated beautiful, everyday antiques for years. Since I was setting up my first apartment as a newlywed, I opted for using antique jars to store flour and sugar and traded out our matching department store bedding for a vintage creamy white coverlet. I’ll always prefer old tools, wearing patina on their wood handles, to new ones. And I’ll always appreciate the patches, worn, used, old, and loved over something shiny and perfect. So, if a girl like me needs a thing to hold ink, I’m going to pick an antique traveling inkwell in a leather box with silver clasps, over a new glass bottle with a screw top.
Ink wells have been a tricky find for me. Most of them aren’t designed to be airtight, because the ink would’ve been used regularly and therefore wouldn’t likely dry out. Since I do most of my writing on a computer or with a pencil/fountain pen, my ink will dry out of I leave it in one of my antique inkwells, like this beautiful French pump inkwell I purchased from Dreamy Whites a couple of years ago.
I am mesmerized by the ingenious design, but I would want to leave ink sitting in it to become crusty, dry, and difficult to clean. So, after a bit of research, I was on the hunt for an antique traveling inkwell that has a sealing lid. I would be able to use it and store ink in it. I kept an eye out on and , but the problem is I didn’t know how tight the seal was and if the traveling inkwell would be in good useable condition. I let my sweet friend and personal UK shopper, Julia of know I was looking for one and she came through! Not only that, but she gifted me one.
And this antique traveling inkwell is just the sweetest thing. I mean, come on. The little silver clasps, the hand-blown glass ink bottle, and the lid that flips open when a hidden button is pressed. It’s just so perfect.
As I do with all of my antique acquisitions, I gave this traveling inkwell a nice cleaning…
And filled it with my favorite ink – I used a pipette so that I didn’t make a big mess of the ink as I was filling it.
And then I started testing out dip pens in my new-to-me traveling inkwell…
I am not amazing at calligraphy flourishes, but I have a fun time practicing.
You can read about traveling dip pens and pencils, which are also fun to collect, HERE.
For those who are interested in acquiring an antique traveling inkwell, I picked out a few that are nice and reasonably priced (although one in the round-up is pretty special and quite a splurge.) Most are in the $50 and there are some really cool ones that are Civil War era. I was tempted…
8 Responses
You always amaze me how much you love antiques ! I love to write letters but with a sharpie pen and love to hand craft greeting cards. I have taken calligraphy classes but have not taken the time to practice so I use the sharpie. A very sad situation. I am told that my handwriting is beautiful. Keep up the antiquing !
The traveling inkwell is just beautiful and certainly in the right person’s hands. I could just look at it all day. I loved using fountain pens but I have benign tremor syndrome and made a mess of my writing so now it’s ballpoints. I still love sending snail mail but I miss a good pen.
Oh and love your flourishes !
I love your inkwell. I have never tried writing with a dip pen. I have several of the same fountain pens as yours (from a previous post) and enjoy writing with them. I also use a fountain pen when I go sketching. My hat is off to you for waiting for just the thing you want as well!
Please have an art sale again soon 🙂
I hope beautiful handwriting makes a comeback. Elegant and gracious…how lovely.
I know just how you feel! I found a similar one months ago on ebay. It’s a leather wrapped, tension spring inkwell with a small telescoping brass dip pen, a tiny compartment for the nibs, and a little brush to dab the nib drips. It’s as perfect now as when it was made, and I use it quite often for my sketching. It’s a joy to use and I even travel with it. Now I’d like to find a vintage two ended dip pen! Bravo for celebrating the use and beauty in these little pieces of history!
The search for that special something makes the finding more special.
That’s a nice addition to your collection. You will definitely enjoy using it. Wouldn’t it be so exciting to go shopping with Julia? My dream trip is to England. Aaawww. . . .