[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

VMs: RE: John M. Manly's 1922 Harpers article...



This URL appears to demonstrate that bone and copper alloy pens
were in use during this time period as well, at least in England.
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Library/2036/metalpen.htm

GC



> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-voynich@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:owner-voynich@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Greg
> Stachowski
> Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 3:53 PM
> Cc: Voynich Ms. mailing list
> Subject: VMs: Re: John M. Manly's 1922 Harpers article...
>
>
> On Tue, 9 Jul 2002, Nick Pelling wrote:
>
> > To answer my own question, plus a few others I didn't
> think of as well:-
>
> >          To sharpen the quill, the writer needed a
> special knife
> >          (origins of the term "pen-knife".) Beneath
> the writer's
> >          high-top desk was a coal stove to cause the
> ink to dry
> >          as fast as possible.
>
> I remember watching a program on TV in the UK some ten
> years ago in which
> the host (I forget who) demonstrated various techniques
> used in preparing
> mediaeval manuscripts. Among others he showd how to
> prepare vellum, use
> gold leaf and how to make quills. All I can remember is
> that the quill nib
> was hardened in hot sand (heated in a pot over a
> flame). An untreated
> quill is too soft and bends and buckles very easily - I
> tried making some
> at the time from goose feathers found in the park.
> There was also
> something (I forget its technical name now) which was a
> short cylinder
> with a groove which was placed in the tube just behind
> the nib to stop the
> ink running out too quickly. The same thing is visible
> in modern fountain
> pens if you take the nib assembly apart.
>
> Greg
>
> -------------------------------------o--------------=-
> greg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx            __///,_    ==
>            \              \   \    o  / 'QOOO0&_ ==
>            /              /   |      / 0  )OOO0@#==
>           \|              | / /      \__ ,dO0@9" ===
>       ....||..         ...\ | \..       `\\`       ==
>
>