Antique Inkwells were used from the Middle Ages until the middle of this century. Each inkwell was crafted from a wide range of materials played significant roles in history and the advancement of civilization. Early scribes dipped pens in inkwells fashioned from horn and leather called inkpots or inkhorns. The Declaration of Independence was signed using a sterling silver inkstand; a wooden inkwell graced Abraham Lincoln's law desk and European royalty dipped from silver and gold inkwells.

 

Inkwells are of styles, colors, shapes and materials and exist in every imaginable design. Beyond the standard geometric shapes, there is a wide and sometimes eccentric variety of animals, birds, buildings, clowns, shoes, umbrellas, teakettles and even a baked potato complete with butter and spoon.

 

Collectors seek both inkwells and inkstands. Inkwells are the receptacles used to hold ink for dipping a pen, whereas inkstands, called standishes in the 1800s, contain an inkwell and one or more other features. They could include, a wafer box to hold wafers of thin hardened disks of paste used for sealing letters; a pounce pot for fine powder used to keep ink corrections from bleeding; pen rests and quill holders.

 

Inkwells began to disappear with the invention of the fountain pen in 1884, were scarce by the time of the Depression, and finally vanished from common use when the ball-point pen came onto the writing scene in the 1930s. Most collectible inkwells are from the era beginning with the American and French Revolutions and ending in the Thirties.

 

Usually it was the wealthy who owned inkwells while common people dipped their pens straight into the ink bottle. Inkwells were status symbols for prosperous businessmen who especially liked having impressive inkwells on their office desks.