![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The "sand" that was commonly used to dry ink (in absence of blotting paper) prior to the 20th century was, as I've understood, actually gum sandarac. The side opening inkwell sets some times, were for sharing, two desks, one inkwell set between them. I've seen enough that were still slightly stained so. In that many worked with accounting a black and a red ink was normal in a double set of ink wells. In the US.as it was said Blotter paper came in, and sand was passe` not up to date.and back in that time, not up to date was shameful. Or paper clips.or a place to hold extra dip pens.the pens was what nibs were called then. My replica 1894-5 Montgomery Ward Catalog offers no sand does offer a double ink well with a sponge jar for stamps and envelops. But a sand shaker, with a perforated top, is what sand was kept in. I have seen, bid on and lost, on ink well set, two ink wells and a sand shaker, or one shaker and one inkwell, a couple of times.pre 1840.1780's. Now I'm wondering if one space was for the "sand/gum" shaker.ĭepends on when.and "all" sand shakers were shakers, you wouldn't want to pour a mound of sand on your letter. I've often found ink stands with spaces for two wells - I always assumed it was for two different colors of ink (red and black). The Postal Service would shut down the mail stream and call in Homeland Security, thinking it was an anthrax attack. Imagine trying to send a “sanded” letter today. It must be a thrill to receive an elegantly written letter on cotton paper, sanded and sealed. For many people today the only gestalt involved in writing a letter is scaring up a sheet of ink jet paper and a ballpoint pen. Letter writers in the days before blotting paper lived in a world of dip pens, ink wells, candles, wafers, and sand. Fine white sand drizzling off the paper when a letter is opened has a powerful impact on the reader. For the lawyer the importance of sand is a matter of decorum, like the black judicial robe or powdered wig. This continued use of sand boxes into the 1860’s, well after the advent of blotting paper, by a British law firm offers modern pen users an insight into the mindset of early document writers. There are a few of the old school left who prefer letter-paper, folded and sealed with a wafer, to the modern gummed envelope.” I think I saw it in use in Gray’s Inn in 1869. Busk, says of his tour in North Germany: “My pocket-book was constantly incommoded, for instance, with the grit off the luggage schein, as it was handed to me at the various railway stations.” This anachronism is almost humorous-a guy complaining his wallet got dirty from the sand on his baggage check.Īnother contributor, identified as W.C.B., writes: “Fine sand for drying writing-ink is still used, I believe, in the offices of some old-fashioned solicitors. Trollope continues: “The sand used is not fine sand such as one might find at the seashore, but a much coarser variety, sometimes red, but more generally blue, and is…singularly disagreeable when well-saturated with half-dried ink.”Ī train traveler, R. Moreover, this sand is not the kind one might think. He goes on to say when opening a letter, “ot only will a quantity of loose sand fall from the sheet, but the abundantly used ink will render up to the smirched fingers a considerable quantity of the gritty material.” The public offices are liberally supplied with sand, with the result of rendering all of the desks and tables grimy to a very disagreeable degree.” Adolphus Trollope writes: “In Italy at the present day the use of blotting paper, save by English and Americans, is almost unknown. The 1888 edition of Notes and Queries, located at the University of Virginia, contains some interesting stories about the continued use of sand to absorb ink. But the use of sand continued, especially in Holland and Italy. The sand box, usually made of tin, sometimes of wood, was a common desk article along with the wafer box and ink stand.īlotting paper appeared in America during the 1840’s or 1850’s. In the days before blotting paper people sprinkled sand on documents to absorb wet ink. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |