A few years ago.

I remember buying nibs from the shop on the way to primary school, and the ink monitor had to keep the inkwells topped up, can't remember whether we had to mix it from powder or came in a bottle. I still use a fountain pen for anything important that needs to be hand written, but a lot of modern forms are printed on paper which is more like blotting paper so the ink spreads out and is blurred.

I regret my hand-writing was never good and is now terrible (possibly a touch of arthritis in the fingers) otherwise I would use a fountain-pen much more.

I don't recall using dip-pens at school, only fountain-pens like my Osmiroid (later, the cartridge type). Inkwells though, yes, filled from a bottle.

Ball-point pens - the original 'Biro' after their inventor - were appearing around my last year in Primary School, to the dismay of our teachers afraid these "pig's-grease" implements would spoil our hand-writing. They didn't spoil mine... just made it worse.

One thing that seems to have vanished within only a 20C few decades was established centuries ago by practical experience in the era of books having to be hand-copied: the slanted desk or its neat 19C equivalent, the portable writing-slope that can be stood on an ordinary table. The concept survives in the token little folding feet on lap-tops and keyboards, and of course in drawing-boards; but that slope was devised for a very good reason, only to be thrown away apparently for no good reason.

The Chalcolithic (copper age) fits between the Neolithic and bronze ages age.

The Anthropocene is where we are at now.

The Holocene cover the lot.

FC

Being an ink monitor was an inspired elevated position at school only surpassed by the milk monitor position. I was looking forward to that position when our class was moved to a comprehensive establishment and we had to provide our own fountain pen and ink.

David

Thank you CT.

I thought we were currently in the space age.

Powdered ink mixed in an ink 'Kettle' slopped out by the 'Honoured' ink monitor at primary skool. Can't remember this at Grammar school where lever filled fountain pens were the weapon of choice, 'Platignum' rings a bell, couple of years later the ink 'capsule' pens arrived. As a 'cack hander', had to be extra careful due to the 'smudge' inspection carried out at random times.

The mini glass milk bottles were delivered to the Woodwork department (?) must have been a space thing. every morning and the first class were responsible for allocating the correct number of bottles in the metal crates for each class in the school, collected at 9.45 by two pupils from each class for the 10am slurp, the crated empties being returned at 10.15.

Oh happy days.

Regards Ian.

Gordon clearly does not look for parking regularly. We actually live in the Lack of Space Age.

Tim

Johm Mc Namara has my sympathgy. Predictive spelling often hinks thatb it knows better and make meither nonsemse or confusion!

My recollections of school ink was that it was indelible when on the hands and was corrosive of steel pen nibs.

Anyone biying fountain pen ink will confirm thatb it is far more expensive then any form of energy!

Howard

My late wife worked in the Drawing Office business and had occasionally to visit the Test Laboratory of the (Government ) Stationery Office.

She told me that they had a machine to repeatedly dip a steel-nibbed pen in and out of an inkwell to determine the corrosion resistance of the nib and/or the corrosive properties of the ink.  It must have resembled that drinking bird mantelpiece ornament.

She also told me of another machine there that tested blotting paper for its resistance to abrasion by elbows! All that and other testing was to ensure that items bought, using tax payers' money, for use in Government departments were (please don't laugh ) good value for money.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Edited By Swarf, Mostly! on 07/06/2023 11:05:57

Edited By Swarf, Mostly! on 07/06/2023 11:06:46

I can still remember the big day when we were issued with dip pens and the inkwells in the desks were filled up. we were given a wooden penholder, a nib and a little reservoir to clip onto the back of the nib - If you had been in the class you would have been stood out at the front of the class while everyone right handed got to use their new toys, no doubt being shamed for being 'wrong' while the teacher struggled to find some left handed nibs - and then the reservoirs wouldn't clip on to the LH nibs so it was a continual dipping process!

My first fountain pen was also an Osmiroid - the sleek Platignum ones were banned as they were supposed to harm our writing.

Ballpoint pens were totally a no-no although my father ran his GP practice on the yellow extra fine BIC ones - mind you school could have been right as his writing was often unreadable!

You must have gone to a more civilized school than me. Our milk was usually left standing for hours until the children got the go-ahead to slurp it. The experience, particularly in the summer, of having [no excuse was permitted] to drink milk that had sat in hot sunlight half the day put me off cows' milk for the rest of my life.

As one Bill to another I fully agree Bill

I well remember heaving when I sucked up the milk through a straw and go a mouthful of creamy stuff that had congealed milk, never been a great fan of milk on its own, ok in tea or coffee or on cereals.

Bill D.

School promotions are dangerous. After being made Class 1A Blackboard Monitor I realised I was a second Alexander the Great, destined to conquer the whole world by force of arms.

You lot had a lucky escape when I was replaced by a taller boy.

Though my star took me in another direction, I'm still certain I'm the only person who can be trusted to run the country.

Oetzi the Iceman was at a transition, as evidenced by the copper axe head in his pocket and the flint headed arrow in his back

You must have gone to a more civilized school than me.

Yep, a time when we didn't need to try to identify our gender as a teapot or a toaster.

Regards Ian.