For an innovation to be cherished by the masses, it needs to shed all its weakness that existed in its previous versions. Of course, all inventions that are deemed ‘Perfect’ will have had scores of volatile predecessors.
But after years of hard work, craftsmanship and marketing, a successful product comes to our hands, and we cherish it! And one such product that all our hands, our ancestor’s hands gracefully held was The Fountain Pen, or in simpler words ‘ The Ink Pen’.
While we find that the earliest records of fountain pens date back to the 10th century, the modern version came out only in the 20th century. The early inventors of fountain pens, particularly before 1850, did not understand how air pressure, gravity and capillary action will have an effect in the flow of ink.
The primitive versions caused spillage of ink, its leaking especially in the hands or going dry inside the barrel in a short span of time. With enough minds to solve these problems, the early versions of the nearly flawless version of fountain pens started arriving from the mid of 19th century.
While a single person cannot be credited for making the Fountain Pen what it is today, the New York-born inventor Lewis E.Waterman is the person who solved a major problem with fountain pens.
According to Jeremy Norman’s History of Information, Mr.Waterman had employed the capillarity principle to allow air to induce a steady and even flow of ink in his fountain pen, receiving U.S. patent number 293545 in February 1884. Waterman’s mechanism allowed a careful balance between ink leaving the pen and air entering.
After him, several inventors improved the form, and that led to reproductions and imitations everywhere in the world in the 20th century.
Have you been one of those kids who found it to be cheerful to hold a ‘Hero Pen’? It would be every student’s joy to start to write using a pen after spending the foundational years using the pencil. Though ink pens have been succeeded by other versions such as the ball pen and gel pen, one’s experience with ink pens have plenty of cheerful stories.
It was a unique experience. Letters written by our elders were not typed but written, especially by ink pens. Many would agree that the way the hand produces the thoughts of our heart & soul into words received a magic flow when it was written using an ink pen.
Apart from all that just think, Ink pens are re-usable, they feel worthy enough to be carried in one’s pocket, makes one feel like a gentleman, and also is instrumental to those who treasure the art of writing. Though an average person may type around 25 to 30 words per minute, writing just one sentence in an ink pen can never be topped by any means!
