The Steel Pen

Site Info

• Welcome
• Contact Me

Pen Basics

• Basic Steel Pen Anatomy
• Pen Shapes: A Proposed Glossary
• A Note on Grinding
• Choosing a Quill
• What is “Action”?

Pen Types

• Barrel Pens vs. Slip Pens
• The Falcon
• Origins of the Oblique Pen and Oblique Holder
• A Gold Oblique Pen for Spencerian Writing – Piquette of Detroit
• The Stub Pen
• Pen Mystery: 149 Pacific Railroad

Pen Collecting

• Managing a Collection of Steel Pens: Part 1, Recording Information

Using Steel Pens

• Basic Supplies
• Choosing the Right Pen (Nib)
• Holding Your Pen
• Ink and Paper
• Pen Prep and Bits & Pieces

Pen History

• The Ages of the Pen
• Prehistory and the Craft Era
  • Additional Evidence for Early Metal Pens
  • Peregrine Williamson: Inventor, Businessman, and Pioneer Pen Maker
  • Peregrine Williamson: Part 2 – Thomas Jefferson’s Pen Maker
• 1820’s: Foundations Laid
• 1830’s: The British Invasion
• 1840’s: The Rise of the Americans
  • Josiah Hayden
  • Mark Levy & Brothers
  • C. C. Wright
  • H. B. Herts & Sons
  • Myer Phineas
  • Rhoads/Rhodes & Sons
• The 1840’s, from the perspective of the 1850’s.
• The Washington Medallion Pen Company
  • The 1850’s: Washington Medallion Pen Company, Part 1
  • The 1850’s: Washington Medallion Pen Company, Part 2
  • The 1860’s+: Washington Medallion Pen Company, Part 3
• How Steel Pens were Made in 1857 (and 1890)
• How Steel Pens were Made by Esterbrook in 1885 (and c. 1920)
• Esterbrook Steel Pen Co.
  • Esterbrook, Part 1: In The Beginning…
  • Esterbrook: The Famous Signature
• Warrington & Co.: 1865-1885

Research Resources

• The Steel Pen Video Channel: Videos showing various steel pens in action
• Trade Journals: American Stationer, Geyer’s Stationer, and The American Bookseller
• Historic Newspapers
• Early Written Histories of the Steel Pen
• The Esterbrook Project
• The Esterbrook Project – A Request for Help
• British Patents
• New York City
• Philadelphia and Camden, NJ