History of The stylographic pen | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor
Alonzo T. Cross patented his stylographic pen on this day in 1880… Unlike the quill or other form of pen that must be dipped into an inkpot, the stylographic pen is a version of a reservoir pen, which contains its own store of ink inside the barrel.
Very interesting history about the invention of the modern pen and the inventors who are household names in the pen world battled for the perfect solution. For instance, I had no idea about this:
Stylographic pens only enjoyed about 10 years in the limelight, however, before Lewis Edson Waterman had improved the reliability of the nib pen so significantly that nibs surged past stylos in popularity. And a nib was sturdier than the stylo’s thin wire, which was easily broken or bent. Waterman was a former insurance salesman who had once lost a sale because his pen leaked onto the paper. He made it his mission to improve the design of the fountain pen to prevent leaks and provide a more reliable performance, and then he figured out a way to mass-produce his pens. Waterman led the pen market until the 1920s.
Seriously, go read the whole thing.
