“ In modern fountain pens a feed bar conveys, by capillary action, a fresh supply of ink to replace that which has been left on the paper in the act of writing, means being also provided by which air can pass into the reservoir and fill the space left empty by the outflowing ink. In another form of reservoir pen, which is usually distinguished by the name stylograph, there is no nib. but the ink flows out through a minute hole at the end of the holder, which terminates in a conical point. ”

“ Metallic pens, though not unknown in classical times—a bronze pen found at Pompeii is in the Naples Museum—were little used until the 19th century and did not Steel Pens. become common till near the middle of that century. It is recorded that a Birmingham split-ring manufacturer, Samuel Harrison, made a steel pen for Dr Joseph Priestley in 1780. Steel pens made and sold in London by a certain Wise in 1803 were in the form of a tube or barrel, the edges of which met to form the slit, while the sides were cut away as in the case of an ordinary quill. ”

“ Pens of the second class, which have the further advantage of being portable, are heard of under the name of “ fountain inkhorns ” or “ fountain pens ” so far back as the beginning of the 18th century, but it was not till a hundred years later that inventors applied themselves seriously to their construction. ”