fuller printing pen

[ophiuci]

hello, I recently acquired a set of fuller printing pens and was wondering if anyone here had any information on them. Haven't been able to find anything other than a patent.

Here is a description of the pens:
http://www.google.com/patents/US510966

[ophiuci]

Here is a photograph of them.
http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/ag234/ophiuci/fuller_zps7a55275d.jpg (http://s1369.photobucket.com/user/ophiuci/media/fuller_zps7a55275d.jpg.html)
Anyone ever seen these before?

[Jeph]

No, but reading the patent it sounds like an early attempt at shadow nibs.

[Tsuki yo]

I don't know anything about them, but man are they cool looking. Are you planning on polishing the tarnish out of them?

[nigh means near]

I would guess that they were tools of the trade used by sign writers. They probably would have been used for these kind of letters (though these specific images were clearly done using other techniques).


1089310894

[ophiuci]

Thanks for the responses. They are indeed pens for writing show cards, signs, price tags, bulletins. The inventor called them "Show-Carding Pens" in a more accurate patent I was able to find using a date stamped on the pen. Google had scanned his name in wrong so I missed this originally:
https://www.google.com/patents/US1381296