Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
(What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)
I haven't been able to find a bottle or vial that fits, so I ordered a ceramic insert. I can either follow Paddler's suggestion (or a variant thereof), or get a vinyl end cap for a 1 inch pipe and trim it down so that the lid of the inkwell will close when the trimmed-down end cap is sealing the insert. Or I may find another type of tight-fitting cap. The outside diameter of the insert rim is 25mm (very close to an inch), so it should be easy to find something that will fit over it snugly.
This is a piece of fine English silverwork. It is hallmarked and was produced by a prestigeous silversmithing firm, and I'm sure it was quite expensive when it was new. I can't imagine it was made to be merely decorative; this was a high end, beautiful, functional item. If inkwells need to seal hermetically in order to be considered real inkwells, then this one must have had an insert with its own lid when it was new.
Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
(What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)
Inkwells were not sealed. Most had loose fitting lids if any lid at all. Ink was kept in corked ceramic bottles (later glass) and when needed, poured into an inkwell. It would be wasteful to store ink in an inkwell for any length of time due to evaporation, so only as much ink would be poured from the bottle as one needed to immerse the business end of a pen
On the other hand, there were travelling inkwells designed with spill-proof seals.
calamus (October 18th, 2019)
Is it Gorham by any chance? My finest inkwell and blotter set was made by that firm.
calamus (October 18th, 2019)
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
A friend gave me an inexpensive inkwell set (wish I still had the entire set). The one thing I do still have is the porcelain insert... barely larger than a thimble.
My other pen is a Montblanc.
And my other blog is a tumblr!
And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD
Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
(What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)
Right. I intend to use it with dip pens. I have it on good authority that Santa Claus will probably be bringing me a Victorian dip pen made in sterling with an agate handle if I'm a good enough boy. Right now I have over half a dozen dip pens and loads of nibs from the 19th century through contemporaneous.
I know that ink would evaporate quickly from my inkwell relative to a tightly capped bottle, but I'm not sure exactly how quickly that would be. I guess I'll need to experiment a bit and see for myself.
Last edited by calamus; October 18th, 2019 at 02:16 PM.
Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
(What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)
Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
(What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)
Sailor Kenshin (October 20th, 2019)
Can you get a close-up picture of the hallmark? It will give so much information.
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
calamus (October 19th, 2019)
There are four of them in a neat little row. I believe that one of them (the anchor? not sure) means that the piece was made in Birmingham (although Asprey's offices and showrooms are in London). I'll try to take a picture, but I don't have a macro lens and closeups are a problem.
Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
(What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)
Asprey's could have been the original retailer for a silver item made in Birmingham.
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
From what I can tell from researching silver pieces by Asprey from that time period, it appears that they (Asprey's) were either located in Birmingham or at least had their silver operations located in Birmingham from around 1900-1910. (https://www.925-1000.com/bx_asprey_B.html) But the piece is definitely made by Asprey's, and has the classic A&Co hallmark that Asprey's used at the beginning of the 20th century. The other three symbols are an anchor, a lion, and a lower case letter "f" done in a serif type.
According to their website, "At present, Asprey holds a Royal Warrant from HRH Prince of Wales for jewellery and silver." https://www.asprey.com/us/asprey-today
Anyway, here's a not very good photo of the hallmarks. I had to digitally manipulate it a little to make it clearer.
Last edited by calamus; October 24th, 2019 at 11:00 AM.
Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
(What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)
Sailor Kenshin (October 20th, 2019)
Today the ceramic insert arrived. Thank you again Fred! When I unwrapped it, it looked too small, almost the size of a thimble, but it fit perfectly when I put it in the inkwell. I just love this inkwell. I was a silversmith for about 30 years, and I am just in awe of the workmanship that went into this piece.
I still need to remove a little bit of tarnish from the silver, but wanted to post a picture now, so here it is, a work still in progress but now 97% done. I've also discovered that the "dinky dips" vials that I got from John Neal Bookseller fit perfectly in the insert, and allow me to close the lid of the inkwell with one in there. This would allow me to store ink in the inkwell, but the plastic vial in the insert looks cheap and destroys the elegance of the piece. So I'll just be using the inkwell in the traditional manner. Anyway, here's a photo with walnut ink in the well.
Last edited by calamus; October 24th, 2019 at 11:33 AM.
Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
(What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)
azkid (October 25th, 2019), countrydirt (October 27th, 2019), FredRydr (October 24th, 2019), Sailor Kenshin (October 24th, 2019)
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
calamus (October 26th, 2019)
Yes, it has a substantial presence. I may have to buy a desk to go with it, and perhaps a larger house to accommodate the desk. Funny how one thing can lead to another...
Last edited by calamus; October 26th, 2019 at 10:48 PM.
Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
(What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)
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