Reading that fountain pens can expand and dump ink even from the modest heat of the body has caused me to wonder: as a practical matter, how did people use fountain pens in hot environments without lots of ink blobs?

I’m in Texas and the southern half of the state is exceptionally hot, especially in summer, but high temps can be found in spring and fall. Summers can be 90+ days over 100° F, with highs of 105-113° F in August. It is often above 85° F in January, if even for a short period. This not a new phenomenon. Contrary to what some may think they know of Texas, this was not a place of cowboys and Indians during the heydays of fountain pens. There were banks, lawyers, politicians, businessmen, universities, etc. What we didn’t have was air conditioning! All the transoms and tall ceilings in the world wouldn’t keep the temperature much below body temperature.

Even now, I doubt I would be able to carry a fountain pen on my person for most of the year as the temperatures are too hot, especially when commuting from place to place for meetings.

How did they manage?