The evolution of the writing utensil

1. The Evolution of the Writing Utensil By: Sneha Ramprasad and Morgan Brauer

2. Sharpened Tool Stone Cavemen first discovered this sharpened tool stone Etched drawings onto the cave (their home) walls Represented events that happened in their daily life -Ex.: planting of crops and hunting victories

3. Writing Stylus Greek invented Made of metal, bone, or ivory Used to make marks on wax coated tablets (made of clay) Fun Fact: in 400 B.C. the Greeks developed the first alphabet They were also the first to write left to right

4. Indian Ink Chinese invented Invented by Tien-Lcheu in 2697 B.C. Originally designed for blacking the surfaces of raised stone-carved hieroglyphics Mixture of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil with gelatin of donkey skin and musk

5. The Reed Pen Created by the Romans Made by the hollow tubular-stems of marsh grasses (ex. Bamboo plant) Cut one end into the form of a pen nib/ point Ink filled the stem to squeeze the reed forced fluid to the nib

6. Ink- Revised 400 A.D Iron-salts, nutgalls and gum Color: Bluish-Black Dark Black Dull Brown

7. Quill Pen 700 A.D. Lasted for more than 1 thousand years Made from a bird feather Strongest Quills from… Living Birds in the Spring From 5 outer left wing feathers Goose: most common Swan: premium Lasts for 1 week To sharpen the quill, you need a special tool

8. Fountain Tip Pen Louis Waterman patented the first practical one 1884 Use: carry their own supply of ink Early models were plagued by ink spills and other failures His was different b/c he added An air hole Grooves inside the feed mechanism

9. Parts of the Fountain Tip Pen Nib : Has contact with the paper Feed: Black part under the nib that controls the ink flow from the reservoir to the nib Barrel: the part you grip while writing

10. Ballpoint Pen Laszlo Biro- Hungarian journalist 1938 Used newspaper ink (b/c it dried quicker) Created a new tip Had to add a rotating ball to make the thicker ink go through As the pen wrote, the ball rotated picking up ink from the ink cartridge

11. Materials Pen Pencil

12. Reynolds Takes Idea Reynolds copies the product and sells it in America Reynolds is sued by Eversharp (who bought the rights of Biro’s product) Reynolds’ and Eversharp’s pen leaked and sometimes failed to write They both received many returns

13. The Jotter Company: Parker Pens Qualities Variety of point sizes Rotating cartridge Large capacity ink refills IT WORKED Wrote 5 times longer than previous ball-point pens Sold 3.5 million @ $2.95 to $8.75 in 1954

14. BIC Ballpoint pens 1950: Bich (drops the “h”) starts selling pens Late 1950s: BIC holds 70% of European market 1958: BIC buys 60% of Waterman Pens (New York based) 1960: BIC buys out Waterman Pens Sell ballpoint pens in U.S. for 29-69 cents

15. Today BIC dominates the market Parker, Sheaffer , and Waterman Small market of… Fountain tip pens Expensive Ballpoints

16. The Pencil The pencil first originated from the ancient Roman writing instrument, the stylus. Early styluses were made out of lead, but nowadays, pencils are made of non-toxic graphite. Graphite was widely used when it was discovered in Borrowdale , England in 1564. It left darker marks than lead, and since the mineral is very soft and brittle, it required a holder. That is why it is wrapped around hollowed-out wooden sticks.

17. The Mechanical Pencil Also known as click pencils, automatic pencils, propelling pencils, and technical pencils. They were invented in 1822 by Sampson Mordan and Gabriel Riddle who were both from England. They thought of it as a “refillable leadholder ” rather than a mechanical pencil. Graphite is used as lead to make these mechanical pencils.

18. The Evolution of Writing Utensils Both Roman created at the same time period

19. Works Cited: A Brief history of writing instruments . (2010). Retrieved from http:// inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa100197.htm Pencil history . (2010). Retrieved from http://www.pencils.com/pencil-history