![]() I have never, however, told you about one of my favorite features of these notebooks and that is the split leather that in included in each Everyday Book set. There are several blogs prior to this one where I have done just that. I need not take up your time expounding and waxing poetic about my love for Galen’s Everyday Books. Or, if you are Galen Leather, you can innovate, combining the best characteristics of the traditional leather desk set with the portability of sheets of blotter paper. For modern makers, the renewed awareness of the ink blotter offers an opportunity to expand the category. Herbin who has been making them since its inception in 1670, the attention to pen and ink has kept them flush with blotter users for centuries. As fountain pens have made a resurgence and interest in them has increased, the ink blotter is finding its way back onto people’s desks. Which brings us to now and some happy news for the ink blotter. ![]() ![]() This fine powder was still in use during medieval times when monks were copying manuscripts and even in the 18 th century as a more economical alternative to sprinkling salt on drying ink, a new, more expensive practice of the bourgeoisie. In fact, pounce, made from the bones of cuttlefish has a long history of use for preparing paper prior to writing and also setting paper afterwards. ink made from hide glue, carbon or bone pigment, ground into a paste and then dried in ceramic bowls, was being sprinkled with pounce to avoid smudging on papyrus. If we go back to 400,000 B.C., pigment was already being made in Africa and mixing tools suggest that sand and clay, combined with the sun were being used to dry and fix the ink. The history of the ink blotter is as long as writing with ink itself. Blotting paper is a textured, thick paper specifically made to quickly absorb excess ink. Before blotters were invented, the preferred method was sprinkling salt over fresh written text to speed the drying process. ![]() The term ink blotter refers either to a handheld rocking device or simple blotting paper, both used to absorb excess ink when writing with fountain pens. Sadly for me, long gone are the days when having a proper desk set was a symbol of wealth, professionalism or fashion, but one of the tools of the desk set has survived fads and trends to remain: the ink blotter. With my love of fashion, some would say that my past centuries’ sensibilities have to do with the clothing, but those of you who have read my previous articles are probably clued into the thing that most draws me to palaces, country estates and manors: t he desk set. Countless hours spent watching Merchant Ivory movies, every version of Little Women over and over and just about every episode of Masterpiece Theatre have reaffirmed this. Saves time waiting for my page to dry.I’ve often thought that I was born in the wrong century. The rocker blotter works great on a letter, I just look at where the ink is still wet and roll it over the wet ink. The rocker blotter works perfectly when I use a wet pen, saturated ink, and quality paper that takes longer for the ink to dry. Herbin blotter paper between the pages where I've written so when the notebook is closed any wet ink is blotted. In a couple of notebooks I put a sheet of J. I use both a blotter sheet alone and a rocker blotter, and I get smears sometimes when I use the sheet of blotter paper, though not that much unless I get careless. By rocking the paper the surface comes down on to the ink without moving, and there is no smear. Using the paper flat you have to be very careful not to make the slightest move with the paper as you press the blotter against the ink, or it will smear. The special blotter paper is so highly absorbent that the ink is wicked into it instantly and does not spread out. Herbin blotter paper (from Goulet Pens) on the rocker. I bought an inexpensive antique wood rocker blotter off eBay and put J.
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