Deborah Makarios
Ever wonder what a "J pen" is when you read it in a Sherlock Holmes story or other literature of the past?
Here's the answer (not shown in pen holder as I don't have one of a suitable era).
The box originally held one gross - 144 nibs, or pens as they were then called.
#DipPens #JPen
Jun 16 at 6:21amWeb
Show threadDeborah MakariosOct 3
'What sort of nib did he use, when he did write?'
'A "J" pen, my lord.'
Dorothy L. Sayers, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
#DipPens #JPen #DorothyLSayers #LordPeterWimsey
Show threadDeborah MakariosOct 3
A longer sample of writing (with a thinner ink - Jinhao Deep Blue).
#DipPens #ink #JPen #ArthurConanDoyle
Show threadAsbestosJun 16
@DMakarios
144 seems like a whole lot
Show threadDeborah MakariosJun 16
@Asbestos They'd wear out with use. I expect someone who did clerical work in the pre-typewriter age would get through them fairly quickly, though I don't know specifics.
Show threadroyalJun 16
@DMakarios @Asbestos Would you mind explaining them in more detail? I can't extrapolate from the image, but I'm interested.
Show threadDeborah MakariosJun 17

@royal
The black metal bit at the bottom of the picture is a nib, a bit like the nib of a fountain pen. Instead of being "fuelled" by a tank of ink like a fountain pen nib, it slots into a pen-shaped holder and is dipped into ink - hence the term "dip pen".

William Mitchell brought out a series of alphabetically named nibs, of which the J was a huge hit. If you look carefully you can see a capital letter J in silver on the black nib - echoing the one in the bottom right corner of the box.

Sometime I'll put up a picture of how it looks in a holder and what the writing looks like (although the holder, paper, and ink will all be modern).