What type of pen do you use to write a letter to friend? Do you prefer a ballpoint, a fountain pen, a gel pen, or a Sharpie? During the Victorian era of Charles Dickens, most people used quill ink pens made from goose, turkey or crow feathers. In fact, the word pen comes from the Latin word “penna” which means feather. Quill pens were not very durable, and the nib (the part that you dip into the ink) frequently had to be re-cut with a pen knife. Also, an inkwell was a necessity, as well as a pen wipe to keep the tip clean.
From Wikipedia, I learned that quills have been favored writing instruments since the 6th century. They were very popular in the Medieval era, and they dominated writing in the Western world until the invention of mass-produced steel nib pens 200 years ago. In the Middle East and Islamic world, reed pens were more popular than quills.
From my research, I learned that Charles Dickens had to modify his use of quill pens over time due to the limitations of the medium. Here is a quote from the Morgan Library and Museum which describes Charles Dickens’ writing habits.
Using a goose quill pen, he generally wrote from ten o’clock each morning until two in the afternoon, completing between two and four pages (or “slips,” as he called them) each day. Except for letters, he wrote on only one side of the paper. In his early years, he favored black ink, now faded to brown, but in the late 1840s he switched to blue paper and blue ink, which dried more quickly.
The Morgan Library and Museum
According to author Hans Christian Anderson, the guest bedrooms of Dickens’ house, Gad’s Hill Place, provided everything a writer might wish for. Since Dickens often entertained fellow authors and artists, it seems very considerate of him to provide for their needs.
In every room I found a table covered with writing-materials, headed notepaper, envelopes, cut quill-pens, wax, matches, sealing-wax, and all scrupulously neat and orderly.
Hans Christian Anderson
To create my own quill pen, I followed the instructions from an article in The Family Creative Workshop, Volume 14, pp.1684-1689 called, “Quill Pens: Mightier than the Sword.” The article suggests using feathers from a goose or a turkey. Desirable feathers for making quills have a tip that is tapered and nearly closed on the end. Feathers can be from the bird’s left ring or right wing. The curve of a left wing feather will work better for a right-handed person, and vice versa.
I purchased 10-14″ long turkey feathers and 10-15″ long goose feathers from an Etsy shop called “Moonlight Feather Inc.” The turkey feathers were larger and sturdier than the goose feathers, so I decided to use turkey feathers for my pen. I have also read that turkey feathers are more durable for writing.
You can find several tutorials for making quill pens on Youtube. Here is one example:
“How to Cut a Quill Pen with Nicky Yeager”
Here is an article about cutting quill pens by Medieval Journey. Some of the closeup photos show how to cut the nib.
Please take care if you decide to cut your own pen; this task is not for anyone who is inexperienced with knives. I happen to have sharp knives for woodcarving, which worked well for this project.
Following the steps in the book mentioned above, I scalded the feather in a pot of boiling water, then left it to dry overnight. This is supposed to harden the shaft. Another method I have seen used is to place the feather tip in a cup of hot sand and let it cool overnight.
The next step was to scrape off the membrane at the bottom of the feather, which I did using the back side of my knife. Then I inserted a crochet hook into the shaft to remove the pith from inside. If you don’t remove all this gunk, it can loosen and fall down as you are writing on the page.
It took some trial and error to cut out the shape of the nib, which required a lot of precision. The split at the end has to be very straight and even. Also, the quill was a lot harder to cut than I expected it to be. I needed my sharpest knife for this task.
After the nib was carved, I tried holding the pen to see how it felt. I removed a few of the barbs near the end to leave more space for my hand. Finally, I was ready to try my new quill pen! I used waterproof India ink, which meant I had to be super careful not to spill anything. The pen actually works pretty well, although constantly having to dip the pen in ink can get annoying. If you press down too hard on the nib, it will separate where it is split, causing double lines instead of a single line. It also takes some time for the ink to dry.
With a little practice, I was able to write the words, “A Tale of Two Hittys” in script. All in all, I would say that this was an interesting experiment, but I don’t expect to give up my ball point pens any time soon!
So the next time you pick up a pen to write something, think about how lucky you are to have non-messy, convenient and cheap writing implements and self-stick envelopes for your letters! It is the simple things which we often take for granted that can make life so much easier.
Sources:
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870 – Artist. ALs to Frederic Chapman. Letters. Free Library of Philadelphia: Philadelphia, PA. https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/67331. Accessed October 2021.
Harnish, John Jr. “Quill Pens: Mightier than the Sword.” The Family Creative Workshop, Plenary Publications, International, Inc., 1975. Volume 14, pp.1684-1689.
Griswold, Hattie Tyng. Home Life of Great Authors. Project Gutenberg, Release Date: January 31, 2010 [EBook #31133], p. 340. Accessed October 2021.
Lehrer, Ernst. Alphabets and Ornaments. Dover Publications, Inc., 1968, pp. 198, 201.
A Memento of Charles Dickens. Illustrations. Free Library of Philadelphia: Philadelphia, PA. https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/37093. Accessed October 2021.
The Morgan Library and Museum. https://www.themorgan.org/collection/A-Letter-from-Charles-Dickens/1. Accessed October 2021.
“Quill.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quill. Accessed October 2021.