Slide 1

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 2

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 3

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 4

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 5

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 6

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 7

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 8

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 9

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 10

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 11

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 12

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 13

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 14

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 15

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 16

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 17

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 18

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 19

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 20

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 21

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 22

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 23

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 24

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 25

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 26

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 27

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 28

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 29

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 30

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 31

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 32

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 33

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 34

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 35

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 36

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 37

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 38

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 39

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 40

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 41

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 42

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 43

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 44

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 45

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 46

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 47

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 48

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 49

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 50

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 51

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 52

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 53

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 54

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 55

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 56

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 57

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 58

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 59

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 60

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 61

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 62

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 63

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 64

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 65

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 66

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 67

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 68

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 69

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 70

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 71

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 72

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 73

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 74

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 75

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END


Slide 76

SENDING A LETTER
1776 STYLE

Presented by BOB VAN CLEEF
of the North River Railway

LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES
• Back in the good ‘ol days you didn’t send a message by just typing in
your text and hitting “SEND”. No siree! It just wasn’t that simple.
• There were no movie theaters and playhouses were rare. News was
delivered by gossip, from the pulpit or the town crier in the town square.
People made their own entertainment - Prominent citizens provided
rooms for small gatherings.
• People rarely traveled more than about 20
miles from home as that was a good day’s
ride by horse.
• Only the Government and a few wealthy
individuals could afford to import goods
from Europe and it took up to a year after
an order was placed to receive goods.

KEY 17th CENTURY ENGLAND EVENTS
•

•

•

•
•

England prospered under the
Georgian era 1714 to 1830) while
the American Colonies were being
established.
Rural towns declined as
unemployed workers emigrated to
the North American colonies.
Crude pencil-like devices were in
existence and from 1422 on
printing presses had been busily
churning out documents by ream.
The first English dictionary was
printed in 1604.
This was a time for Great change
but the Industrial revolution had
not yet quite yet arrived.

DUCH CONTRIBUTIONS

• In 1608 Hans Lippershey patented his telescope. This
was important to world-wide navigation on the oceans
and to the optical telegraph.
• The Pilgrims fled from England and lived briefly in
Leiden before fleeing to America in 1620.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY in ENGLAND
• Robert Hook invented an “optical
telegraph” in 1684 that with the
use of telescopes could send a
messages and receive a reply
across the Thames River in
minutes.
• This, however, was a rare and
expensive service limited to
specific locations and reserved
mainly for government use.
• Even almost a hundred years later
the colonies still had nothing like it.
• Meanwhile, faster and more
sophisticated systems were being
developed in Europe.

This system transmitted
encrypted data with and
control characters in a
format similar to the
way modern computer
modems use to transmit
messages today.

PAPERS IN EARLY AMERICA
• Parchment, the prepared
skin of certain animals such
as cows, goats or sheep
was well known.
• It was used for the
Declaration of
Independence as well as
many official government
documents.
• Vellum was made
exclusively from calf’s skin
and even more costly.

PARCHMENT and VELLUM
• Both were scrapped,
stretched and dried.
• Lime and Gum Arabic was
used to whiten and glaze the
writing surface.
• The process was very laborintensive requiring skilled
labor.
• Suitable animals became
scarce as the population
increasingly learned how to
read and write.
• All this made both well
beyond most American’s
budget.

• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy High
quality and very expensive
paper came from Europe or
the orient.
• A slightly less expensive
commercial paper could be
purchased from Philadelphia.
• Most paper however was
“homemade” by a local
“cottage” industry

FIRST COMMERCIAL MILLS
• If you lived in town it was
always easy to buy paper.
• The best quality of course
was from Europe and while
it cost less then parchment
it was still very expensive.
• Paper from the developing
new mills in Philadelphia
was also high quality but
was only slightly less costly
due to the cost of
transportation.
• The paper mills in Dalton,
Mass had yet to be built.

By far the most paper was literally
“homemade” by small local
“cottage” industries

PAPER MADE LOCALY

• A dozen or so workers could make about a dozen reams of paper in
a day.
• Paper was used for wrapping, packets for goods and letters.
• It was inexpensive and locally available.

PAPER MAKING
•

•
•

•
The Vatman shredded rags and
mixed them with water.
This was pounded to a paste either
by hand or by the use of a waterwheel.

•

Paper was actually fairly easy to make.
All that was needed were some cotton
or silk rags, water, a few molds and a
press.
Anyone with these could make paper
that would satisfy most basic needs.
Lime was used to bleach the paper to
Yellow and gradually expensive
chlorine was used to bleach the paper
closer to white.
Colored rags were reserved for
cardboard and packing materials
where color did not matter.
Wood was introduced to paper making
much later as production increased
due to demand and the cost of rags
began to increase due to scarsness.

MOLDING PAPER
•

•

•

•

•

The vatman molded the damp pulp in
a mode and earned about $9 per
month
The Coucher, who earned about $6
per month then took the wet paper
out of the mold and placed it and on
felt.
The mold consisted of two parts. The
first was a 26” by 33” frame with slats
made from oak. The second was a
wire mesh.
144 pieces (one ream) of paper
alternated with felt were layered in a
stack called a “post.”
The word “post in some newspaper
names such as “the Daily Post” was a
reference to this term, NOT the mail.

Post Processing Pressing
• The most critical part of paper
making was squeezing the
water from the post.
• All available workmen in a mill
would be summoned to move
the four foot high post to a
press and work the windlass.
• This then properly compacted
the fibers in the paper together
as the water was removed.
• Too much pressure could ruin
the press and frames.
• To little and the paper wouldn’t
dry properly.

DRYING THE PAPER

•

•
•

The poor Layman who was the least skilled mill worker earned a mere
6 cents a month (plus room or board if they were not family).
The tittle refers to the job of carefully peeling the paper from the felt,
replacing it with new dry felt, and re-building the post.
This was repeated three times before laying the individual sheets to
dry on a rack.

GUM ARABIC
•

•

•

•

•

Gum Arabic was an important
ingredient in a huge array of
products during the colonial era.
It dated back to the days of
antiquity and could be found in
any household.
In the Colonial period it was used
as a binder for making inks and to
prepare the surface of skins and
paper to absorb ink.
It was used in foods as a
preservative and stabilizer, an
additive to ceramics and in
incense cones.
Later it is was used for the glue on
postage stamps.

INK

INK STICKS
•
•

•
•

•

The very best ink (and very costly)
came from China.
It was used mostly by those who
travelled as it was light, compact,
and no one wanted liquid ink
spilled all over the contents of
their saddle bags.
It was often labeled as Indian ink.
These were made from a
compressed mixture of lampblack
(vegetable soot) and some sort of
binder.
It came in the form of sticks that
had to be ground with water on a
special ink stone to reproduce the
liquid ink.

USING INK STICKS

GRINDING INK STICKS
• A Suzaro (or Grindstone) was
used to make ink.
• A small amount of water was
added to the stone and the ink
stick was gently rubbed in the
water.
• The water dissolved the binder
releasing a high quality ink.
• This ink was highly perishable
and had to be used
immediately.
• George Washington was
known to have used this in the
field.

Ink sticks remain a living science
are still used today for calligraphy
and artistic works.

EARLY INKS

Most berries used for ink, but
not all, were quite edible.

• The first domestically made inks in the
American colonies were made from
berries
• They were made mostly in the home
kitchen from whatever ingredients
were locally available at the time.
• Settlers soon found that blueberries,
cherries, blackberries, strawberries
or raspberries can all be used to
make colorful inks.
• Preparation was simple and added
ingredients such as salt and vinegar
were already commonly found
around the house.
• These inks had the unfortunate
tendency to fade with time.

VEGETABLE INKS
• To make berry ink, fill a strainer
with a cup of the berries and
place over a bowl.
• Add a bit of water then use the
back of a wooden spoon or any
blunt rounded object to crush
the berries through the strainer.
• Discard the pulp and save the
juice/ink in a glass jar.
• Add half a teaspoon and vinegar
and stir well. Add more water if
the mixture is too thick.
• Make only a small amount of ink
at a time and store in a dark
closet to prevent mold.

Sometimes salt was added as a
preservative or perfume if there
was an unpleasant smell.

IRON GALL INK
• This ink originating in Europe was
known in America
•
Its chemistry was more
complex and rarely used in rural
areas.
•
The active ingredients were
tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate
•
Galls, bark, leaves and roots
of various plants were boiled
before use
•

Gum Aribic was added and the
mixture reacted chemically to
paper to cause black

BLACK WALNUT INK

• Home-owners would usually
boil the ingredients down to a
dark liquid and Store owners
would boil the mixture dry and
sell the ink crystals in small
paper packets
• A small quantity of Ink imported
from China came in stick form

INK
•

•

•

A popular way to make ink during
colonial times was from walnuts.
The green husk surrounding the nut
was boiled to produce a dark brown
stain or ink.
This stain could be bottled and used
later

•

•

If the ink was to be used
commercially, it could be boiled
down to a powder and reconstituted as required.
The powder of course was much
lighter and would reduce the cost
of shipping.

s
• If the ink was made
commercially, it could be
boiled down to a powder
and re-constituted as
required.
• The powder of course
was much lighter and
would reduce the cost of
shipping.

SO HOW DID ONE MAKE A PEN?
•
•

•

•
•

Well, first you find a bird.
Yes, Turkey feathers were
commonly used and work quite
well.
Colonialists however considered
goose feathers were far superior
and sometimes kept geese solely
for their feathers although they
also made good burglar alarms.
Swan, eagle or almost any large
bird would also do.
Peacock and other exotic
feathers, however made poor
pens and were rarely used except
for decorations and maybe feather
dusters.

WHERE TO FIND THESE FEATHERS
•

•

•
•
•

•

Geese were common in colonial life
but if they weren’t around wild turkeys
weren’t far away.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many
Domestic birds running around loose
today however there are craft stores.
Then again there is always Amazon,
eBay and Google.
Make sure you buy the full, unclipped
quill 9” or longer.
Do not buy dyed, imitation or broken
feathers.
Expect to pay from fifty cents to a
dollar per feather for small quantities.

12” turkey feathers are readily
available on the internet. Any 3”
diameter mailing tubes come in
handy for storage.

BEST FEATHERS FOR PEN

•
•

•
•

Primary Feathers are numbered from the wing joint (or
index) outward.
Use one of the first five or six primary feathers from the
LEFT wing for best results if you are RIGHT handed.
The curve of these feathers will fit in the right hand best.
Select feathers from the right wing if you are left handed.

OK, WHAT NEXT?
• Please understand that there is no one absolutely correct or wrong
way to make a quill pen.
• Fashioning a pen in Colonial times varied greatly depending on the
materials available, how often the user did writing and how important
the letter was.
• The following is my own personal technique but one should
experiment and see what seems to be best.
• Exacto knives didn’t exist in colonial times so it would be more
authentic to use a penknife.
• One the practical side, an Exacto knife with a #11 blade might prove
easier to use.
• Also, for instance, a Colonial business man might shave the vane
from the pen where a home owner might fancy saving that part of the
vane that didn’t touch the hand.
• Please read through the resources listed at the end of this
presentation to review the many options to shaping quills.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

A flat surface to work
on.
Feathers (of course)
A pan of fine, sifted
sand.
Cooking thermometer
A cup of water
A short piece of soft
wire. A piece of coat
hanger will do nicely
An #11 Exacto or pen
knife.

MAKING A QUILL PEN

When most people think of a quill
pen during colonial times this was
what they picture, a full feather
plume ready to dip in ink

This, however is closer to what
most pens actually looked like in
the world of business.
The vane was stripped from most
if not all of the quill and the nib
was sharpened.

TRIMING THE PLUME
•

•
•

Select a feather that has a long,
center quill.
Tear off that part of the plume
that will not be required.
Scrape the quill smooth with a
knife in the area where the
plume was removed.

HOW FAR?
•

•
•

•

Ladies at home did often leave
some of the plume as a
decoration.
Sometimes only a small bit at
the tip was left intact.
Otherwise the quill was stripped
well clear of where the pen
would be gripped.
Store owners, bank clerks,
those who traveled and
professionals who spent most
of the writing would strip the
plume completely off.

NEXT, REMOVE MEMBRANE

•
•

Quills may or may not have a membrane or skin at the nib end.
This also should be gently scraped away before tempering.

THEN PRE-SOAK
• Examine the feathers for flaws
• Soak in water overnight.
• This loosens any oil, dirt or
crud that might be on the
feathers.
• This also softens the quill and
prepares it for tempering.
• Tempering is optional but does
increase the useful life of the
nib.

TEMPERING
•
•
•

•
•

•

This hardens the quill to prevent
wear.
Place a pan of clean, sifted, fine
sand in a pan.
Heat sand to 350 degrees for at
least fifteen minutes in an oven.
Do not heat sand in a metal pan if
you use a microwave oven.
Remove the can from the oven
shove the quills as far as possible
into sand.
Let cool and carefully examine
tempering.

TEMPERING the QUILL
•

•

•

Raw and correctly tempered
feathers.

The feathers will turn white as
shown in the top portion of this
picture if done correctly.
Lack of color change means
too little heat while yellow
means the sand was probably
too hot. Try again.
Once tempering was complete
the quill was ready for nibbing.

STRIP THE PLUME

REMOVE the QUICK
•

•

•

•

•

The “quick” is the living part of a
growing feather that carries blood
in a live bird
It Shrivels and becomes
transparent once the feather
matures.
This cellular structure must be
removed to allow the flowing of ink
through the hollow of a quill.
One way to remove the quick is to
push a short length of soft wire up
through the center.
This should be done at some point
while cutting the nib

TWO ALTERNATE METHODS
•

•

The quick can also be removed
with an Exacto knife or a pair of
long, thin tweezers.
Not all quick has to be removed
but the point is to remove enough
to allow the ink to wick and be
absorbed with enough ink to write
a few words.

CUTTING the NIB
1. Cut a quarter inch from the back of the quill.
2. cut half an inch off the front.
3. Make a short slit in the center of the back of the quill.
4. Increase the slit. (Support the quill on a surface).
5. & 6. Cut away the front of the quill (cradle piece) to form the scoop.
7. Cut away the sides of the quill to form the point
8. If the slit is too long, the pen tip will be too soft; If
too short, the pin tip will be too hard. Cut away more
from the side or lengthen the slit to solve these problems.

NIBBING the PEN
• To “nib” the pen, rest the
underside of the point on a
smooth, hard surface.
• Thin the top from the top
side by scraping the blade
forward at a shallow angle.
• Then make a vertical cut,
either at right angles to the
slit or obliquely.
• On a very strong feather
the last cut can be
repeated to remove a very
fine sliver.
• Avoid a rough underside
on the tip of the nib.

PEN USE
• A typical pen could write
about two or three pages
before requiring a new point
if a very light touch was used.
• A pen could be re-nibbed
about four or five times.
• This would mean keeping a
supply of several pens handy.

Side view of nib

INK WELLS HELD INK

QUILL vs PENKNIVES

• To be historically accurate this is
the type quill or penknife that
would be readily available in the
Colonies.
• The blades would be sharp but of a
slightly inferior grade steel that
required some sharpening.

• High grade Sheffield carbon
steel and other advances in
technology after 1830 made
‘so-called’ penknives like this
available.
• Stainless Steel knives could
never hold an edge and so
was reserved for the dinner
table.
• Steel quills began to came
into vogue about the same
time relegating the penknife
to cutting cigars.

ERASING MISTEAKS

• There might not have been any rubber erasers
back then but there was a way to correct Mistakes
albeit a bit more time-consuming.
• First, a special sharp knife was used to carefully
scrape away the ink.
• This left the surface rough and “unsized” which
made writing on the affected area difficult.
• This allowed ink to blur on the surface and the
roughness caused the quill tip to snag and
splatter.

CLEANUP
• Pounce was sprinkled on
rough writing surfaces where ink
had been “erased” to make
them smooth enough for writing.
• This last was certainly needed if
the paper came "unsized", that
is lacking the thin gelatinous
material used to fill the surface
of the paper and make it smooth
enough for writing with a quill or
a steel nib.

This shaker was used to
dust the paper with
pounce.

CUTTLEBONE

Cuttlefish, Black Walnuts, Gum Arabic
and slaves could be found in any or all
of the trade ships between the East
coast of Africa, America and England.
Cuttlebone is often found in bird cages
today.

• cuttlebones were ground up to
make polishing powder.
• This powder was also added
to toothpaste, was used as
an antacid or as an absorbent.
• Because cuttlebone is able to
withstand high temperatures
and is easily carved, it could
serve as mold-making material
for small metal jewelry castings
and other small sculptural
objects.

ENVELOPES
•
•

•

•

Delivering a letter for any
distance was very expensive.
Envelopes were unknown or
considered a luxury. In either
case they were simply not
available at first.
Also, the cost of mail delivery
was by the sheet, not by
weight.
The Letter itself was folded
and became the envelope
itself.

•
•
•
•

The creases that appear here show how the letter was folded.
The Red mark on the center bottom was from sealing wax.
Look carefully to see the printing on the reverse side
The printing on the left would be covered when folded.

ENVELOPES
• Sometimes in big cities and
towns the store would cut and
pre-fold paper for letters.
• It was then sealed with wax,
sealed to keep it closed and
handed to someone who was
going to the desired direction.

A few of the fancier
envelope folds

ORIGAMI FOLD
SYMBOLS
•

If

ONE COMMON FOLD

POCKET BOOK

DOUBLE LOCK

PEPI FOLD

TWO BY ONE

s
•

P

• P

s
•

P

• P

MAIL in the COLONIES

•
•
•

The English Royal Crown originally provided Mail services between towns
in the American colonies.
A message sent 50 miles by coach averaged a brisk 6 miles an hour and
would take only a week to receive the reply.
Even today a letter still takes almost this long although there are dozens
of newer ways to send and receive a massage faster in seconds.

MAIL IN THE COLONIES
•

•

•

Local Philadelphia currency
printed by Franklin with
mica flakes

In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published
his First edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac. He also bribed the royal
mail service couriers to deliver his
products through the royal mail.
Philadelphia appointed Franklin as
city’s postmaster general in 1737 and
a bit later he printed the local currency.
In 1753 the British appointed Franklin
as joint deputy post master for the
colonies.

Device to Keep You from Forgetting
to Mail Your Wife's Letter

It starts as you are walking down the street, with your contraption around your
waist. As you near the mailbox, the boot from the shoemaker's shop gets
caught on your hook. It ends when a sign is pulled down in front of you, with
the reminder, "You sap. Mail that letter." Don't leave home without one.

For More Information…
Once Upon a Time - http://www.paperindustryweb.com/oncetime.htm - A background history of
paper making in the colonies

Home Made Black Ink: http://www.marktablerart.com/5.html - Seven steps to make walnut ink on a
home stove

RESOURCES
Medieval Manuscript Manual - http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/home.html
All about medieval period writing. Good background for Colonial writing.
The Rittenhouse Mill https://books.google.com/books?id=dYpZZTzBxz0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=early+american+paper
+making&source=bl&ots=zzey-JNI1&sig=fhfjVXZcpuj2a3rTi_rx7lpdiO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v6GJVb2vH8HJsAXgoYDACw&ved=0CDAQ6
AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=early%20american%20paper%20making&f=false
All about the first American paper mill in Pennsylvania. A complete description of the workings
of a paper mill.
INK RECIPIES - http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy_II/Herbs/Ink.htm
various ink recipes for colored ink plus a list of hazardous materials you might find
INK STICKS - http://www.trueart.info/ink_sticks.htm
information about ink sticks
Folding Envelope and Letter - http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html
A good basic source for folding letters and envelopes

Postal History of the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States
A short history of the early postal service

This presentation has been brought
to you by the North River Railway
Bob Van Cleef
46 Broadway
Coventry, CT 06238
http://www.northriverrailway.net

THE END