March 2008

In his “compendium” published in 1883, the famous calligrapher Daniel T. Ames recommended Friedrich Soennecken’s broad-edged steel pen nibs: “For lettering, especially Old English, German and Church text, the Soennecken pen, both broad and double-pointed, may be used to advantage.”

Soennecken was advertising these nibs in the U.S., in 1877. [Click on image to see close-up.]

Broad-edged steel nibs became standard lettering tools, starting in the late 1870s, and replaced quill pens to a large degree. However, several prominent scribes continued to use broad-edged quill pens, and broad reed pens, well into the 20th century.

William E. Dennis (1860-1924) wrote about this topic in 1914: “Soennecken pens, turkey quills and reeds are used for text lettering. The best is that which you can use best. Most engrossers use the Soennecken pen, probably because it is easier to obtain, but others think there is nothing like a turkey quill. The trouble is in preparing a quill and keeping it in order.” Then he gave exact directions for curing and cutting these pens, and continued… “There is a knack which comes only by experimenting in making this kind of a pen, but after this knack is acquired and a quill prepared just right, it works like a charm. By using a large turkey quill, well flattened out, a pen can be made a quarter of an inch or more in width, which is much wider than any steel pens are made for such work.” [Studies in Pen Art, by William E. Dennis; page 10.]

Other important calligraphers also preferred broad-edged quill pens. For example, the New Spencerian Compendium of Penmanship (1887), the definitive manual from the Spencerian movement, also had high praise for quill pens: “Steel pens adapted to text are now beginning to be produced of good quality, and are easily obtainable. Still, as the best of them hardly equal those skillfully made from quills, we will give some practical hints for the production of the latter.” [Page 61; emphasis added. Click on image to see close-up.] Here are the accompanying illustrations:

As late as 1897, Henry W. Ellsworth, a major figure who wrote many books on penmanship and calligraphy, still considered broad quill pens preferable to steel nibs. Regarding the German Text style he wrote: “It should be executed with great skill and facility, using a broad pointed pen. Such pens are made from quills of the goose or turkey, the latter being the best.” Ellsworth praised this style of lettering, then added: “German Text originated in the use of the quill pen, and consequently its forms are expressly suited to its production, although very elastic, square-pointed steel pens may be substituted in their absence.” [Theory and Art of Penmanship, 1897; page 223.]

There seems to be some confusion about when the automatic pens were first made, and the real reason for their name, so here’s some more info.

Automatic shading pens were being manufactured in the 1860s. See trademark date, shown here.

The Stoakes automatic pens were patented in 1880. (Thanks to Ginger Meidel for mentioning this.) I found an advertisement from August 1912, in The American Penman, that also points to circa 1880, as the date when Stoakes pens were first made. This ad is by the Newton Automatic Shading Pen Co., Pontiac, Michigan. Here’s some of what it says:

Over 50 different sizes and styles of Marking, Shading, Plain, Special and Border Pens for all practical Show Card Work, Lettering, Etc. — Accurate lettering is easily and rapidly done with our reliable Automatic Pens and Inks. They are the product of over THIRTY YEARS experimenting along this line, and combine the desirable features of the ORIGINAL “J. W. STOAKES” pens and the “FAUST” pens, both of which are now manufactured by us.

The word “automatic” in the name originally signified that shades, light and dark areas, and multi-line strokes, were all produced automatically — with single strokes. Later on, however, models that produced broad, even strokes only, were also called “automatic” pens, since they were basically the same pens (except for the marks they made).

Regarding the old story that “Victorians only used pointed pens,” we know that amateur calligraphers (Edward Johnston and others) in late 19th-century England were quite mixed-up about the modern history of broad-edged pens. They imagined (as some people still think today) that the “secret” of broad-edged nibs had been lost to history.

The truth, however, is that high-quality, broad-edged steel pen nibs were readily available in America, and in Europe, beginning in the 1870s.

Friedrich Soennecken began marketing his beautiful broad-edged nibs here in the late 1870s. Gillott, Mitchell, and other manufacturers followed soon after, with their own broad nibs. We know this is true, since there’s so much direct evidence: advertising, writing manuals, patents, and so forth.

Earlier in the 19th century, before broad-edged steel nibs came on the scene, broad-edged quill pens – mainly goose and turkey quills – were absolutely standard issue, for engrossers and their students. This is well documented in writing manuals. (It’s also common sense.)

By the 1880s, in the U.S., most professional calligraphers, and their numerous students, were using broad-edged steel pen nibs, for the styles that required them. Even rank amateurs, among the general public, used these broad-edged writing implements, to some extent, for lettering simple signs, addressing packages, etc.

But some professional scribes never abandoned broad quill pens at all. For example, William E. Dennis (1860-1924), one of America’s greatest calligraphers, used broad quills throughout his long career. You can even see pictures of some of them today, on the web.

Of course Dennis also used steel nibs, brushes, automatic pens, and many other calligraphy tools — whatever was best for the job at hand.

The full name is automatic shading pen. However, they’re also called automatic pens, auto-pens, and shading pens.

I have several examples of advertising, from the 1890s and later, for these pens. Here’s a small ad for the Stoakes pen, from The American Penman (Sept. 1908):

The earlier pens of this type usually produced shades (automatically) – light and dark areas, and multi-line strokes – but later models sometimes made a single broad stroke only (and so the original meaning of “automatic” was obscured).

Several American calligraphers specialized in automatic pen work. For example, there was Charles A. Faust (born 1860), known as The Automatic Man. Faust was an excellent calligrapher (originally trained as a printer), who sold his own line of automatic pens, special inks for these pens, and related supplies. He also wrote and published books on this topic:

• Compendium of Automatic Pen Lettering & Designs. [Published 1898.]
• Faust’s 75 New Alphabets for Brush, Air Brush, Air Pencil, Relief, Stencil, Marking, Shading, Payzant, Soennecken & Common Pen. [Published c. 1912.]

Automatic shading pens were being manufactured in the 1860s, and perhaps even earlier. I found a box (just an empty box) on eBay for these pens, with a trademark from 1865. Here are some pictures.

What was the most complex broad-nibbed pen ever invented? Perhaps it’s the one shown below, created and sold by Friedrich Soennecken in the 1870s (and later).

This pen had six interchangeable nibs, of different widths and styles, which were inserted in the pen staff, two or three at a time. It could make a huge number of stroke variations, depending on the configuration. Soennecken’s book shows some of these variations, noting that “144 different double strokes, and 504 different triple strokes, can be written.” Each nib could be loaded with a different color ink, and the blank areas of the letters could be filled in later, or left empty.

Soennecken called this pen “The Writing-Instrument” and it wasn’t very big: the total length from tip of nib, to end of pen staff, was exactly 15 cm. (just under 6 inches). “Breveté S.G.D.G.” refers to a French patent, and on the staff is stamped “F. Soennecken – Bonn – Patent”.

Calligraphers used this pen to letter the headings of engrossed documents, for creating small signs, and so forth. It could also be used to make elegant, multi-line borders.

These illustrations are from the 1877 edition of Soennecken’s Methodical Text Book to Round Writing, published by Keuffel & Esser (New York and Chicago).