Mass-produced steel pen nib
Plumilla de acero fabricada en serie
- Date
- 1822-1830 · confidence medium
- Place
- Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- John Mitchell (1822); Josiah Mason, Joseph Gillott and William Perry (Birmingham)
- People
- 👤 Joseph Gillott1799–1873👤 Josiah Mason1795–1881
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A pen nib stamped from steel sheet by presses and dies, produced by the million in Birmingham to replace the quill, which had to be cut by hand. It cut the cost of writing and filled schools and offices with identical pens.
Metal pens had existed since the 18th century (Wise, 1803); mechanised mass production began in Birmingham around 1822-1830 with Mitchell, Gillott and Mason.
What it led to
- Mass school literacy and standardised handwriting
- Large-scale handwritten bureaucracy and bookkeeping
- Birmingham as the 'city of a thousand trades'
- The fountain pen (Waterman, 1884)
Built on
- Quill penc. century VI-VII
- Thin-sheet rolled steel
- Stamping press