overall: 1 cm x 12.8 cm x 1 cm; 13/32 in x 5 1/32 in x 13/32 in
Object Name:
pen
Date made:
ca 1900
Description:
This 5-1/16" steel, German silver, and ivory drawing pen has no identifying marks. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many makers of mathematical instruments in the United States and Europe sold drawing pens with ivory handles to draftsmen and other people who made engineering and architectural drawings. For instance, Keuffel & Esser and Dietzgen advertised similar pens for $1.80. The screw allowed users to adjust the width of the point and thus the width of a line made by dipping the pen in ink and then writing on paper.
References: <i>Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co.</i>, 7th ed. (Chicago, 1904), 56; <i>Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co.</i>, 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 72.
