The ninth entry in the stationery archeology strand features another gift from my penfriend Richard in Georgia, USA. (Thank you very much!) This pair of moulded glass inkwells appear to date from the late nineteenth Century, or perhaps the early twentieth. I cannot see any markings or date on them, so that's my guess.
The bottle on the left is very delicate, and seems to have been sand-blasted or weathered somehow to leave a matte finish. The bottle on the right is sturdier, but has a number of bubbles in the glass and a pronounced ridge where the two halves were mated at the factory. Both are moulded from the same green glass.
Thanks for sharing this. The bottle on the right is called a cotton-reel bottle because of its shape. Are there any markings at the bottom?
ReplyDeleteHi Lito! I don't recall any markings on the bottom, I'll have to take a closer look.
ReplyDeleteHi there
ReplyDeleteI appear to have just discovered this blog, and I'm rather glad I have. I am also a stationery fiend, an archaeologist (well, actually a bio anthropologist, but whats etymology between friends?) and live in London. I'd love you know if you have any frequent haunts to get a stationery fix? There were a few places where I grew up - but now in London I seem to be restricted to Clapham Junction Paperchase (yawn) or Selfridges' selection!
Quick postscript to this: I have just checked the bottoms of these inkwells and found only the letter S stamped into the bottom of the cotton-reel bottle.
ReplyDeleteClaire, I get most of my stationery from local suppliers. I live in Wiltshire, not London, so when I make my (rare) trips to the capital try to get to somewhere like Selfridges or The Pen Shop (sorry) to have a nose about. London isn't well served for stationers, I feel...
I have ventured out and discovered the flagship Paperchase in TCR since the last post - and I was in there for three hours! It is pretty fantastic but I still crave the intimate corner shop style atmosphere of an independent chock full of treats, much like I found in New York and Paris
ReplyDelete