Pens,+Ink,+and+Paper

=Pens, Ink, and Paper: 1776-1860=

Penmanship was a very important skill as it was commonly believed that the appearance of one’s script was more important than its accuracy. The quill pen was used for important writing tasks or for written work that would be exhibited. It was the teacher’s job to whittle goose quills and make ink for the inkwells. Writing with ink could be quite messy, so students used blotting paper to absorb excess ink from the page when they were finished. In cities, ink was made of ink powder mixed with water. In the country, ink was made of lampblack or tannic acid from oak tree galls mixed with light oil or from swamp maple bark and copperas.