Despite its simplicity, the pen is still one of the world’s most important inventions. It helps people write down their thoughts or the important thoughts of others. It plays a crucial role in education as teachers and students alike use it to teach and to learn. In an era where computers reign supreme, the pen functions as the great equalizer as it arms people with the power to jot down relevant information.
The pen goes as far back as 4th century BC Egypt when scribes still wrote on papyrus. As the world found more need to record their stories and that of notable people and events, peoples around the world developed writing devices not far from the Egyptian pen made out of reed. One was the feather quill in the 9th century. It had a sharp nib and it looked beautiful. This pen was used until the 19th century but like most of humankind’s inventions, better technology replaced these old designs.
Fountain pens were introduced later on and they were much loved because they had ink reservoirs. The first one appeared in the 1820s when a Romanian inventor by the name of Petrache Poenaru needed a more reliable pen for his notes. By 1828, a group made up of William Mitchell, James Stephen Perry, and William Joseph Gillott found a way to mass-produce steel nibs. By the 1850s, steel nib pens were made for mass production.
More improvements were done after the introduction of steel nib pens and by 1904, the pen clip was introduced. For modern users, it is difficult to imagine that pens, in general, were manufactured without a clip for that long. It took centuries before the pen clip was made and contemporary users agree that it has made all the difference. While it is true that many people still lose their pens in modern times, the clip surely reduced the likelihood of dropping it or losing it.
Modern users are used to pens with clips and it is very likely that if these clips are removed, a lot of people will be very angry. In fact, pen clips are so important that replacements are being sold online. Replacement clips are produced by various manufacturers and they come in a range of designs. Some are modern while others are reminiscent of older clips. There is a whole market for these clips because some pen manufacturers now produce pens with removable clips.
