QUILL PEN MAKING.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2143, 27 July 1907, Page 3

QUILL PEN MAKING.

In those days when the skill of tho _craftsman is being replaced in every direction by complicated machinory, it is really comforting fo knew that quill pens are still entirely manufactured by hand. No machine las ever been invented that will d-- ti e delicato work of cutting as well ns an experienced working man. Tlwi gli since tho advent of steel peas the manufacture of quill pens has largely declined, there is still a considerable demand for them; and th« y are largely used in Government offices. Few firms are now engaged in the manufacture of quills, but among them is Messrs Coopor, Dennison and Wal'kden, who liavo the distinction of being one of the oldest firms in the trade, seeing they carrxo.l cn business in the eighteenth con ;ury in one of the houses on old J i l-don Bridge. In their archives they have account hooks dating from 1733 and order books full of orders for quills

from Government departments from 1537. At their works in South London tho process of transforming a goose’s feather into a quill pen can bo seen in almost all "it's stages. The exception is the work known tecliinicaliy as “dutching.” By “dutching” tho outer membrane on a quill and the pith inside are removed by the application of heat, and the quill tempered so as to form a satisfacto.y pen. The business requires considerable care and skill, as too much heat would render the quills brittle. The work is now done at home, not in tho factory; one or two families doing virtually all the “dutheing” required by the trade. The cutting is done with a special knife, very small and sharp, and the worker wears a leather guard on his lingers. A skilled worker will cut about 100 pens an hour. The sorting of the pens—for quill pens vary much in quality—is another skilled process; and the tying of the pens into lots of twenty-five, and then four lots together, though it might not be thought so at first sight. But the art of arranging the quills, not all in an irregular bundle, but in regular rows placed one on top of another, is an aft

that is not easy to acquire. Geese are not tho only birds who have the honor of supplying the raw material of quill pens. Aristocratic quill pens are made from the feathers of the wild geese of Hudson’s Bay. These quills are said to be considerably superior to any for writing purposes; the price, it may be remarked, is also Lighter. A Hudson’s Bay quill can be distinguished from an ordinary goose quill by the fact that has not only a dark-colored feather—somo common or garden geese have dark feathers—but the stem of the feather is also dark-colored, not white. Quill pens are also made from turkey and swan feathers. Those made from turkey feathers are chiefly used by law writers for writing on parchments and other documents. The swan quills are remarkably large and thick, with a fine sweep of feather, and these are sometimes specially ordered —the larger the better—for use upon the stage. It is clear that the impressiveness of such actions as signing death warrants or wills or marriage settlements must be greatly increased by the use of such large and majestic instruments; a steel pen would make the business simply commonplace. The trade price of one these gargantuan swan quills would be nearly sixpence; where the trade price of goose quills is only about 8s per 1000. Though many individual writers are still attached to the quill pens, it is not probable that any amateur ever tries nowadays to cut' a quill pen afresh ; when it is worn out, he simply takes another. The mechanical steel pen is steadily thrusting out tho hand-made quill pen, though there was a time when it was regarded rather as a vulgar upstart. Government offices, being naturally conservative, and also not much troubled by considerations of expense, were faithful to quill pens for a long time after the introduction of steel pens, and even at the present time they still use a considerable quantity. A return published in 1868 showed that in that year 6000 gross of quills were used, value £1816; but more than 14,000 gross of steel pens, value £I9OO. In 1873, the annual consumption of quills has 'diminished by nearly half ; and in 1890 the quantities issued from the Stationery Office were: Quills, 4000 gross; and steel pens 38,000 gross.