From: owner-scribes@castle.org (scribes digest) To: scribes-digest@castle.org Subject: scribes digest V2 #139 Reply-To: Sender: owner-scribes@castle.org Errors-To: owner-scribes@castle.org Precedence: bulk scribes digest Sunday, July 5 1998 Volume 02 : Number 139 In this issue: Re: [scribes]: Period resevoirs Re: [scribes]: Dip vs. Cartridge ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 05 Jul 1998 20:21:39 +1000 From: Steve Roylance Subject: Re: [scribes]: Period resevoirs Christina Nevin wrote: > > Thomas Brownwell wrote: > >> Add a reservoir to a quill by taking something springy > bending it into an "S" and inserting it most of the > way up into the quill. I've read that this is perfectly authentic -- > nothing new there!!! > > Does anyone have any primary source material documenting/showing this? I > would love to know. The local calligraphy/illumination Laurel says she > can't find anything. She inserts a cut-off sliver of the quill back into > the shaft to act as a reservoir and reckons they probably did something > like that, but of course it would be impossible to tell from pictures. > > Yours in service to the Dream, > Lucrezia Hi, There usually a thinning of the ink just before the dip pen runs out of ink and a very dark next letter as the pen is refilled. I don't think much of this sort of intense detail would be reproduced in the facsilimes we usually use as our source material and many of the musuem exhibits are too well protected to observe this sort of detail either. Expensively, I own a leaf from a from a Flemish Psalter of 1450, but this is also a pity that someone had to break a book down to single pages to sell it (a scanned copy of the page will be on a site soon) and beside me as I type this message. This shows this light and dark pattern, but it is still very difficult to pick when the scribe filled his pen and where the letter has been composed as two strokes. Some of them could only two letters, but generally not more than one word. as ever Thorfinn, Lochac, West Melbourne, Australia ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Jul 1998 20:32:01 +1000 From: Steve Roylance Subject: Re: [scribes]: Dip vs. Cartridge Thomas Brownwell wrote: > > Mistress Eowyn described how she fills her pen. Does everyone strop their pen > on a piece of scrap paper before continuing after a refill? Hi, Yes I "strop" my nib after I have filled it by dipping. I use a Brause usually a 0.5 or 0.75 mm one. The strop I use is a cut edge of a piece of blotting paper. I also wipe the internals of the nib after every third or fourth refill with the corner of a piece of blotting paper. I usually cut the bloting paper down to 10 mm by 30 mm pieces to give me lots of edges and corners and small pieces to go inside the nib. I also clean the nib with on some 1200 grit before starting and if the nib has dried out. I still have written over 250 words in one evening as well as seting up the page. as ever Thorfinn, Lochac, West Melbourne, Australia ------------------------------ End of scribes digest V2 #139 *****************************