Friends of D.D. Collins House - Smalls - C. Stillman inkwell and quill pens circa 1840s

C. Stillman Inkwell and Quill Pens

Circa 1840s

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The “newest” antique acquisitions to be added to the Collins House smalls collection include a C. Stillman inkwell and quill pens.

This inkwell, circa 1840s, was created by the C. Stillman Co. of Chester, CT.

A TREEN

treen

/trēn/

noun

small domestic wooden objects, especially antiques.

The inkwell, considered a small, is also known as a treen.

Pursuant to the British dictionary, a treen is any useful object carved from wood. Often times these objects were carved from the burls or growths of a tree.

This inkwell has two glass holders for the ink, both of which are in tact, and has 5 holes to hold quill pens.

The bottom side no longer has a label.

In the later part of the 1800s, a new type of dip pen was introduced and used well into the Victorian Era, early 1900s.

The donation of this Mother of Pearl handled dip pen is a beautiful example of the dip pens that followed quill pens. This pen also has the nib.

Also housed within the case is a wood handled pen; however it no longer has the nib.

"Oh, nature's noblest gift, my grey goose quill, Slave of my thoughts, obedient to my will, Torn from the parent bird to form a pen, That mighty instrument of little men."

~ Lord Byron

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