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Back in the days when everyone used quill pens and fountain pens the one
thing that could be found on every office or writing desk was an ink blotter.
Ink blotters were usually made of a soft absorbent paper formed into a card and
were used to dry up excess ink. With the invention of ballpoint pen in the
1950s, ink blotters disappeared from the average office desk. Today, these
vintage blotters, made in the 1930s and 1940s, are very highly prized and sought
after collectibles. Ink Blotters were a very popular from of advertising that
were often given away by fountain pen manufacturers, banks, merchants and
especially Insurance Companies. Antique Ink blotters were as common as business
cards are today. Written references to ink blotting paper in America have been
found beginning in the late 1700s. It was not until the 1850s that blotting
paper came into common use in America, when Joseph Parker and Son started
manufacturing blotting paper. In the late 1800s, a patent was issued for
improved blotting paper which featured a smooth surface on one side and a
blotting surface on the other. Rocker blotters were an important piece of desk
equipment from the late 1880s until the 1950s. This type of blotter had a handle
2 to 5 inches long and a rounded surface 2 to 3 inches wide where the blotting
paper was attached. Some of these rocker blotters were very ornate and made of
wood, glass, silver or brass and are also sought after by collectors.
Guide created: 01/25/09 (updated 03/17/09)
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