Making Her Mark: When Ink was Made at Home, pt 1

Today’s pens combine pen and ink into a convenient vessel, ready for instant use. In Austen’s day, pen and ink were separate entities, both of which needed to be available in order for writing to be possible.

Inks of various compositions and qualities were available during the Regency era, both homemade and purchased. The properties of good ink were widely agreed upon.

The chief requisites for the making of good ink, are:

1. Limpidity. so that it may flow freely from the pen...