There is a certain joy in writing with ink. It flows. Wait long enough and keep the paper still and it will dry and not smudge.
Early inks were very wet. Moreover the swirls in distinctive handwriting also contributed to an excess of ink to paper. Needed - something to absorb, or blot the excess so as to get on with the day. Blowing on it helped yet could cause it to run.
The first 'blotters' were sanders; shakers of fine sand which was dusted on to the paper to absorb the excess ink. To the above left is a Chinese shaker decorated in the '1000 faces' pattern and the other is an elegant shaker made in France.
The practical answer however was 'blotting paper' - the Scott towel of handwriting. So what was the best way to bring the paper to the ink you ask? Why that cousin of the rocking horse - the 'rocking blotter' of course! A real winner.
Blotting paper was attached to the bottom of a hand sized rocker - which was then gently cradled on a rocker to absorb excess ink.
The ubiquitous rocker was fashioned to suit all tastes and writing desks. In the sample pictures the oldest is a man's chip carved maple rocker from the 1800's. Also from the quill and stick pen era is an elegant sterling silver ladies rocker.
The other three are from the golden era of the fountain pen, the 1920's and 30's. One in marble. A copper advertising sample and a tin version. The latter is somewhat 'revolutionary' with grooves on the side to assist rocking, rather than a knob.
The knob variously acts as a carrying grip, a means of rocking or of being unscrewed to attach and change the blotting paper. With a fresh blotter attached one can 'rock on'!
My thanks and appreciation to my husband David, for the sharing of his collection and his writing of this post.
.My appreciation and thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt's Place for hosting ABC Wednesday Round 3. To view more ABC Wednesday posts via Mr. Linky please click
HERE. For viewing the new format of ABC Wednesday Round 3 where all posts can be seen in the same place, please click
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Having checked out this week's prompt for Photo Hunter and discovering that it was metal, I was on the look out for something made of metal while we were out driving today looking for hawks and geese. I found this wire fence, made of metal, surrounded by drying November grasses, and I thought it would be a rather interesting choice.
However on our way home our luck changed. Suddenly, hearing a loud 'clunk, clunk, clunk', as we were driving down the street we immediately stopped and found a big metal bolt, attached to a piece of metal strapping, stuck in our tire! And here was the result!
Well, hey, it was another opportunity to take a picture of something metal, and Roadside Assistance was very friendly and efficient, and in no time we were on our way home again. Not quite the sort of metal pictures I had planned, but it was a good day, all in all.
Looking back from where we had been aboard VIA Rail, somewhere between Quebec and Northern New Brunswick.
Free transportation on this river ferry across the Saint John River at Westfield is part of our New Brunswick Highway system.
Taken from a moving train, somewhere, sometime in the middle of a dark night.
Views from a train window at night aboard the Ocean, while stopped at a station, traveling on VIA Rail from Moncton, NB to Montreal, QC.
Looking ahead from the observation car.
The Tynemouth Covered Bridge in Saint John County.
The Wheaten Covered Bridge on the Tantramar Marshes.
The Bloomfield Covered Bridge , Saint John County.
Reflections of the Boudreau Covered Bridge on a rainy day in Westmorland County.
Reflections within the interior of a Covered Bridge.
Tho the winter solstice is not until December 21st it seems that autumn has been long gone. While looking out the window this morning and seeing fresh snow lying on the ground, I reflected upon the changes I saw around me; and had these thoughts on the ending of one season and the beginning of another.
The first 'blotters' were sanders; shakers of fine sand which was dusted on to the paper to absorb the excess ink. To the above left is a Chinese shaker decorated in the '1000 faces' pattern and the other is an elegant shaker made in France.
Blotting paper was attached to the bottom of a hand sized rocker - which was then gently cradled on a rocker to absorb excess ink.
The ubiquitous rocker was fashioned to suit all tastes and writing desks. In the sample pictures the oldest is a man's chip carved maple rocker from the 1800's. Also from the quill and stick pen era is an elegant sterling silver ladies rocker.
The other three are from the golden era of the fountain pen, the 1920's and 30's. One in marble. A copper advertising sample and a tin version. The latter is somewhat 'revolutionary' with grooves on the side to assist rocking, rather than a knob.
The knob variously acts as a carrying grip, a means of rocking or of being unscrewed to attach and change the blotting paper. With a fresh blotter attached one can 'rock on'!
Shooting towards the sun caused the strong light to reflect on the water and also created the glistening effect on the trees in the immediate foreground. what I really liked most was the sun lightening the ground at the rocky point under the trees there, making the tree trunks prominently visible. This was an interesting photo experiment with light and I like the way it turned out.
The temperatures were high and warm one day last week in Montreal and the sunset at the end of day was very beautiful.
Perhaps these two benches had been placed together, facing each other, in preparation for removing them to winter storage, but I like think they had been staged as an invitation for friends to sit together companionably while having a pleasant chat before continuing on with their walk in the park.
At Valois Park, Vaudreuil-Dorien, Quebec.
