Forty Centuries of Ink / Or, A chronological narrative concerning ink and its backgrounds, introducing incidental observations and deductions, parallels of time and color phenomena, bibliography, chemistry, poetical effusions, citations, anecdotes and curiosa together with some evidence respecting the evanescent character of most inks of to-day and an epitome of chemico-legal ink.

by David Nunes Carvalho

FUCUS.—A drone.

In Japan the word "ink" possesses more than one meaning Four hundred Inks—one degree of sixty miles." (See Geographical Grammar, of 1737, page 3.)

"Say what you will Sir, but I know what I know;
That you beat me at the Mart, I have your hand to show;
If the skin were Parchment, and the blows you gave were Ink,
Your own Hand-writing would tell you what I think."
—Comedy of Errors, iii, 1.

The first book ever printed in Europe, to wit, a copy of "Tully's Offices," is carefully preserved in Holland.

White's Latin-English Dictionary, 1872, distinguishes the words Atramentum and Sutorium in their interpretations.

ATRAMENTUM.—The thing serving for making black. A black liquid of any kind. A writing ink. Shoemaker's black. Blue vitriol.

SUTORIUM.—Belonging to a shoemaker.

Before the employment of blotting paper a pounce- box which contained either powdered gum sandarach and ground cuttle-fish bones, or powdered charcoal, sand and like materials was used by shaking it like a pepper- box on freshly written manuscripts.

Blotting paper as first employed consisted of very thin sheets and of a dark pink color, which fashion changed to blue in later years.

Good blotting paper of the present time removes fully two thirds of fresh ink when used on HARD finished paper.