From the flint tool to the stylus, from the quill pen to the fountain pen and felt-tip marker, this book invites one to develop anew or deepen one's love for beautiful old writing instruments. Hundreds of contemporary engravings, illustrations, advertisements, photos, and catalog and brochure excerpts accompany the reader through the written history of the quill pen, pencil fountain pen and paper and their use. Here editors and journalists, salespeople, architects, students, and above all, collectors of historic writing instruments, will find facts about the origin, variations, and further development of one of the most important and personal of our useful tools-the writing instrument. Beginning with the origins of writing, Geyer covers the early writing instruments, steel pens, pencil, fountain pens, ball-point pens, and even the felt-tip marker. The greatest emphasis is on beautiful historical fountain pens. The major brands studied include Conway-Stewart, Cross, Edding, Faber-Castell, Geha, Kaeco, Lamy, Montblanc, Onoto, Parker, Pelikan, Senator, Schwan-Stabilo, Sheaffer, Soennecken, Staedtler,Swan Wahl-Eversharp, Waterman.