This Vintage Glass Inkstand Holds Two Jars of Ink as Well as Three Pens or Styluses

This glass double inkwell and pen stand was purchased at an antique shop. The stand is quite heavy with the glass being very thick. The stand is quite sturdy and useful. The stand is attractive and makes a beautiful addition to any desk or writing stand.

There are wells for two ink bottles in this stand. The wells are round although most stands I have seen have square inkwells. I have looked for ink bottles to fit into the wells but have not been successful. The diameter of the wells is quite small.

A rectangular space between the inkwells seems like a logical place for storing nibs. The space is adequate for spacing the nibs for ease of use. I like to line the longer nibs in the back and cross the smaller nibs across the front of the space.

Three pen grooves are on the front area of the stand. The grooves are long enough for most styluses or pens and are spaced far enough apart that the pens may be easily grasped.

I can understand the reason that this glass stand is so thick and heavy. For ease of use the stand should be both sturdy and stable. The stand should not move when the pens are being dipped into the ink; nor should the stand tip.

There are many styles of inkwell/pen stands available in antique shops. Many reproductions are also being manufactured. Although the stand was made for ease of use when filling ink pens or for dipping styluses the stand is just as useful today either for display of writing paraphernalia or for storing fountain pens and ink. The stand remains to be both useful and decorative.

Most of these stands that I found, both online and in antique shops, date from the early to mid 1900's with quite a few having been produced pre WWII. The abundance of these stands as well as the variety of stands available means that they were used in most households. Do you think they began to disappear from use when typewriters began to be used?