Quill Pen

Quill pen

In Soane’s time, some pens were made from feathers, also called quills. The best quills come from geese; the feathers used are those from the leading edge of the wings. They were sometimes dried and hardened in hot sand and they were shaped with a sharp knife – a pen knife – to form a nib. This could be fine or broad as required.

Metal pens were also starting to be used in Soane’s time and would be used for finer work.  Soane’s Tyringham Gateway sketch was probably made with a quill pen like this one.