subject: Collecting Vintage Desk Ink Blotters [print this page] Back in the days when everyone used quill pens and fountain pens the one thing that could be found on every office or writing desk was an ink blotter. Ink blotters were always made of a gentle absorbent paper formed into a card and were used to dry up excess ink.
With the invention of ballpoint pen in the 1950s, ink blotters disappeared from the typical office desk. Today, these vintage blotters, made in the 1930s and 1940s, are extremely extremely prized and sought after collectibles. Ink Blotters were a very popular from of advertising that were often given away by fountain pen manufacturers, banks, merchants and especially Insurance Companies. Antique Ink blotters were as common as business cards are today.
Written references to ink blotting paper in America have been found beginning in the late 1700s. It was not until the 1850s that blotting paper came into common use in America, when Joseph Parker and Son started manufacturing blotting paper. In the late 1800s, a patent was issued for improved blotting paper which featured a silky surface on one side and a blotting surface on the other.
Rocker blotters were an important piece of desk equipment from the past due 1880s until the 1950s. This kind of blotter had a handle 2 to 5 inches lengthy and a rounded surface 2 to 3 inches wide where the blotting paper was attached. Some of these rocker blotters were very ornate and made of wood, glass, silver or brass and are also sought after by collectors.
Why not really start a collection of vintage ink blotter today from your home town or state. You can find them at local antique stores and flea markets but the one and only place to find a big selection of vintage advertising ink blotters is eBay.
To display your ink blotter collection use archival, acid free 3 pocket protective pages that are used by currency or dollar bill collectors. Then store the pages in a three ring binder and lay the binder flat rather than upright. 3 pocket protective pages can be purchased at your local coin shop, on line or on eBay. The art work on some ink blotters are very gorgeous and ornate. Take 2 or 3 and have them matted and framed.
