'The Pen is the Tongue of the Mind' - John Greenleaf Whittier.
The pen has long been a tool to express the thoughts and feelings of human beings.
In this age of big data and digitization, we often forget about the immense role this seemingly simple pen had in shaping humanity.
The History of the Pen
The QuillIt all starts with a simple feather. A quill is a simple tool historically used to write thoughts and findings of scientists, historians, artists, and lovers, throughout human history.
Early documents from laws, constitutions, and the Magna Carta, were all written with a quill. It was the catalyst of human development.
Historically a good quill is constructed from the feathers of large birds, usually Geese. Swan Feathers was the most sought-after. Crow feathers made the best quills for writing on accounting books, as they produced the finest of lines.
Pen and Quill
To sharpen a quill, writers had to use a special knife called the penknife. That is an early form of a pocket knife, which led to the evolution of the Swiss army knife we know today. The ink was the hardest to source and often the most expensive part of writing at the time.
To learn how to make your own quill, check out this post!
The Pen
As humanity progressed, we saw the quill transform into a pen, which made writing a more portable activity. The simple invention of a writing instrument that dispenses ink automatically, without dipping it into an ink reservoir, was monumental for the advancement of our society.
The earliest evidence we have of the pen came from Ma'ād al-Mu'izz, the Caliph of Egypt, which at the time had influence in North Africa and parts of modern-day Saudi Arabia. Ma'ād al-Mu'izz asked for a pen that would keep his hand clean while using it and would not leave a mess. He found a design flaw with the quill and sought to fix it.
His wish became fulfilled when an undocumented inventor created the first pen for him. The first version was a pen consisting of a vessel with ink that does not spill when held upside down. Unfortunately, we cannot know with certainty how it worked or what it looked like, as these details were missing in the records found. For more detail about the history of the pen, you can check out this incredibly concise blog post.
Patent of a Fountain Pen (issued May 25, 1827, in France)
The Evolution
As the pen evolved, it became easier to do specific tasks.
Artists could now carry around a variety of tools to ply their art. Marker pens, created using an Alcohol or Methanol base to create vibrant colors, started becoming popular. Artists can now draw on a portable canvas, carrying nothing but a pencil case! These markers are precise and have paved the way for the creation of cartoons, including the famous Anime style. The characters of Naruto and One Piece, for example, were most likely drawn on alcohol-based markers.
Gone are the days of carrying about a brush and heavy bottles of paint (unless that floats your boat!).
The humble invention of the pen made education unrestricted and, to this day, remains the leading cause of human development that accelerated human progress.
That brings us to the present moment, the invention of the tablet computer and the Stylus Pen.
We, the Tinymoose team, believe the stylus pen is the evolution of its predecessor. The stylus is the most efficient tool to interact with the ever-increasing range of digital devices at our disposal. It is quickly becoming an extension of our limbs, one that can interact seamlessly with the digital world. Sure, you can use your finger to interact with the screen, but the finger is a blunt object and not very precise.
With the Tinymoose Pencil Pro, we can write notes, architects and designers can draw blueprints, and artists can draw beautiful art. Any mistakes made along the way are corrected effortlessly, often with just a swipe.
Artists and designers can now draw on their iPad tablets more freely, choosing all the colors they desire. A plethora of opportunities have now been unlocked, from creating cartoons on your iPad to NFTs (Non-Fungible Art) that exist on the blockchain forever. If you are unfamiliar with NFTs, this article from The Verge goes into an excellent deep dive explaining what they are.
At Tinymoose, we offer the Pencil Pro, in addition to the best felt-tip Markers money can buy. We have teamed up with artists across the world. From Saudi Arabia to Canada and the USA, talented artists are now using our tools to express themselves and fulfill their passion.
The future is here, and we at Tinymoose want to be at the forefront of this innovation!
We are growing and would love for you to be on this journey with us!
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