Early scribes dipped pens in inkwells fashioned from horn and leather called inkpots or inkhorns. Some collectors love the historical aspect of collecting, but it isn't the primary motivation for most of today's inkwell collectors. They are enticed by the medley of styles, colors, shapes and materials. Inkwells exist in every imaginable design. Beyond the standard geometric shapes, there is a wide and sometimes eccentric variety of animals, birds, buildings, clowns, shoes, umbrellas, teakettles and even a baked potato complete with butter and spoon.
Collectors seek both inkwells and inkstands.
Inkwells are the receptacles used to hold ink for dipping a pen, whereas inkstands, called standishes in the 1800s, contain an inkwell and one or more other features. Although there is a lot of speculation about the birth of the inkwell, the time and reason for its demise are agreed upon. Inkwells began to disappear with the invention of the fountain pen in 1884, were scarce by the time of the Depression, and finally vanished from common use when the ball-point pen came onto the writing scene in the 1930s. Most collectible inkwells are from the era beginning with the American and French Revolutions and ending in the Thirties. Usually it was the wealthy who owned inkwells while common people dipped their pens straight into the ink bottle.