page_title: Iron gall ink
hierarchical_section_title: Iron gall ink
caption_attribution_description: Two oak galls in a beaker and a jar of iron(II) sulfate, ingredients of iron gall ink. The papers on the table are instructions for making the ink. Photograph taken at the California State Archives, 1020 "O" Street, Sacramento, California, USA.
context_page_description: Iron gall ink is a purple-black or brown-black ink made from iron salts and tannic acids from vegetable sources. It was the standard ink formulation used in Europe for the fourteen-hundred-year period between the 5th and 19th centuries, remained in widespread use well into the 20th century, and is still sold today.
context_section_description: Iron gall ink (also known as common ink, standard ink, oak gall ink or iron gall nut ink) is a purple-black or brown-black ink made from iron salts and tannic acids from vegetable sources. It was the standard ink formulation used in Europe for the fourteen-hundred-year period between the 5th and 19th centuries, remained in widespread use well into the 20th century, and is still sold today.
caption: Oak galls and iron(II) sulfate, ingredients of iron gall ink
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