W. F. Stanley Lifting-Nib Drawing Pen
date: label: date made
content: late 19th century
name: label: maker
content: Stanley, William Ford
notes: label: Description
content: This 5-7/8" steel, brass, and ivory drawing pen has a spring inside the point to draw the tips of the point together when the screw is tightened to make a narrower line. The point is also jointed, so when the screw is removed, one side of the point may be opened to a 90° angle. The handle is marked: STANLEY.
label: Description
content: William Ford Stanley (1829–1909) began making mathematical instruments in London in 1853. In his influential 1866 volume on the construction and use of drawing instruments, he called this form of drawing pen a "lifting-nib" or "jointed" pen. It was supposed to be easier to clean than a standard drawing pen. This example was probably made in the late 19th century.
label: Description
content: References: William Ford Stanley, <i>Mathematical Drawing and Measuring Instruments </i> 6th ed. (London: E. & F. N. Spon, 1888), 12; T. Potter, "Aids and Accessories," <i>Journal of the Society of Estate Clerks of Works</i> 8, no. 3 (1895): 33–36; David M. Riches, "W. F. Stanley," <i>Mathematical Instruments: A Private Collection</i>, http://www.mathsinstruments.me.uk/page43.html.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United Kingdom: England, London
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: Drawing Instruments
label: Subject
content: Drafting, Engineering
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Pens and Pencils
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Ruth A. Ming
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1978.2110.10
label: accession number
content: 1978.2110
label: catalog number
content: 336736
objectType: label: Object Name
content: pen
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ivory (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: .5 cm x 14.7 cm x .5 cm; 3/16 in x 5 25/32 in x 3/16 in