The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: Collecting Antique Inkwells

Inkwell; sailor dressed dog in tub

Today’s back-to-school lists certainly outline plenty of supplies that can make a parent crazy – dry-erase markers, specific crayon sets and stacks of tissue boxes, but stop and take a moment to be grateful that ink and inkwells aren’t on it!  (Honestly, regardless of when pencils were invented, I’m surprised it wasn’t earlier.  A life involving me as a small child and an inkwell would not have been worth living….)

Inkwells are one of those small decorative objects that reveal so much about how fashions develop and change; you’ll find delicate Wedgwood examples (and I marvel at their cleanliness – I would have had them splattered permanently with ink) and gorgeous glass examples from companies like Clichy and Lalique, as well as figural examples of horses, owls and turtles.  And, of course, there’s Tiffany – there’s always Tiffany – and I’m holding out for a complete dragonfly deskset, but in the interim, I’d be happy with this enameled Art Deco piece, in case anyone’s starting Christmas shopping early.

Inkwells also mark an abrupt departure from the tasteful.  They seem to have become an early version of the novelty gift, and the delicate classical glass and porcelain forms quickly gave way to mandolin-playing frogs, devils with bat wings, and phrenology heads!  And somewhere beyond that are the pipe-smoking bulldogs in sailor suits, like the one pictured above.  A collection of inkwells makes a great collection, because it is truly a celebration of taste, both good and bad!

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com