England, Scotland, Ireland Innovations

Michael Finlay identified several pen holder and Gold Pen nib makers operating in the 1820-1835 period who were applying ruby and rhodium tipping to Gold Pen nibs, including   Dr. Wollaston, John Rose, William P. Doughty, T.C. Robinson, and “others”.

The Doughty Perpetual Ruby Pen

A drawing in Michael Finlay’s possession, made in 1885 by Frank Crosbie (eventual successor to Francis Mordan & Co., the largest British gold-pen makers of the later nineteenth century), shows the form of Dr Wollaston’s 1823 Rhodium Pen. It consisted of two flat pieces of gold soldered together to create a V-shaped nib, much like Donkin’s steel pen. William P. Doughty, a watchmaker who turned to pen-making around 1822, used this same basic form for his ruby-pointed gold pens. Small rubies were cut by a lapidary into precise triangular prisms and cemented into matching pockets so the ruby tips protruded to form the writing points.

Doughty first appears in Kent’s London Directory in 1819 at 10 Great Ormond Street, where he remained until the early 1830s. He then moved to the Strand—first to No. 19 and by 1835 to No. 431. A 1825 letter to the Mechanic’s Magazine asking for his address was answered by confirming he was still at 10 Great Ormond Street as “inventor and manufacturer of Ruby-pointed pens.”

One surviving Doughty pen raises questions about the invention’s origin. The back of the nib is impressed “ROSE INVENIT & JEWELR / DOUGHTY FECIT.” Rose is not mentioned in contemporary accounts of Doughty’s pens, but he was likely the lapidary who supplied the ruby points—probably Jn°. Rose of 427 Strand in 1826, only two doors from Doughty’s later premises.

An 1824 advertisement in John Bull praised Doughty’s Perpetual Ruby Pen and listed its retailers: Messrs. Bramah of 124 Piccadilly, Mr. Palmer of 2 St. James’s Street, Mr. Parkin of 406 Strand, Messrs. Rowe and Waller of 49 Fleet Street, Mr. Dollond of St. Paul’s Churchyard, Messrs. Smith and Elder of Fenchurch Street, Mr. Edwards of 21 King Street Bloomsbury, Mr. Daniels of 125 Regent Street, and Doughty himself at 10 Great Ormond Street. The price was £2 12s. 6d. These were prestigious firms, many with royal patronage, reflecting the pens’ high quality.

Their success is clear from an 1838 article that noted users could write as finely as with a crow-quill or as boldly as with a swan-quill, or combine both styles. The pens offered excellent elasticity and produced uniform handwriting unattainable with ordinary pens. After more than six years of constant use they showed no wear. Care was required to avoid contact with hard surfaces, and they needed occasional cleaning with soap and water. Though expensive initially, they proved economical because of their durability. To protect the points when dipping, Doughty lined his elegant ink-stands with India-rubber or inserted a rubber bottle to hold the ink (one example engraved “PATENT CAOUTCHOUC INKWELL DOUGHTY FECIT”).

Although Doughty’s ruby pens were the most successful, they were not unique. In 1822 Hawkins and Mordan patented pens that embedded tiny particles of ruby, diamond, or other hard stones into softened tortoiseshell or horn nibs, with sliding springs to adjust elasticity. A variant treated quills similarly using varnishes or sealing-wax. These enjoyed little success, as the stones were gradually pulled out by the paper, creating a rough writing feel. By 1827 Sampson Mordan was advertising gold, silver, steel, rhodium, and ruby pens, but it was his inventive co-patentee, John Isaac Hawkins, who ultimately perfected the durable flexible pen.

Hawkins was born on 14 March 1772 in Taunton, Somersetshire, the son of a watch- and clockmaker. After beginning medical training in America he turned to mechanics and produced many inventions, including the Physiognotrace, a successful copying machine, pianoforte improvements, sugar-refining machinery, the ever-pointed pencil, and the “everlasting gold pen.” From 1804 he had sought a hard material to solder to gold nibs for permanent durability.

Around 1833 he learned of Wollaston’s earlier experiments and began working with the native osmium-iridium alloy. Wollaston had sent samples of rhodium and the alloy to pen-maker T. C. Robinson; rhodium pens were produced, but the iridium alloy was returned as too hard to shape. Hawkins built a high-speed lathe (ten thousand revolutions per minute) and, using a diamond-dust lap, succeeded in grinding it. His first pen had a silver nib tipped with iridium; after one point detached he made the second entirely of gold, which proved entirely successful. The third was sold on 26 April 1834 to merchant Mr Vine, leading to orders that reached the Czar of Russia. Early pens sold for twelve shillings each without a holder.

Hawkins obtained iridium from Mr Johnson of Hatton Garden (today Johnson Matthey) and selected only the best material, making suitable supplies increasingly scarce. In August 1835 he sold the business for £300 plus a royalty to Aaron Porter Cleveland, who transferred the skills to his brother-in-law Simeon Hyde of New York. Cleveland ran the London works briefly in 1836 before returning to America to establish production and train workmen Levi Brown and George Barney. Hawkins continued managing the London operation, receiving half-a-crown per pen sold to Hyde. The iridium-pointed gold pen ultimately achieved its greatest success in the United States, where some of Hyde’s trained workmen, including Levi Brown and probably Albert Gilman Bagley, later left to found their own companies.

Depicted above the  Finlay book excerpt is a photo of a Doughty silver mounted penholder with gold decorated shell handle. 

These two writing instruments were acquired in Hereford, Herefordshire England on 8 July 2024. 

During packaging or shipping the items were stolen and substituted by thieves and have been reported as such.  

I am assured by the seller that the items were properly packaged and shipped per “We are absolutely certain that we sent the correct items out to you.” 

Members of WES, please be alert and on the lookout for the items pictured in this section as both are reported stolen.

In the event any member of The Writing Equipment Society or anyone else becomes aware of the location or identity of persons possessing either item, please contact this author and alert from the PorteCrayon.com website contact app. Thank you.

Gold Pen  Nib, consisting of two separate gold strips with cut and polished ruby tipping applied.

Doughty Ruby nibDimensions: 

Length: 2.6cm or 1.00 inches Width: 0.6cm or .25 in.

Silver Mounted Tortoiseshell Dip Pen With Gold Nib, consisting of two separate gold strips with tipping applied.

The handle of this item is embellished with a gold mark (see the shell handle).

Dimensions: Length: 15.8cm or 6.15 inches Width: 0.7cm

Silver Mounted  Dip Pen With Gold Nib, consisting of two separate gold strips with tipping applied.

Although the pen holder handle is absent, this item is consistent with Doughty designs documented by Michael Finlay and Jim Marshal.