Civil War Soldier's Traveling Inkwell

Original Civil War Traveling Inkwell. It is made of wood with the glass bottle inside and measures 2 1/8" high with a diameter of 1 1/8". The small glass bottle inside would press against the plunger on the inside of the cap when screwed down, to keep the ink from spilling. The spring inside, below the bottle, still operates and the tiny plunger is also still present. 

There was a rapid increase in the consumption of ink during the Civil War, accompanied by the required bottles and inkwells to store the ink. In the mid-1800's, excluding slaves, the population of the United States enjoyed having one of the highest literacy levels in the world. The soldier was no longer at home, so his principal means of communication with his family was through letters. Soldiers went from writing occasional correspondence to writing letters home for him and for the occasional fellow soldiers who were unable to write. Thus, the level of letter writing increased.

Examples of these same type inkwells are well documented and are in The Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum, The Museum of the Confederacy, Lee's Headquarters Museum, Gettysburg, and one is pictured in Commanders of the Civil War, by William Davis, (see pictures). This one is in absolutely beautiful condition and would be almost impossible to upgrade. They go great with a display of a soldiers personal effects, (particularly nice alongside a letter or with a pen). (SOLD)