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Soldier's Rosewood "Barrel" Traveling Inkwell, as in books and museums

$125.00

Product Description

Being offered is an original Civil War Barrel Inkwell. It is made of rosewood with the glass bottle inside and measuring approximately 2 1/8" high with a diameter of 1 3/8". The small glass bottle inside would press against a plunger on the inside of the cap when screwed down, to keep the ink from spilling. The spring inside, below the bottle, still operates to let the bottle go up and down.

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 himself and for the occasional fellow soldiers who were unable to write. Thus, the level of letter writing increased.

There are documented traveling inkwells which were used throughout the Civil War, but by far the barrel examples are the rarest and most difficult to find. There is one in The Civil War Collectors Encyclopedia, by Francis Lord (see pictures), and others can be found in The Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum, The Museum of the Confederacy, etc. In my book The Civil War Soldier - His Personal Items, I've included one from my personal collection (see pictures).

There is one in the Civil War Medical Museum, identified to a surgeon (see pictures). In the early 1980's an unopened package was discovered containing a dozen of these inkwells, still wrapped in their original paper. I was fortunate to acquire one and I know that at least another went to the Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum.

This inkwell is in very nice condition and operates fine, showing only normal use. Typical of these inkwells, a slight hairline crack is visible, but it is only on the surface. They go great with a display of a soldiers personal effects, (particularly nice alongside a letter or with a pen).

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SKU:
0301241
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$5.50 (Fixed shipping cost)