QUESTION FROM A READER/WRITER: I am curious about ink used for writing, especially how indelible it was when spilled or splashed on someone. If it gets on skin or cloth, how easy was it to remove? I think there might have been a difference in ink used for writing and that for printing, but I am not sure. The ink I want to use is actually in an inkwell, but I am sure I could make other arrangements if this wouldn’t work.

ANSWER: Okay, before we get into ink, we must remember also, that the paper of the time was not paper as we know it today. The vast majority of paper then was rag paper, literally made from shredded, pulled and pressed rags of cloth. So the rate at which it absorbed both ink and water was different from today’s papers.

It quite possibly would be more durable on vellum, simply because, whilst the vellum would absorb water (like a chamois cloth) it would not tend to disintegrate, which would be a risk with rag paper, depending on the quality of the paper manufacture.

I have a dear friend who is somewhat of a pen “aficionado”expert,” and he tells me that the ink used at the time is what is called “iron gall ink (made from oak galls).

“Iron gall ink (also known as common ink, standard ink, oak gall ink or iron gall nut ink) is a purple-black or brown-black ink made from iron salts and tannic acids from vegetable sources. It was the standard ink formulation used in Europe for the 1400-year period between the 5th and 19th centuries, remained in widespread use well into the 20th century, and is still sold today. The ink was traditionally prepared by adding some iron sulfate to a solution of tannic acid, but any iron ion donor can be used. The gallotannic acid was usually extracted from oak galls or galls of other trees, hence the name. Fermentation or hydrolysis of the extract releases glucose and gallic acid, which yields a darker purple-black ink, due to the formation of iron gallate. [Diringer, David (1 March 1982). The Book Before Printing: Ancient, Medieval and Oriental. Dover Publications. pp. 551–2.]

“The fermented extract was combined with the iron(II) sulfate. After filtering, the resulting pale-grey solution had a binder added to it (most commonly gum arabic) and was used to write on paper or parchment. A well-prepared ink would gradually darken to an intense purplish black. The resulting marks would adhere firmly to the parchment or vellum, and (unlike india ink or other formulas) could not be erased by rubbing or washing. The marks could only be erased by scraping a thin layer off the writing surface.” [Flemay, Marie (21 March 2013). “Iron Gall Ink”. Traveling Scriptorium.]

My friend says that there were some variety of inks available at the time. Iron gall inks were common and were sometimes referred to as “registrar” inks. They were used for official documents because they were significantly more permanent than the water-soluble inks that were beginning to appear on the market.  (For example, in 1832 Carl Hornemann founded a color and ink factory in Hanover, Germany; although it is tradition to consider 28th of April 1838 as the founding date. That was the Pelikan pen, which is still around.) 

Iron gall inks are very old and very hearty, this is the same ink that was used in medieval palimpsests that are often still legible today after having been erased and written over multiple times, sometimes going all the way back to the 6th century (although those tended to be written on vellum, rather than paper, which would have made a difference in terms of water resistance.)  

As to whether the ink would come out of clothes, etc., like fountain pens today, I believe getting the ink out of clothes would be nearly impossible. If he was able to wash his face immediately, the staining to the skin might not be too bad, but if it has any time to absorb, he would have a significant ink stain on his face for quite a few days.  As to the clothes, I would think that anything white would certainly be ruined, if I am not able to wash ink out with modern laundry detergents and machines, I imagine it must have been very difficult indeed back in the day.The short answer is, he thinks that there is a chance you could make something out if it was written in iron gall ink or another registrar ink. With a water-soluble ink, there would be no chance. It is actually possible to buy iron gall ink today, should you like to experiment to be sure!   

‘Did You Know? Sources:

Some of my friends have tried calf-skin, but I have not tried writing on it yet. I am basically a vegetarian and got a little grossed-out by the calfskin part. I am confident some of you know about this, but the British Parliament just recently (2017 I think?) decided to stop printing new laws on vellum, which naturally upset Britain’s last producer of vellum. [Vellum: UK’s last producer of calf-skin parchment fights on after losing Parliament’s business https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/vellum-uks-last-producer-of-calf-skin-parchment-fights-on-after-losing-parliaments-business-a6870966.html].

Here’s a nice mini-history of some ink companies if anyone is interested: Exploring the late 19th-century landscape of ink manufacturing via a collection of 90 bottles

 https://openheritagescienceblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/0105_385_reissland_icomcc_2017.pdf

Other Tidbits that I find interesting, and so may you:

There was at least one commercial ink maker in London (Arnold) (which sold ink in stoneware bottles like these [ http://www.odysseysvirtualmuseum.com/products/j.-bourne-&-son-master-ink-bottles.html ] and J. Herbin, which is still in existence, is even older [https://www.jherbin.com/about.html].  But people in the country and smaller towns had been making their own ink for ages.  

A friend of mine who studies Shakespeare did a seminar at the Folger library in DC and one of the things they made everyone do was make their own ink because it was such a routine task in the Renaissance.  

William Wordsworth’s sister and wife made his ink, and I have come across accounts of boys in Wordsworth’s time learning to make their own ink in grammar schools.