Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 206-209. (Budapest, 2009)
KISEBB KÖZLEMÉNYEK —COMMUNICATIONS - Strasser, Gerhard F.: Az első „töltőtolltól" a golyóstollakig - írószerszámok orvosoktól és orvosok számára
212 Comm. de //ist. Artis Med. 206- 209 (2009) Bion's model (ILL. 2) was to be constructed in three different parts (F, G, H) from copper, brass or silver while the actual nib was still carefully cut from a feather stem. The nib is to be tightly fastened in the bottom of the middle section (F) with a thread inside that accepts the screw from the bottom part (G). There is a tiny hole right above the thread (1) that is to regulate the ink flow. Before filling the middle section (F), this hole has to be sealed with the bottom part (G). When ink has been fii led in, the top and bottom parts (G and H) seal the ink chamber. When the endless quill is to be used, the top (H) has to be removed along with the bottom part (G). Lightly shaking the middle portion (F) is to activate the ink flow. While Bion's construction is far superior to Schwenter's and has nothing in common with it, the weakest part remains the nib that is still cut from a bird's feather and has to be tightly fastened to the bottom of the pen (F). In addition, the ink flow through the tiny hole at the end ofthe reservoir (1) greatly depends on the consistency of the ink used, which may either plug up the hole or cause it to freely run out. 4. A Frustrated Travel Writer's Invenlion at the End of the 18th Century Thus far the inventions were proposed by persons not necessarily fulfilling their own or travelers' needs. Although Bion's enless quill was easily accessible through various French editions and the German translation, the well-known author Friedrich Nicolai (1733-1811) did not give credit to its inventor when he proposed his own, similar design at the end of the first volume of his Reise durch Deutschland und die Schweiz (Journey Across Germany and Switzerland) in 1781. 6 One of his projects was "to keep an extensive diary of his observations and remarks on a daily basis." Fle soon found out that it became imperative to jot down his impressions not only during necessary trip interruptions such as a change of horses but also while he was riding in the stage coach. Clearly profiting from Bion's design, Nicolai had his own "tragbare Schreibfeder mit Dinte í l (portable pen with ink [supply]) fashioned by a Leipzig mechanic and described it in an appendix to the first of 12 volumes of his travelogue (the last one appeared in 1796, a füll 15 years after the publication of the first tome). The portable pen's principle is similar to Bion's except that Nicolai proposed to use horn in order to save weight in the construction of the pen instead of brass. 70 years after Bion, Nicolai — or his mechanic — still could not produce a reliable nietal nib and feil back on the age-old nib carefully cut from a bird's feather and glued into the bottom of the pen — to be re-shaped or replaced with another nib when necessary. This part of the design — and the lack of capillaries to better regulate the ink flow inside the pen — accounted for the lack of success of Nicolai's invention just as rnuch as of Bion's, as we have seen. 5. A Frustrated Medical Doctor 's Invention of a Silver Pen At the time of Nicolai's travels across German-speaking areas, Johann Jakob Heinrich Bücking (1749-1838), a medical doctor and surgeon, took over his father's practice in the small north German town of Wolfcnbüttel, where he was appointed town surgeon in 1801. " Nicolai, F.: Beschreibimg einer Reise durch Deutschland und die Schweiz im Jahre 1781. Erster Band. Berlin, Stettin 1783. Description of the foiintain pen in Appendix 1.2, 23-24. Illustration on fable VI.
