Has it ever occurred to you-?

Southland Times, Issue 21109, 14 June 1930, Page 8

Has it ever occurred to you-?

HOW WE LEARNED TO WRITE. The art of writing dates back many thousands of years. It was acquired by the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. In those days it was not merely a matter of jotting down a few notes on a piece of ready-made paper with a pencil or a fountain pen. Then writing was indeed a laborious task, and required much skill and patience. The Babylonians inscribed certain recognized signs on tablets of soft clay which were afterwards baked and hardened in an oven. Likewise the early Egyptians had a method of their own. They inscribed elaborate signs on stone blocks, but subsequently found that the Papyrus, a plant growing extensively in the valley of the Nile, made a good substance on which to write. A suitable ink was invented and split reeds made admirable pens. From Egypt the use of paper spread throughout Europe. The reed pen is still largely used in the Eastern world, and was the only means of writing even in the western world until the quill pen was intriduced in the thirteenth century. In 1800 metal pens were invented, but were long regarded as curiosities, and did not come into popular use until the beginning of this century.