Hi! Need info about a beautiful inkwell

[treeguyfred]

Nice ink. I agree completely with ALL above, English of origin. I had always called it sheared lip but, I was corrected by someone... can't remember whom... but he told me that lip was actually an English "burst top" lip. He was then and probably still an expert in inks.
I'm sure that someone here knows the guy I'm refering to..
~Fred

 

[saratogadriver]

sheared top inks, lots of them were shipped over here 30+ years ago so they are common. Look on the base lots of them embossed London on base.

I think that's true as well. Most antique shops back in the 70s and 80s seemed to have a bunch of these. You could order them out of a magazine somewhere in quantity, right?

Jim G

 

[saratogadriver]

And yeah, I've seen them called both sheared and burst top inks, and I think everyone is talking the same. No pontil rod to hold onto the bottom of the bottle, the blower would have done whatever finish work needed while still holding the bottle by the mouth, and then would have broken off or sheared off the pontil rod from the bottle when he was done. At least, that's how I understand it. It was probably the quickest and most efficient way to finish the lip of the bottle. It was obviously inartful... Made a crude job of it. But I bet it was fast.

There are a few western American inks made that same way... once in a while you'll see an umbrella made that way, and there are a couple of embossed inks that have that lip treatment as well.

Also, that lip treatment is common for the turtle inks, the ones that were made to have some sort of metal cap out over the lip. Guess they figured they didn't have to waste time applying a lip if it was just going to be covered up.

Jim G

 

[Jamdam]

Technically, it’s called a double pen rest ink as you can rest a pen on either side of neck. All comments are right on as to origin, dates, quantities produced, and price. That said, it was made in large quantities because it worked and I think the form and color are great.