About ink and devil – The short history of an ancient writing fluid

From soot ink to ink cartridge, from papyrus to paper

The Egyptians used ink as early as 3,000 BC: known as "soot ink", it was produced from soot, water and gum arabic. For example, they wrote on papyrus using rushes as writing utensils. At a similar time as the Egyptians – from around 2,600 BC onwards – the Chinese also used ink which was produced by burning varnish and coniferous charcoal and then applied to silk with a bamboo stick. However, the Egyptians' ink was more durable since they added some oil: this is why originally inscribed papyri are still preserved today.

While the northern Europeans still used the stone and chisel variant to express their thoughts, ink was already produced and used in ancient Greece and in Italy as well. The Roman author Cicero (106 – 43 BC) for the first time reported on a recipe that specified the production of sepia ink. According to this recipe, the ink bladder of the squid had to be dried and mortared and then mixed with water and a binding agent.

Both soot and sepia ink were suitable for writing on papyrus since it was easy to wash them off and the valuable papyrus could be reused. The writing surface changed with the emergence of parchment. Since the 4th century, this thin calfskin, which was writable on both sides, was mainly used for the exchange of letters. A further advantage was that it was, unlike papyrus, extremely durable and weatherproof. When tied together, it then resulted – what a lucky discovery – in the book. 

Two further developments ultimately revolutionised writing and its durability in Europe: paper and iron gall ink. Although the Chinese had already invented paper in 100 BC, it was not introduced to Europe until the 13th century. And even the invention of the most durable ink to date – iron gall ink –, which the Romans already knew, did not begin its triumphal procession until the Middle Ages. However, it is still the only ink that is considered "indelible" today. The most important works written with iron gall ink include the Magna Carta, the American Declaration of Independence of 1776, some drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, van Gogh and scores by Johann Sebastian Bach.

However, iron gall ink also has one or two disadvantages: for example, when it ages, it releases sulphuric acid which decomposes the paper – a catastrophe for Bach's scores, for example. Another disadvantage came to light when, from the middle of the 18th century onwards, the nibs were no longer made of goosequills but of steel nibs. The original recipe of iron gall ink resulted in the steel nibs rusting within a very short time.

Yet the further development of the ink recipe also failed to solve another problem: the blot. The use of the nib along with the inkpot usually, or very likely every time, resulted in ugly blots on written documents. The New York insurance salesman Lewis Edison Waterman, who invented the “fountain pen” in 1883, finally found a remedy. However, the invention was not intended for charitable purposes, given that Waterman had previously lost a customer because of an ink blot on a contract document.

The blots became a thing of the past, but the ink was still located right in the pen, which made refilling difficult. It was not until 1927 that the ink cartridge was invented – this was the end of the technological progress of writing utensils for the time being (at least until a Hungarian named László Bíró filed a patent in 1938 for a "pasty ink and a matching fountain pen", today better known as a ballpoint pen). 

From invisible ink to love letter, from inkpot to ink corrosion

However, the types of ink are not exhausted at this point, nor are their hazards and possibilities (for example, the defence against devils).

The invisible ink is also referred to as “sympathetic ink” (from the Latin word for 'affection'). Even Pliny the Elder is said to have made invisible ink from the spurge plant around 50 AD, which only became legible when the parchment was heated over the fire. The transmission of secret messages by means of invisible ink was particularly popular from the 17th up to the 19th century. During this period, love letters were often written with invisible ink – hence the name “sympathetic ink” – and a wide variety of ingredients were used: lemon juice, onions, vinegar, milk and even urine. Surprisingly, all these substances become visible when heated.

A similar principle was pursued by the so-called “lady's ink”, an ancient snapchat for court ladies, who liked to use this ink for their courtly intrigues since it fades completely shortly after writing (or reading). The preparation is quite simple: just stir water, ammonia water and phenolphthalein and shake well, and you have your “lady's ink”.

It was definitely no invisible ink that Martin Luther threw against the wall on the Wartburg in the winter of 1521/22. According to legend, Luther was about to translate the bible into German when he heard a scratching and scraping noise. He reached for his inkpot and threw it at the devil's grimace he thought was in the room in order to scare it away. The ink blot on the wall became somewhat famous. Even though it is no longer visible today, Wartburg visitors swear again and again to have noticed a blue blot on the fireplace wall. It can probably no longer be clarified whether Luther really defended himself against the devil with his inkpot or, for example, an annoying fly.
A little more than 150 years later Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was born and in the course of his life he unknowingly brought his musical estate into great difficulties. As was customary at that time, he used iron gall ink for his scores, which – as mentioned at the beginning – unfortunately resulted in the notorious “ink corrosion”.

Ink corrosion literally perforates the paper: “For a page or a sheet of paper, ink corrosion means that certain letters or parts of words virtually drop out, and the restorer then has the puzzle task of using tweezers to see whether a piece of the puzzle that has landed in the fold fits into any hole on the page, and then everything is stabilized together,” says archivist Rita Wolters of the Deutsches Werkbundarchiv (German Association of Craftsmen Archive) in Berlin-Kreuzberg to the Deutschlandfunk.

Most of Bach's legacy of 13,216 pages was affected by ink corrosion. The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Berlin State Library) proceeded to action as early as the 1930s and tried to stabilize the scores with chiffon silk. For the most severely damaged pages, it was decided at the end of the 1990s to use the paper splitting method: The original is separated and acid-resistant Japanese paper is inserted. In 2003, the method was completed and the Bach autographs were saved.