 | |
| Author | James Ward |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Profile Books |
Publication date | 11 September 2014 |
| Pages | 280 |
| ISBN | 978-1-84668-615-3 |
Adventures in Stationery: A Journey Through Your Pencil Case is a non-fiction book by James Ward about stationery. It was published by British publisher Profile Books in 2014.
In Adventures in Stationery, James Ward presents the history of numerous items of stationery, integrated with his personal opinions and current trends. Some of the topics discussed include the invention of the ballpoint pen by László Bíró, [1] the development of the Pritt glue stick, the design of the paperclip, the shape of Stabilo highlighters, [2] the possible uses of Blu-Tack, and urban legends about the development of ballpoint pens during the Space Race. [3]
Andrew Martin of The Observer wrote in a review that Adventures in Stationery is "elegantly written, but in a strangely blank, glassy-eyed tone" and opined that although Ward's personal anecdotes were interesting, more interviews with other subjects should have been included in the book. [2] In a review for the Financial Times , Alexander Gilmour wrote that "Ward writes with a blend of wit, unhealthy obsession and pure love" and described the book as "high-class pornography for the stationery enthusiast". [1] The Independent 's Rhodri Marsden commented that the book "certainly is serious, while frequently frivolous", referring to its contents as "fascinating". [3] Alex Sarll of the Irish Examiner summarised the book as a "chatty, witty treasure-trove" of facts and believed it "deserves a wider audience" than just stationery fans. [4] Ben Richardson, who gave the book 2 out of 5 stars in a review for the South China Morning Post , felt that it was little more than "a laundry list of 'fancy that!' factoids" and that Ward should have integrated more "interactions with real people". [5]
A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro, ball pen, or dot pen (Nepali) is a pen that dispenses ink over a metal ball at its point, i.e. over a "ball point". The metal commonly used is steel, brass, or tungsten carbide. The design was conceived and developed as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to dip pens and fountain pens, and it is now the world's most-used writing instrument; millions are manufactured and sold daily. It has influenced art and graphic design and spawned an artwork genre.
A fountain pen is a writing instrument which uses a metal nib to apply a water-based ink to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal reservoir to hold ink, eliminating the need to repeatedly dip the pen in an inkwell during use. The pen draws ink from the reservoir through a feed to the nib and deposits the ink on paper via a combination of gravity and capillary action. Filling the reservoir with ink may be achieved manually, via the use of an eyedropper or syringe, or via an internal filling mechanism which creates suction or a vacuum to transfer ink directly through the nib into the reservoir. Some pens employ removable reservoirs in the form of pre-filled ink cartridges.
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity which had to be periodically recharged by dipping the tip of the pen into an inkwell. Today, such pens find only a small number of specialized uses, such as in illustration and calligraphy. Reed pens, quill pens and dip pens, which were used for writing, have been replaced by ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, fountain pens and felt or ceramic tip pens. Ruling pens, which were used for technical drawing and cartography, have been replaced by technical pens such as the Rapidograph. All of these modern pens contain internal ink reservoirs, such that they do not need to be dipped in ink while writing.
Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand or by equipment such as computer printers.
The Parker Pen Company is an American manufacturer of luxury writing pens, founded in 1888 by George Safford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin, United States. In 2011 the Parker factory at Newhaven, East Sussex, England, was closed, and its production transferred to Nantes, France.
Sean Malone was an American musician who played primarily fretless bass guitar and Chapman Stick. However, Malone also played piano, keyboards, and guitar. Malone did a number of session jobs for various bands and musicians. He was most famous for his work in American band Cynic, in which he developed a strong partnership with the drummer Sean Reinert. Malone and Reinert played on several records together outside Cynic, making them one of the most favorable modern progressive rhythm sections.
Pentel Co., Ltd. is a privately-held Japanese manufacturing company of stationery products. The name is a combination of the English words pen and tell. Pentel is also the inventor of non-permanent marker technology. Most Pentel products are manufactured in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Mexico, and France.
Roller ball pens or roll pens are pens which use ball point writing mechanisms with water-based liquid or gelled ink, as opposed to the oil-based viscous inks found in ballpoint pens. These less viscous inks, which tend to saturate more deeply and more widely into paper than other types of ink, give roller ball pens their distinctive writing qualities. The writing point is a tiny ball, usually 0.5 or 0.7 mm in diameter, that transfers the ink from the reservoir onto the paper as the pen moves.
Lamy is a German pen manufacturing company. Josef Lamy, who was a sales representative for Parker Pen in Germany, founded the business in 1930 by purchasing the Orthos pen manufacturer. Lamy was a pioneer in the use of moulded synthetic plastics to make their products.
Derwent is a brand of pencils and other stationery. The business began in 1832 in Cumberland under the name of "Banks, Son & Co". The company was bought by US corporation ACCO Brands in 1980, and became a brand of their product range.
The BIC Cristal is an inexpensive, disposable ballpoint pen mass-produced and sold by Société Bic of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It was introduced in December 1950 and is the best-selling pen in the world, with the 100 billionth sold in September 2006. It has become the archetypal ballpoint pen and is considered ubiquitous, to the extent that the Museum of Modern Art has made it a permanent part of its collection. Its hexagonal form and design mimics a standard pencil and it is sold in six types of point and 18 colours around the world.
Société Bic S.A., commonly referred to simply as Bic and stylized as BiC, is a French manufacturing corporation based in Clichy, France, best known for making disposable consumer products such as lighters, razors and pens. It was founded in 1945 by Marcel Bich.
Uni-ball and Uni are brands of pens and pencils, made by the Mitsubishi Pencil Company Limited of Japan. The brand was introduced in 1979 as a rollerball pen model, then expanding to the rest of Mitsubishi Pencil products.
Ward Taylor Pendleton Johnston, known professionally as Pendleton Ward or simply Pen Ward, is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actor who works for Cartoon Network Studios, Frederator Studios, and Netflix Animation. He created the Emmy Award-winning series Adventure Time, the Internet series Bravest Warriors, and the adult animated interview series The Midnight Gospel.
Soda pulping is a chemical process for making wood pulp with sodium hydroxide as the cooking chemical. In the Soda-AQ process, anthraquinone (AQ) may be used as a pulping additive to decrease the carbohydrate degradation. The soda process gives pulp with lower tear strength than other chemical pulping processes, but has still limited use for easy pulped materials like straw and some hardwoods.
Since their invention and subsequent proliferation in the mid-20th century, ballpoint pens have proven to be a versatile art medium for professional artists as well as amateur doodlers. Ballpoint pen artwork created over the years have been favorably compared to art created using traditional art mediums. Low cost, availability, and portability are cited by practitioners as qualities which make this common writing tool a convenient, alternative art supply.
Lennie Mace is an American contemporary artist, born in New York City. Mace is predominantly known for his drawings in ballpoint pen, using them to create fine artwork. He is considered a pioneer of the medium. His imagination has also served commercial purposes, appearing in print as illustrations and comic art. Art reviewers have referred to Mace as the da Vinci of doodlers and the ballpoint Picasso.
James Mylne is a British contemporary artist known for his drawings in ballpoint pen. His technical abilities with the unorthodox art medium have earned Mylne recognition in Europe and the UK. The Ballpointer online journal called Mylne "Britain's premier ballpoint pen artist" in a 2015 feature article. The artist's photorealist likenesses of iconic celebrities attracted early media attention and continues to be one aspect of his output. Mylne also creates mixed-media works adding spray paint, magic markers and more to his ballpoint originals. Artwork expressing personal views and broader interests flourished throughout 2014.
IKEA pencils are small pencils provided for free in IKEA stores worldwide. They are found in small boxes attached to poles, together with maps, measuring tapes and shopping forms. The IKEA pencil has been known for the wide variety of designs. Through the years the color changed from blue, to yellow to the natural color of wood. Despite the different colors, its dimensions have always been 7×87mm.
James Ward is an English writer and the founder of Boring Conference.