I picked up this Army & Navy Stores Stationery Department catalogue from 1907 recently, mostly because I knew there would be pens in it – and there were.

 

Here are some of De La Rue’s “Pelican” eyedropper pens. Always ahead of the field, these pens had a cut-off valve which enabled them to be carried without risk of leaking.

 

These are the Army & Navy Stores’ own-brand pen, some of which also had cut-off valves. Did De La Rue make these pens for the Army & Navy Stores? Pelicans are rare and expensive now but they do appear from time to time. The Army & Navy Stores pens seem to have disappeared without trace. I don’t remember ever seeing one for sale.

However, if you didn’t trust these new-fangled fountain pens and decided to stick with your dip pen, you could buy a nice polished brass lobster ink-stand:

 

What? You wouldn’t be seen dead with a lobster ink-stand? You think it’s a creepy horror from a sick mind? I concur, people. Indeed I do.

But if the lobster ink-stand made you shiver with revulsion, how about this cute piggy pen-wiper for only four shillings and ninepence?