Ink Blotters

Writing with ink can get messy. Writers who use fountain pens or dip pens will sometimes use ink blotters to prevent smearing. These ink blotters are an absorbent paper that can be used to blot the excess ink off your paper. Manufacturers quickly realized that these blotting papers were an ideal host for advertisements. You can find ink blotters with advertisements for just about everything. My favorites however are ink blotters which advertise pencils. They seem to straddle the worlds of ink and graphite. A bridge to connect different writing instruments. 

Dixon Sovereign ink blotter featuring the image of King George VI.

Eagle Verithin ink blotter (3 3/8" x 6 3/8")

Venus Velvet ink blotter (5 3/4" x 3 1/4")

Many of the businesses that stamped their names on these ink blotters were small independent retailers. It is often hard to find information about these small businesses.