Old writing and drawing inks

Evan Lindquist

At least as far back as the Middle Ages, there were two kinds of black ink in common use. One type is still being used today, the other is not available from ink manufacturers.

A very old type of permanent ink that is often used today by artists is best known by such names as "India" or "Sumi". It consists of carbon pigments in suspension in a weak gum or glue solution which acts as a binder.

Since the Middle Ages, the carbon pigment that has generally been used is soot, or lampblack. It is made by scraping up fine particles of soot and mixing them with gum or animal glue dissolved in water. While this type of ink is regarded as being a permanent ink, some examples of documents and drawings have been found in which the binder has failed to hold the ink particles firmly to the paper or parchment.

The other type of ink commonly in use since before the Middle Ages is not often used today. It is a suspension of an inorganic salt of iron which may be mixed with a solution of other salts. This forms a liquid which turns black after application. This kind of ink may be called "iron-gall" or "gallotannate" ink.

The best ink begins with gallnuts, preferably from Syria (Aleppo) or China. The gallnuts are created as a result of certain insects stinging and laying eggs on the leaf stems of oak trees. Soon afterward, a nut-like swelling will form. When the galls are collected and immersed in water, tannic and gallic acids may be soaked out. If a solution of an iron salt is mixed with it, the liquid will turn darker, acquiring its darkest color as it oxidizes after being applied to paper or parchment.

Many substitutes for gallnuts have been tried, with excellent results being derived from some and failure from others. Many experiments have involved various kinds of bark, nut shells and leaves as sources of tannin.

The dark color which finally appears is a result of oxidation, a kind of "slow burning" which is taking place in the fibers of the paper. Our word "ink", the Italian word "inchiostro", and the French "encre", are all derived from the Latin word "incaustum", meaning "burnt in".

A temporary coloring agent was always mixed into the clear (or perhaps light-colored) ink so the writer would be able to see what was being written.

This is the kind of ink our grandparents and great grandparents used, and they probably knew it as "blue-black" ink. Through the centuries, documents written with these iron-gall inks have usually retained their crisp legibility; but occasionally, some drawings or documents turn up in which the inks have faded, changed to a yellowish color, or even burnt holes through the paper, suggesting that something might have gone wrong in mixing the inks. Or perhaps the documents might have been stored under adverse circumstances.

Any comparisons between early inks, later inks, and modern inks should consider the surface on which the ink was to be used. There are major differences to be found in the variety of writing surfaces. An ideal ink for parchment or vellum might miss the mark on paper. A good ink for early 19th century paper might be too acidic for 20th century paper, and through the centuries many types of paper have been in use. Various inks had to behave suitably for wood, metal, cloth, leather, glass, celluloid, ivory, etc.

I am not an authority on ink. I have used lots of ink and have an appreciation of its different qualities. I have often wondered about the changing nature of various commercial inks during recent decades. By publishing these recipes and notes, I hope to interest other people about the old kinds of ink and encourage them to study the subject of old inks.

Evan Lindquist Artist / Printmaker /Emeritus Professor of Art Arkansas State University Contact information