Iron Gall Ink

Iron gall ink (also known as iron gall nut ink or oak gall ink) is a purple-black or brown-black ink made from iron salts and tannic acids from vegetable sources. It was the standard writing and drawing ink in Europe, from about the 12th century to the 19th century, and remained in use well into the 20th century.

Read more about Iron Gall Ink:  Preparation and Use, Chemistry, Demise, Fountain Pens

Famous quotes containing the words iron, gall and/or ink:

    When Sheba was his lass,
    When she the iron wrought, or
    When from the smithy fire
    It shuddered in the water:
    Harshness of their desire
    That made them stretch and yawn....
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    Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs,
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    What is it else? A madness most discreet,
    A choking gall and a preserving sweet.
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    The self-styled intellectual who is impotent with pen and ink hungers to write history with sword and blood.
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