Long out of print, this fascinating book is once again available from Amazon. Author Joe Nickell is a document detective, a calligrapher, and has an extensive personal collection of historical documents and writing materials.

I greatly enjoyed this book which has extensive descriptions and illustrations, tracing the development of writing and writing materials fom the ancient cuneiform tablet to today's ballpoint scribbled memos. Co-authored by Charles Hamilton, world-famous historical document dealer, document detective and forgery analyst.

Well presented covering writing tools from the quill, steel, gold and glass pens. Everything pen/ink related such as pen wipes, holders and accessories. Well organized history of inks, ink containers, it's histories and properties. The history of paper and paper making, watermarks, stationery seals, cards and envelopes. The history of the written forms, penmanship and I found especially interesting examining historical documents for fakes and forgeries. Black and white illustrations through out are extensive illustrating all aspects. His bibliography alone is a valuable source of materials for further study.

I highly recommend this book. First editions are sold at about $75., this new edition is priced at $ 39.96 from Amazon, click on the image of the book cover above. You will be amazed at the other books this author has presented, such as Detecting Forgeries & Forensic Investigation of Documents. And are you ready for this...How to Investigate Ghosts, UFO's, Psyshics and other Mysteries. Soon to be released: Entities: Angels, Spirits, Demons & Alien Beings. Ooooooh! Scary !