It wasn’t cheap stuff, though, which is why a lot of sanders have a bowl-like top (see picture, above). The word sandarac was shortened to sand, and that’s why a sander is called a sander. This view, that the sand was actually sand, is supported by 19th century writings describing the extensive use of sand, including some early American writers who assure us that the best sand comes from the black beaches of Lake George in upstate New York.Ī few sites hold that it wasn’t really sand that was used, but a powder of gum sandarac (a resin from the sandarac tree) which absorbed the ink. The sand would absorb the excess ink, after which you could dump the sand and fold the paper, limiting smears and smudges. These folks hold that, just like in almost every movie that has a quill pen as a prop, writers would dip the nib, write on the paper, pick up the sander, and sprinkle the page with sand. It’s why they’re called sanders, for frak’s sake. One camp holds with the common belief that what Ye Olde Wryters had in those “sanders” was actual sand. I know, I know…why turn another perfectly good verb into an unrelated noun? Screw you, English.īut what was in those shakers? Was it sand? How were they used? What did they do? Camp Sand: the Sand is Sand To find them on eBay, search for “ink sanders” or “pounce pots.” Yeah. Pounce. It all comes down to those big salt-shaker-thingies that everyone from medieval monks to Victorian scribblers had close to hand, right next to their inkpot. If not, here’s a picture of “ the cutest kitten on the internet.” If you’re interested in my results, read on. It was up to me to evaluate the two camps’ positions which, obviously, meant I had to do my own research. This left me having to sort through all of it myself. ![]() Again, in standard internet style, instead of combining information for a win-win, both camps went for an I-win-you-lose outcome, which means everything ends up in a lose-lose tie. Rather, it is a combination of the answers provided by both camps. Frakking sheeple.Īs with most Things Real, however, I found that the answer is not binary. The Answers: Contradictory CampsĪs with most Things Internet, the answers I found separated into two categories, both of which claimed to be the only truth, both of which stated that everyone in the opposite camp was a yammering thumb-sucker who, blinded by misinformation, couldn’t see the facts for the lies. Naturally, I hit the ‘net to search for answers. What is that stuff they sprinkled across the page? How did it work? Did it work? And if so, where can I get some? You know, the Elizabethan equivalent of “Is this a secure line?” I thought back to all those movies where the actor pulls out a piece of hand-laid paper, scritches a few lines with a feathered quill*, dashes some sand across the page to blot the ink, knocks the sand off onto the floor, seals the note with wax and signet, and then hands it to a waiting messenger with instructions to place it directly into the hands of. ![]() How could I keep the ink from smudging? I wanted an answer. The other day I became peevish when the letter I’d written got smudged (I write almost exclusively with a fountain pen). ![]() In that case, the internet will provide you with a bevy of contradictory answers, leaving you to sort it all out for yourself. While that’s great (if you live in an echo chamber), it’s no help if you don’t know which answer you’re looking for. Search long enough, and you can even find the answer you want. Have a question? Search the internet and you will find an answer.
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