It can sometimes seem as if there’s a museum for everything. The Pencil Museum gets cited often, but less so the Pen Museum, which is a shame, as Birmingham was a major pen-making industry in the Victorian era, with over a hundred companies employing 8,000 workers (mainly women).

These golden shimmering examples of pen nibs were made by Joseph Gillott & Sons and each would come in its own protective carry case. The text across one side would read WARRANTED OF VERY SUPERIOR QUALITY and the other has the maker’s name.

Image: with CCL and thanks to Birmingham Museums
Image number: 1962S01667.00706