So into each ink well fit a small glass "jar" which was filled with ink. (I don't remember anyone ever putting ink in, so there must have been some "miracle of the ink filling." I do remember once getting into big trouble because I was fooling with the ink well and spilled all the ink. BAD!
So we each had a black dipping pen with a changeable nib. Dip in the well, then write. Try to control the amount of ink, especially so you don't drip. I was not good at this at all. I was terrible at it!
Well the big deal was our technology conversion to fountain pens. We had a kid in our class who's father was able to get us a discount on fountain pens, and we all had to buy them (albeit at discount.) They seemed very expensive and very special. They were Esterbeke j models. My first one was red. I still remember the lesson in how to fill it. Pull the little metal lever on the side to suck up ink out of a closeable ink bottle.
They also tended to dry up and clog. They you went to a sink, pushed out all the ink with the lever, and pulled in water untill everything ran free. I recall how the sink full of water looked as black ink swirled around and gradually turned the water all dark. (Today we might say psychedelic.)
The nibs were changeable so you could do fine work with a fine nib or bold work with a broad nib. I don't remember how, but I still managed to make plenty of messes with these. I remember one failed in my pocket and leaked ink all over a new pair of chinos.
Those desks stayed in use for years. The ink well holes always seemed lonely. We should have invented another use for them. Maybe we could have used the old ink jars for flowers and had flowers on all our desks.
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