William B. Purvis
Prolific inventor who held patents in fountain pens, paper bag machines, and other mechanical devices
who held patents in fountain pens, paper bag machines, and other mechanical devices
William B.
Why This Person Is Included
William B. Purvis was a prolific inventor who held patents in fountain pens, paper bag making, and other mechanical devices. His fountain pen patent (1890) solved the practical problem of ink delivery — using an elastic tube reservoir to regulate flow and prevent leaking. He is rarely mentioned in the histories of any of the fields he contributed to.
Historical Significance
Purvis's fountain pen improvements addressed the fundamental mechanical challenges of self-feeding ink pens — a technology that would eventually replace the dip pen and inkwell as the standard writing instrument before being superseded by ballpoint pens decades later.
The Story
William B. Purvis held multiple U.S. patents, most notably Patent No. 419,065 (1890) for a fountain pen with an elastic tube reservoir that regulated ink flow and prevented both dry writing and unwanted leaking — the two primary failure modes of early fountain pens. He also held patents in paper bag machinery. His biography beyond his patent record is not fully documented.
Sources
- 1.William B. Purvis. U.S. Patent No. 419,065. 1890. USPTO.↗