ballpoint pen

Office Material: a pen that distributes ink evenly using a ball; indispensable in today's office. The idea for this type of pen already existed in the 19th century but there was no fast-drying ink at that time. However, in 1938 two Hungarian brothers, György and László József Bíró applied for a patent for a pen which they had developed in experiments using printing ink. Due to political developments in Europe, they were forced to leave Hungary and emigrated to Argentinia where the patent rights were sold to a British business man. He produced the pens in Southern England and sold thousands to the British airforce. Almost simultaneously, production of another version of the pen started up in the USA. However, despite initial success, there were quality problems and the company went bankrupt.

It wasn't until the 1950s that a ballpoint pen was produced which neither blotted nor leaked. In the meantime, the introduction of printed advertising on ballpoints have made them a collector's item.

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