The Scriptorium

  • This color evokes the rich colors of royalty in ancient times, when even biblical descriptions reached for the word “purple” to describe something extravagant. It’s bluish, and it’s definitely purple, and it has some blackish to it, as well. Have you gone out and gotten yourself some new ink yet?

    Read more

  • Another stunning g color. Although a name like “pine” or “fir” might have worked here, there is the slightest darkness in the shades of this ink that the moniker fits quite well. Speaking of monikers, a google search for quotes revealed a person named Dr Ebony Green, so the quotes are from her.

    Read more

  • Again, a perfect name for the color. Some shading brings out the richness of darker pools – when you write with a fountain pen, ink naturally pools in various parts of letters as you make them, and when less ink pools elsewhere the effect can be lighter and darks shades (what fountain pen geeks mean

    Read more

  • This may be one of my more favorite colors of the 18 Private Reserve inks I currently own, largely because it has that “coppery feel”. Seems to be a pattern; if you’re going to give your ink a name that evokes something identifiable as color, the ink better deliver that sense. Copper Burst certainly does

    Read more

  • I love brown ink, and I suppose the richness of today’s selection suggests why it was named chocolat. Again, not much to complain about from Private Reserve: it’s a solid company that produces quality ink across the range, and if you’re looking for a rich brown, this is a good choice.

    Read more

  • I’m not sure how the designers (engineers?) come up with these colors that so perfectly convey the name (unlike some other color names which seem difficult to relate to the actual ink color), but PR’s Blue Suede hits the mark perfectly. Also, it’s a great writer!

    Read more

  • Tho was one of my first inks, and I still use it for one of my ongoing journals (in one of my first fountain pens, a TWSBI diamond 580). Both are terrific, and this ink goes down super smooth and rich.

    Read more

  • another ink with nice shading, suggesting both the rind of the avocado in its darker shade and the meat in its lighter. This would be an office-appropriate non blue or black ink, in my opinion.

    Read more

  • Similar to Noodler’s Ottoman Rose, this is a pleasant, soft color with just enough saturation to make me feel comfortable writing and reading it.

    Read more

  • We move on to another solid company’s ink. I’m not sure what makes blue “American”, so I’m not sure whether this color accurately depicts “American blue”. But it like it, and it has some nice subtle shading on the good Tomoe River paper of Hobonichi planners.

    Read more


An Ink-a-Day Project for 2023

Including a Calendar of Days, cocktails to celebrate throughout the year, and a avian journey of taxonomic discovery!

Watch this site for additional pursuits from the choirmaster.



“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Socrates

The Choirmaster’s Pursuits