"William Purvis"

On January 7,1890,William received a patent for the fountain pen.The pen elimated the need for an ink bottle by storing ink with in a reservoir within the pen which is then fed to the pen's tip.Of his accomplishment,William said,"the object of my invention is to provide a simple,durable,and inexpensive construction of a fountain pen adapted to general use and which may be carried in the pocket."


In addition to his fountain pen,William also successfully patented a number of other inventions.Between  1884 & 1897 he patented bag machines,a bag fastener,a hand stamp,an electric railway switch and a magnetic car balancing device.He is also believed to have invented,yet not patented several other devices such as the edge cutter found on aluminum foil,cling wrap and wax paper towels.