Elephant Ink Blotter

I like to keep some blotting paper stashed inside my favorite notebook (Rhodia webnotebook) to keep things from getting messy, but it's always nice to have a dedicated blotter at your desk. Here's an attractive old glass elephant ink blotter at an antique store purchased for $25.

Apparently these are Depression era blotters that were made beginning in 1931. These blotters were made by the Houze Glass Company and have THEW-31 marked on them. The elephant appears to be the most frequently found, but they can also be found as sailboats, ponies, and scotty dogs.

THEW-31

Similar in size to the J. Herbin blotter

Top view

Ground bottom

It looks like these were made by putting together two separate halves, then grinding down the bottom a bit. Unfortunately, the bottom is still far from being flat, which is a disadvantage when using the blotter because the blotter can rock side to side as well as back and forth.

I thought that the clips that hold the paper in place would get in the way, but they don't bother me. It doesn't feel like you want to rock all the way to the clips when in use.

After the blotting has occurred

Despite the lack of a flat bottom, and the clips, it works just fine (when the paper is attached to the blotter, it tends to even out the bottom). While the J. Herbin seems to be a little less fussy to use, I'm happy to keep and use this at one of my desks.

Replacement clips can be found at http://www.pendemonium.com/blotters.htm

P.S. It appears that these are often found sans clips. While you could fashion your own (or maybe even use a rubberband), you can also get a set for $5.00 that look just like the originals.