††Reed pens date from around 1800 BC, when an early type of writing appeared in Babylonia. The ends of reeds were pressed into wet clay to form wedge-shaped symbols known as cuneiform. When the ancient Egyptians began to write on papyrus with a kind of ink, the ends of reeds were cut to make sharp nibs. As the nib wore away it could be resharpened until the pen was too short to be of any use. A newly-made reed pen might be 25 cm long.
