Martha Inkwell

Jane Austen’s friend Martha Lloyd wrote a Receipt for Ink within her Household Book, which is today one of the many treasures of Jane Austen’s House. Martha lived at the House with Jane, Cassandra and Mrs Austen for many years, and her Household Book would have been used regularly in the kitchen.

Martha’s manuscript contains not only recipes for food but also recipes for useful household items such as the receipt for ink. In the years before many commercially available preparations were available, homemade recipes were important, and written recipes like Martha’s not only passed essential knowledge on to servants but also preserved them for future generations.

Jane Austen’s manuscripts were written in a variety of home-made iron gall ink and Moorcroft wanted to pay homage to the writer by creating a design on both an inkwell but also on a candlestick, the type that Jane may have used to illuminate her work as the nights drew in and the days became darker.

Adapted from Moorcroft’s description

Martha Inkwell comes in an open edition.