This quill-pen cutter in gilt brass is a simple mechanical device developed in the late 17th century to solve the problem of trimming a feather into a useable pen. In 1729, Isaac de la Chaumette recorded a patent for ‘a pen knife yt make ye pen at once’ although no details survive. This French quill cutter works by screwing the blades down onto the scoop of the quill to cut and slit the nib. Few mechanical quill cutters survive from this date and it is likely that most writers continued to use penknives or bought pens prepared by a professional quill cutter. John Wilkes, the owner of a Pen and Quill Warehouse was doubtful about the utility of these quill cutters, writing in 1799 that “… their pens were cut with an engine, an attempt that was made once, but by which many thousand quills were spoiled without any benefit to the sagacious inventor or improvement to the Public”.

The large-scale expansion of the brass industry in Europe dates from the late 17th century. It was driven by improvements in the supply of zinc combined with an increasing understanding of the chemical structure of the alloy. At the same time brass founders began to favour moulds of sand instead of clay. This reduced the cost of casting, and soon the range of cast brass goods increased dramatically. By the 19th century, brass had become extremely versatile and inexpensive and the applications were almost endless.