author
Thaddeus Davids
d. 1894
A 19th-century American writer and entrepreneur, he is remembered both for practical books on penmanship and letter writing and for helping build a major ink business in New York. His career linked the everyday tools of writing with the culture of writing itself.
1 Audiobook
The History of Ink, Including Its Etymology, Chemistry, and Bibliography
by Thaddeus Davids
About the author
Born in Bedford, New York, on November 16, 1810, he moved to New York City as a boy and went into the ink trade at a young age. He later became a leading figure in Thaddeus Davids & Co., a company known in the 1800s for producing writing ink, sealing wax, and related supplies.
Alongside his business work, he wrote and compiled books connected to writing, including manuals on penmanship, correspondence, and forms of address. That mix of commerce and authorship makes him an unusual figure in literary history: someone who did not just publish books, but also helped supply the ink people used to write with.
He died on July 22, 1894, in New Rochelle, New York. Today he is mainly remembered through historical references to his writing guides and to the ink company that carried his name.