BLOTTIS or BLURRIS by Arnold Grummer

“Blotting paper serveth to dry wete wrytynge lest there be blottis or blurris."

“Blottis or Blurriss”. Sounds like a description of my mind. Actually it is 1465 A.D. English. It describes the then state of writing, which was solely a matter of pen and very liquid ink. Metal pen points were dipped into a bottle of ink.

As the pen drew letters, ink flowed from pen point to paper surface. Paper’s cellulose fibers couldn’t soak up all the deposited ink immediately. That left writing “wet”. If the paper were brushed, rubbed, or carelessly handled before the ink dried, the ink could smear, smudge, or “run”. Guess what – blottis or blurriss!

To reduce the “wet” time, some bright mind thought of forming a thick fiber pad. Placed carefully upon wet writing, the fiber pad soaked up all the wet ink, leaving only dry ink. Aha, goodbye to you know what - blottiss or blurriss. The absorbing action was called blotting, so the fiber pad was called a “blotter”.

Blotters bloomed across the writing world, especially as a sales promotion medium. Printed on one side with a business name and message, they were handed out by the thousands. Blotters for pen-and-ink writing are largely gone from today’s world. Our papermaking “couch sheets” are great blotters, but they hobnob only with water.



P.S. The title quote is the first mention of blotting paper in the English language. It appeared in Horman’s Vulgaria, 1465 A.D.