Quill pen used by Thomas Moore when writing 'Lalla Rookh'

Quills, usually made from Goose wing feathers, were used as pens for hundreds of years before the invention of metal nib pens became popular in the 1840s. The nib end of the feather would be hardened in hot sand before being cut with a pen knife to form the nib. Pens would be cut and mended by the writer themselves, who would also cut the barbs away to the shape they preferred. In this case, some trimmed barbs were left running along the upper edge of the pen.

This quill pen originally belonged to Thomas Moore (1779-1852) a poet, singer and songwriter. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he moved to London to study law in 1799 but found fame for his poems and songs. He lived for three years at Mayfield near Ashbourne in Derbyshire, shortly before he published 'Lalla Rookh', an Oriental romance.

Mrs Frances Crawford Arkwright (1786-1849) attached this quill pen into her album and autograph book using red sealing wax, along with other treasures, such as a twig from the tree under which the Duke of Wellington stood at the battle of Waterloo. Frances Arkwright was born to the Kemble family of actors and was the sister of the famous tragedienne, Sarah Siddons. In 1805 she married Captain Robert Arkwright, a grandson of Sir Richard Arkwright who had established the first cotton mills in the Derwent Valley. Her husband inherited Sutton Scarsdale Hall, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, in 1843. Frances Arkwright was also a popular songwriter and was friends with many well known writers and performers of the age.