A replacement for fountain pens

Fountain pens, although stylish, were messy and impractical.

In 1945, Gimbels started to sell a new kind of ink pen, made by the Reynolds International Pen Company. With its quick-dry ink and a rolling ball in the nib, it promised a steady stream of ink with no leaks, smudges, or pooling inkblots.

The pen was not the first ballpoint pen. But its evolution is an example of a game-changing design waiting for the right outside factors to achieve its full potential - in this case, the increase of plastics, mass-production infrastructure, and a brilliant marketeer.