India Rubber Comb Co. Goodyear Inkwell

This inkwell marked “India-Rubber Comb Company Goodyear” dates to the mid-19th century. Documentation shows it was used during the Civil War – it is light, portable, and seals well with its screw on/off lid. This travel inkwell was produced by the India-Rubber Comb Company, which specialized in manufacturing combs made from vulcanized rubber. These combs were durable and flexible, thanks to Charles Goodyear’s vulcanization process. The company expanded its product line to include many household goods including this inkwell.

On June 15, 1844, after a decade of research and experimentation, Charles Goodyear received a patent for vulcanized rubber. The first boots and clothing made from rubber had performed poorly in the American environment. They melted in the heat and cracked in the cold. Determined to find a way to make rubber stable and pliable, Goodyear moved his family to Massachusetts, where the nation’s first rubber factories were located. When one after another of his experiments failed, his family fell into poverty. Finally, on a winter’s day in 1839, Goodyear hit on a formula that worked. It took another five years, but in 1844 he patented the process for turning soft rubber into a hardened material. Charles Goodyear became a celebrity and vulcanized rubber became an unremarkable part of everyday life.