Unlike more common disposable ink bottles, this ink well would have been a permanent fixture in any home. This style was patented by A.W. Brinkerhoff on May 7, 1872. A.W. Brinkerhoff was an inventor as well as a corn husker and he received two other patents in the late 1800s, one for the improvement of corn planters and the other for the improvement of a corn-husking device. This ink well was found at 40 Natoma Street.