inkstand

ink +‎ stand

inkstand (plural inkstands)

1. A small tray containing pens and an inkwell; by extension, a pot for holding ink, inkpot, inkwell.
   • 1765, Laurence Sterne, letter published in Original Letters of the Late Reverend Mr. Laurence Sterne, never before published, London: 1788, pp. 89-90,

     […] if I thought any thing I might hereafter write would be within their reach, I would throw the Manuscript that is now before me into the fire, and never dip my pen into my Ink-stand again […]

   • 1814 July, [Jane Austen], chapter IX, in Mansfield Park: A Novel. In Three Volumes, volume II, London: Printed for T[homas] Egerton, […], OCLC 39810224, page 189:

     I beg your pardon for being here. I come to look for you, and after waiting a little while in hope of your coming in, was making use of your inkstand to explain my errand.

   • 1864, Eliza Leslie, The Ladies’ Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners: or, Miss Leslie’s Behaviour Book, Philadelphia: T.B. Peterson & Bros., Chapter 1, p. 21,

     If you have no ink with you, the first time you go out, stop in at a stationer’s store, and buy a small sixpenny bottle that will stand steadily alone, and answer the purpose of an inkstand.