Inkwells! When I was in 3rd grade (1947-48), it was an 'honor' to be trusted to take the big bottle and go 'round and fill the inkwells. They had semi-circular glass inserts with a metal flip-lid. I even...once...dipped a little girl's pigtail in my inkwell! her name was Margaret Holder and she was the 1st 'crush' I ever had... (I was barely aware of WHY I was attracted at that age, but she was pretty & fascinating)
We used ink for the next 3 years a bit, but by the time I was in 7th grade..."middle school", inkwells had disappeared.

I changed schools in the 6th grade, and while I was there we started a school 'newspaper', with a student contest to name it. The school was "Irving", and *I* won with the name "Irving Inkwell"....so the term was still in regular use.

Miss Isgrigg, our penmanship teacher in the 3rd-5th grades emphasized that really good cursive handwriting required gently moving the entire arm, not just working the wrist & hand about....perhaps that's where Joe's and others' problem with cramped hands came from...(No, I could never do it well...but the old man I mentioned earlier who did professional calligraphy certainly did!)

Charlie Baum, who chairs the Getaway, does some very nice calligraphy.