Iron-gall deepens with decades

Blue-black oxidises toward charcoal, never toward oblivion.

The hand learns what haste forgets

Deliberate shading trains the wrist in patience no keyboard can teach.

Cotton-rag outlasts the century

Laid stock from the last mill in Dalton carries a watermark older than the republic.

The flourish is a signature of care

A well-turned capital loop declares what words alone cannot.