Birmingham pen trade same time Osmiroid International had a large production plant in the city. Birmingham pen trade The Birmingham pen trade evolved in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter and its surrounding area in the 19th century; for many years, the city was the centre of the world's pen trade. In Newhall Street, John Mitchell manufactured pens; he pioneered mass production of steel pens (prior to this, the quill pen was the most common form of writing instrument). Mitchells are credited as being the first manufacturers to use machines to cut pen nibs, greatly speeding up the process. John's brother William later set up
Australian outback literature of the 20th century Australian outback literature of the 20th century This article refers to the works of poets and novelists and specialised writers (missionaries, anthropologists, historians etc.) who have written about the Australian outback from first-hand experience. These works frequently addresses race relations in Australia, often from a personal point of view, with Australian Aboriginal people used as a theme or subject. In the first part of the 20th century, much of Australia was still being explored by white Australians and their encounters with Aborigines who had had little or no contact or knowledge of the settlers were still taking place well after