was accomplished by good penmanship as the tip was square cut and rigid, exactly as it is today with modern steel pens. It was much later, in the 1600s, with the increased popularity of writing, especially in the copperplate script promoted by the many printed manuals available from the 'Writing Masters', that quills became more pointed and flexible. Quills are denominated from the order in which they are fixed in the wing; the first is favoured by the expert calligrapher, the second and third quills being very satisfactory also, plus the pinion feather. Flags the 5th and 6th feathers are also used. No other feather on the wing would be considered suitable by a professional scribe. Information can be obtained on the techniques of curing and cutting quills: In order to harden a quill that is soft, thrust the barrel into hot ashes, stirring it till it is soft; then taking it out, press it almost flat upon your knees with the back of a penknife, and afterwards reduce it to a roundness with your fingers. If you have a number to harden, set water and alum over the fire; and while it is boiling put in a handful of quills, the barrels only, for a minute, and then lay them by. An accurate account of the Victorian process by William Bishop, from researches with one of the last London quill dressers, is recorded in the Calligrapher's Handbook cited on this page. As a symbol From the 19th century in radical and socialist symbolism, quills have been used to symbolize clerks and intelligentsia. Some notable examples are the Radical Civic Union, the Czech National Social Party in combination with the hammer, symbol of the labour movement, or the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro. Quills appear on the seals of the United States Census Bureau and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. They also appear in the coats of arms of several US Army Adjutant general units which focus on administrative duties. Quills are on the coats of arms of a number of municipalities such as Bargfeld-Stegen in Germany and La Canonja in Spain. Three books and a quill pen are the symbols of Saint Hilary of Poitiers. Quill and pen knives A quill knife was the original primary tool used for cutting and sharpening quills, known as "dressing". Following the decline of the quill in the 1820s,