World Stationery Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Stationery

World Stationery Day is observed annually on the last Wednesday of April, which will occur on April 26 this year. We celebrate all types of stationery, including pens, pencils, paper, staplers, erasers, highlighters, markers, postcards, pastels, and adhesive tape, on this day. Stationery is used for written correspondence and is an essential component of written communication. Since prehistoric times, humans have utilised a vast array of tools and implements to write letters, transmit communications, and store information. Despite the advancement of technology, stationery plays a significant role in our society today.

The background of World Stationery Day

The word’stationery’ is derived from the Mediaeval Latin word’stationarius’, which meant ‘unmoved’ or ‘permanent.’ Wikipedia defines stationery as “commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies.” Additionally, stationery can refer to special paper used for writing correspondence. Several historians assert that a Chinese eunuch named Tsai Lun invented paper around the year 121 A.D. He presumably accomplished this by combining mulberry tree inner bark with bamboo fibres. Prior to that, ancient documents were written on either weighty bamboo or expensive silk. In addition, ancient Egyptians fashioned papyrus into solid, desiccated sheets.

Even pens can be traced back to antiquity. The Romans used metal styluses to write on wax tablets in 1300 B.C. These iron instruments were shaped like pencils, with one end sharpened to a point and the other end flat and circular. During the same time period, bronze styluses were utilised by Asian scribes. The Egyptians utilised thick bamboo/calamus fronds many years later. The renowned quill pen first appeared in Seville, Spain, in the sixth century. The quill pen, made from either swan feathers or goose feathers, lasted for centuries and spread throughout the globe. The nineteenth century witnessed the invention of ballpoint pens, which promptly rendered quill pens obsolete.

Due to technological advancements, pen and paper are becoming less prevalent in the 21st century. The use of mobile devices for online learning has recently revolutionised the educational system. The traditional discipline of letter writing has been replaced by texting and email. Even private notes are now exchanged through mobile applications. Nevertheless, despite all of this, old-fashioned stationery is still useful in the modern world.

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5 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT STATIONERY

Before the invention of erasers in 1770, stale bread was used to erase pencil traces.

Post-it notes were created because a chemist developed a glue that was insufficient for other applications.

The stapler pegs that King Louis XIV invented in the 18th century bore his monogram.

Over 300 million tonnes of paper are produced annually on a global scale.

A typical pencil can produce a line 35 miles long.

WORLD STATIONERY DAY DATES

Year	Date	Day
2022	April 27	Wednesday
2023	April 26	Wednesday
2024	April 24	Wednesday
2025	April 30	Wednesday
2026	April 29	Wednesday