By historical standards, the term "stationery" is relatively new, and has only been used for 5 or so centuries. Since Ryman has a substantial interest in the stationery industry, we thought that it would be of benefit to our readers to investigate the history of stationery. Where did the term come from? How was the term used differently all those years ago, to the way it is used today? What developments brought about the stationery retailing industry that we are all too familiar with today? This blog post will explore all of these questions. Have a read, and you will see exactly where our company roots have descended from.

  Let's begin with a common error we all make. Which is it: stationery or stationary? Of course, stationary means standing still or not moving, whereas stationery refers to the group of items such as pencils, pens, papers, etc. But interestingly, they both stem from the same idea - being in one place and not going anywhere. You may be wondering how on earth pens and pencils are represented by this stem. Well, it's because back in the 15th and 16th centuries, there were two types of stationery retailers - those who travelled around the place, visiting villages and townships and selling items as they passed through. The other type were the retailers who were fixed in one place. They had stores that did not move, and would still be there the next day. It was this latter group of people who were referred to as "stationers" - as with a bus or train "station", they did not move from day to day.

  Excellent! We have sorted out the often confusing set of similar terms. So, we still have a question left to answer about the development of the industry, and the differences between yesteryear and now. Firstly, any astute person would cite the development of the Internet, and the advancement of the information age as one of the major contributors to change in this area. Indeed, as the electronic developments of modern life became more mainstream, people no longer needed to spend money, or time for that matter, on communication that required the use of stationery. The use of email and online messaging has most certainly diminished the popularity of pens and pencils from their heyday earlier in the century, and those past.

  However, with this recent development, an interesting phenomenon can be seen. It is that of finding new uses for the "old" stationery devices. Now, electronic pens, which allow people to write directly on to the computer screen, have shown that stationery itself is even subject to technological advances. It would be difficult to attempt a case study on the future developments of the eraser, but that is because it is not possible to imagine any further uses for it just yet - much like the mindset that people would have had over pens one hundred years ago.

  So what have we learnt here? The history of stationery is interesting and intriguing, but - knowing what lies ahead in the future for this industry is just as exciting. Keep an eye out for more developments in our products in the near future.