Mahl stick - (from the Dutch maalstok meaning 'painter's stick', from malen 'to paint')
The history of the Mahl stick can be traced through at least five centuries of self portraiture.
From Titian to Rembrandt, from Vermeer to John Singer Sargent, in fact whenever fine detail has required a steady hand Mahl sticks have been used to ensure precise control.
More latterly a move away from purely realistic depiction, since the invention of the camera, has seen this useful, elegant tool fade from common use and become almost forgotten.
Our wish is that anyone buying a Georgeson and Son Mahl stick might feel that they are holding a piece of painting's history which, when put to use, will be as beneficial to their work as it has been to the centuries of painters before them.
