Definition of "inkstand"

[…] if I thought any thing I might hereafter write would be within their reach, I would throw the Manuscript that is now before me into the fire, and never dip my pen into my Ink-stand again […]

1765, Laurence Sterne, letter published in Original Letters of the Late Reverend Mr. Laurence Sterne, never before published, London: 1788, pp. 89-90

I beg your pardon for being here. I come to look for you, and after waiting a little while in hope of your coming in, was making use of your inkstand to explain my errand.

1814 July, [Jane Austen], chapter IX, in Mansfield Park: […], volume II, London: […] T[homas] Egerton, […], page 189

If you have no ink with you, the first time you go out, stop in at a stationer’s store, and buy a small sixpenny bottle that will stand steadily alone, and answer the purpose of an inkstand.

1864, Eliza Leslie, chapter 1, in The Ladies’ Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners: or, Miss Leslie’s Behaviour Book‎, Philadelphia: T.B. Peterson & Bros, page 21