The Quarterly No. 69 – January 2009
Bryan Donkin Junior at St. Petersburg in 1859 – Alan Crocker
Bryan Donkin Junior was sent to St. Petersburg when only 24 years of age to undertake the largest project then given to the firm set up by his father – a whole new mill with ancillary equipment. Fortunately he kept a diary, and it is this the author borrowed and used to piece together the story of the business trip, which describes various sightseeing and leisure outings in addition to solving the problems involved with conducting business in the mid Victorian era so far from home.
11 pages, 7 illustrations
The Lower Medway Paper Mills – Jean Stirk
This article forms the basis of some work to be included when the Victoria Country History of Kent is next updated. There were five mills in the vicinity: Snodland, Cobtree, Forstal, Pratling Street and Sandling. The first is the most famous and well known; the last four were all small units whose story forms the basis of this article, in which the author pulls together the limited information available to describe papermaking in this hitherto under-researched locale.
7 pages, 3 illustrations
Home Truths about Sulphite – anon
In 1888 sulphite wood pulp was a relatively recent invention whose properties were not widely understood. This short piece describes the ways to get the best out of sulphite pulp, and equally important, how and where it should not be used.
1 page
The Excise Duty Stamps Found on the Versos of a Collection of Collages in the Manner of Mary Delany 1700-1788 – Peter Bower
Mary Delany was famous for producing beautiful and intricate paper collages. She had many imitators, and this article describes work produced by just such a group. The author uses both watermarks and Excise stamps to date some of the papers used to produce these works, which show many postdate Delany, indicating her work continued to influence artists and remained popular after her death.
7 pages, 11 illustrations
Lyng Mill No.217, Norfolk – Richard L Hills
This article details the sale catalogue for an auction held in 1868 to dispose of the Lyng paper and corn mills. Around images of the catalogue pages the author details the history of the mills, and highlights entries in the catalogue of unusual interest.
5 pages, 6 illustrations
How Chinese “Joss Paper” is Made – anon
“Joss Paper” is a special grade made for ceremonial use in China. The paper is covered with tin on one side, and when set alight it burns rapidly to produce copious amounts of white ash. This short article describes the process of manufacture and the unsuccessful attempts made by late 19th and early 20th century European manufacturers to break into this potentially lucrative market.
1 page
History of Paper Test Instrumentation Part 10: Burst, Puncture and Impact Strength Testers – Daven Chamberlain
This article describes three related forms of strength test, and details the historical development of instruments for each from the late 19th century to late 20th century. It focuses mainly upon burst test instruments, which were among the first strength testers developed for use on paper, and which are still popular today; burst test apparatus show a steady rate of evolution throughout this period. By contrast impact and puncture testers are few and far between, and generally show little development since their inception in the first half of the 20th century.
10 pages, 6 montage illustrations
Vacuum or Suction Boxes, Part 2 – J Melrose Arnot
Part one of this article, which constituted a lecture given by the author in 1922, appeared in The Quarterly No.65. This part completes Arnot’s work by listing an appendix and a question-and-answer session that took place after the lecture. Together the two parts form an important early attempt to describe the chronology of this seemingly ubiquitous part of papermaking technology.
7 pages, 6 illustrations
Leather Board – anon
Leather board is a grade made by combining shredded and beaten leather with other fibrous materials. It is a hard wearing and tough material generally made on board machines. This short article describes the process by which it was made in the early 20th century, focussing particularly on the stock preparation for the various raw materials, and how altering these produced subtly different grades of leather board.
1 page
The Quarterly No. 70 – April 2009Banknote Papermaking at Portal’s Laverstoke Mill in 1854 – Alan Crocker and Geraint Franklin
An article describing a subject of continuing interest to paper historians – banknotes. Its basis is a survey of the extant buildings at Laverstoke, undertaken by English Heritage, on the back of which the basic history of the mill is described. A curious engraving published in the Illustrated London News of a bank-note production line is also included, which forms a sub-theme of the article. This illustration shows banknotes produced by hand being couched onto a moving conveyor – a curious amalgam of hand-manufacture and mechanisation.
12 pages, 10 illustrations
An Historic Model Papermaking Machine Restored: An Australian Industry’s Icon – Harry Dagnall
The author has been researching the history of this miniature paper machine for several years. Made in 1884 or 1885 it was used for exhibitions until just after WWI when it was purchased by Isaac Boas and shipped to Australia. There it was used to make trial webs of paper based upon native hardwoods, until the 1930s. At some point it appears to have been left in a store room and forgotten, until the 1990s, when it was rediscovered, restored and preserved in a glass showcase. The article is accompanied by a host of illustrations showing the beautiful workmanship of this historic model paper machine.
5 pages, 13 illustrations (9 colour)
The 1807 Act – Richard L Hills
The 1807 Act in question extended the 1801 patent of John Gamble for Nicholas Louis Robert’s papermaking machine. The article uses this as a basis for describing the early series of prototype machines that were put into production at Frogmore, St. Neots and Two Waters mills. It details the machine developments that took place over relatively few years that culminated in both the perfection of the papermaking machine, and bankruptcy of the Fourdrinier brothers.
8 pages, 6 illustrations
The First Paper-Maker – William Reinicke
It is said the use of wood by wasps for building nests gave the idea to several early scientists, most notably Reaumur, that wood could be a possible raw material from which to manufacture paper. This lovely article looks in greater detail at how different wasps utilise wood and shows how both nest design and the material properties of the ‘paper’ varies according to species.
3 pages
A Letter on the Collection of Rags for the Manufacture of Paper, Addressed to the Parochial Clergy, The Managers of Parochial Institutions, Etc – Richard Herring
A small piece of social history that still strikes a chord today – a letter from a London resident pleading for the installation of a coherent recycling scheme to save valuable raw material for the paper industry.
1 page
Transporting Esparto Grass from Granton Harbour in Scotland in the Early 1950s – Bryan Gourlay
It is easy to forget how large the Esparto trade was only a matter of decades ago. This short piece of local and social history describes the physical process of hauling esparto from the docks to local mills in Scotland. The hazards, and the precarious journey, are amply described and illustrated.
2 pages, 2 illustrations
Account of the Origin and Experiments of the Triple Paper Invented and Proposed for the New Bank Note by Sir William Congreve – Doug Stone and Cindy Bowden
By the late 18th century forgery of banknotes was a growing problem, so the Bank of England called for fresh ideas on how to produce notes that were more difficult to forge. Sir William Congreve produced a design based upon using white and coloured fibres and dipping the watermarked mould three times. This produced a banknote that looked very different from others when viewed either by transmitted or reflected light, as is shown by the remarkable set of colour images that illustrate the text. Although his design was not chosen for production, it remains an example of ingenuity, showing the range of effects possible from hand-made papers.
4 pages, 16 illustrations (all colour)
The First American Papermakers – Victor Wolfgang von Hagen
The title of this piece is somewhat of a misnomer, since the indigenous groups described, Aztecs and Mayans, did not make true paper. However they both made paper-like materials, called amatl and huun respectively. The article describes both materials, their mode of manufacture, and illustrates the text with images of these manufacturing processes still being performed in the 1940s.
3 pages, 6 illustrations
History of Paper Test Instrumentation Part 11: Fold Strength Testers – Daven Chamberlain
This is the third successive article in the series to describe strength test apparatus. Fold testers were also the third major branch of strength apparatus to be developed. Three main families of apparatus are outlined. Many of the instruments were popular in the inter-war period, but over the last few decades most have ceased to be used as the industry consolidated on a handful of designs.
7 pages, 4 montage illustrations
Poems from The Paper-Maker and British Paper Trade Journal – Anon
Five poems from the featured journal, dating from 1902-1914. No great literary style is evident, but the poems all deal with the pulp and paper industry, and each in its own way conveys something of historical and topical interest from this pre-war period.
3 pages
Book Reviews
Harnham Mill, Salisbury, by Michael Cowan.
An account of what is possibly the oldest paper mill in the country still standing today, which is used as both a hotel and restaurant.
“Chucking Buns Across the Fence” – Government Sponsored Industry in the Scottish Highland, 1945-1982, by Niall Mackenzie.
A PhD thesis dealing with four major industrial developments in the region, one of which was Wiggins Teape’s Fort William paper mill.
The Quarterly No. 71 – July 2009
The Importance of Early Italian Paper and Papermaking in Britain – Richard L. Hills
During the middle ages England had strong trading links with mainland Europe, in particular with Italy. Wool was the main export and source of customs revenue, and during this period Italian paper was among goods imported. This article starts by describing these trade links, and illustrates some of the advances in 14th century Italian papermaking by reference to various paper samples held in Hereford Cathedral archives. It continues by outlining the development of white paper manufacture across Europe, and in this country, and details how imports of quality paper to England were changed by war and development of the indigenous industry.
7 pages, 5 illustrations
Allenwood Paper Mill in Cumbria – Alan Crocker and Denis Perriam
This short article follows on from one published by Alan Crocker in The Quarterly No.64. It describes a Cumbrian mill that had a working life of around 50 years, starting from the mid nineteenth century. Most of the text describes in detail what can be gleaned from two photographs of the mill dating from the 1890s.
3 pages, 3 illustrations
British Bibliography of Paper History and Watermark Studies No.16, 2008 – Peter Bower
Listing of articles concerned with papermaking history and paper conservation published in 2008.
2 pages
History of Paper Test Instrumentation Part 12: Tear Strength Testers – Daven Chamberlain
This is the fourth successive article in the series to depict strength test apparatus; tear testers are a more recent branch of strength testers than those discussed in the previous three articles. Several families of instruments are described and illustrated, most of which ceased to be used prior to WW2. The text tells the story of their development, most of which are now forgotten as today a single type of instrument dominates.
9 pages, 6 illustrations
The Augsburg Wunderzeichenbuch: the papers used in a sixteenth century Book of Miracles – Peter Bower
The book in question contains 167 pages of startling images in gouache and watercolour. Subject matter ranges from depictions of Old Testament scenes, to miraculous events such as earthquakes, comets, and the day when three suns shone simultaneously. After describing the book and placing it in context the author gives a detailed description of how several of the papers were identified and attributed.
10 pages, 13 illustrations (8 colour)
Iodine Paper: its manufacture and peculiar chemistry – James Scott
Yet another type of sanitising paper common in the early part of the twentieth century, described and illustrated by a prominent author of the time.
3 pages, 3 illustrations
Roughway Mill Rag Cutter
A single illustration of a woman preparing rags at the mill, circa 1920.
Book Reviews:
The Sense of Paper, by Taylor Holden.
A rare example of a fictional story where paper plays a recurring central theme in the plot.
Paper Trails: From Trees to Trash – The True Cost of Paper, by Mandy Haggith.
A diatribe against perceived excesses of the modern paper industry by an Eco-warrior.
The Quarterly Index Nos 65-68 – Terry Wells
The index is arranged in nine categories: Articles by author; Articles by title; Book reviews; General index; Illustrations; Papermakers; Paper mills; Tipped-in paper samples; Watermarks. The Watermarks index is further divided into those that are illustrated and those that are mentioned in the text.
12 pages
In Memoriam: Ian Hendry – Tom Bolton
A tribute to Ian Hendry, a senior member of the international paper industry, and much missed committee member of BAPH, by a long-time colleague and friend.
1 page, 1 illustration
The Quarterly No. 72 – October 2009
China Paper Usage in Early Van Diemen's Land Printing – Ian Wilson
Residents of Van Diemen's Land, more usually known as Tasmania, started to publish a newspaper in 1810, and soon after books were produced. Major problems were encountered in obtaining reliable supplies of paper for printing such articles, which was a major setback for the development of literature in the region. This article described how China paper, recognisable due to its unusual furnish and the presence of brush marks on its surface, was one solution used by early printers. Unfortunately such papers do not have good long-term stability, and many of the early printed articles are in poor condition due to decay and deterioration of these early papers, which accounts for the relative dearth of early published material that survives today.
7 pages, 3 illustrations (2 colour)
History of Paper Test Instrumentation Part 13: Wet Strength Testers – Daven Chamberlain
This is the fifth successive article in the series to depict strength test apparatus. Wet strength testers are comparatively recent in origin, and date from the first quarter of the 20th century. Their importance relates to determining the runnability of wet webs on paper machines and converting equipment, such as coaters and printing presses. Several different designs, none of which are common today, are described and illustrated.
4 pages, 3 illustrations
Paper Mills and Waterpower – Richard L Hills
The use of waterpower in mills is described, and the development of water-powered machinery in paper mills is discussed, particularly with regard to changes in paper manufacture that occurred during the mediaeval and Renaissance periods. Following introduction of the paper machine even more power was required, but although steam engines made rapid headway in this field, use of water power did not die completely; a fact that was helped in part by development of the water turbine. It is interesting to note that although most UK mills stopped using water power by the late 20th century, at least one mill was still generating some power by water until closed in 2005.
5 pages, 2 illustrations
Nash Mills Chalk Mine – Jonathan R. Hunn & Michael Stanyon
Following subsidence at a house close to the old Nash Mills, near Hemel Hempstead, evidence of chalk mining was uncovered. Although it is known that such mines existed in the area, they are not documented or shown on local maps. One of the authors (JRH) is from a local archaeological consultancy that undertook a survey of the mine. Further work showed that John Dickenson owned mines in the area, and the work concludes by suggesting some of the uses to which the great papermaker may have put the chalk in the early-mid part of the 19th century.
4 pages, 3 illustrations
Paper Pulp from Wood, Straw, and Other Fibres in the Past and the Present – W John Stonhill
This very long prize-winning essay from 1885 charts the production of pulp from wood and other plant raw materials. Written from a contemporary viewpoint it describes numerous experiments run at laboratory, pilot and production scale that together ended in the commercial exploitation of wood as a viable raw material for production of paper pulp.
11 pages, 3 tables
New Insights into Aluminium Chemistry and Paper Ageing – Daven Chamberlain
Most researchers have concentrated upon the acidity of alum solutions as the basis of why paper containing such aluminium salts degrade with time. However acidity does not tell the whole story. Experimental data reported for the first time in this article show categorically that the degenerative nature of aluminium can be curbed by addition of certain chemical species, despite the underlying presence of high levels of acidity. Two practical causes of this anomaly are described and a potential use of the phenomenon in the area of paper conservation is discussed.
3 pages, 5 illustrations
East Lancashire Paper Mill Co. Ltd. Part 1 – – PW Hampson
This is the first part of a study on the founding and first few decades of East Lancashire Paper Company. The essay concentrates on the economic and social history underlying the Company's foundation, and was awarded the dissertation prize from the University which awarded the author his BA.
6 pages, 1 illustration, 2 tables
Two Letters from Springfield Mill Laboratory
Two letters from the pen of J F Briggs of Springfield Mill laboratory, to Charles Balston, the mill owner, circa 1904. They give interesting and unusual details of mill alterations and paper processing.
2 pages
A Curious Typewriter
The inventiveness of the Victorian mind knew few bounds, which is ably demonstrated by this small article about a ludicrous 'glove' typewriter.
1 page, 1 illustration
Saving Paper History: The Wiggins Teape Archive and Related Material at Butlers Court – Peter Bower
Following the decision to close Butler's Court (the English R&D of Arjo Wiggins) last year, a new home had to be found for the Wiggins Teape archive. Fortunately David Tompson, a member of BAPH, stepped into the breach with a rescue package that will see the material form part of a new Paper Study Collection, that will eventually be accessible to the public. The author tells the story of this rescue, and illustrates it with material from the archive using pictures of rag pickers from Crabble Mill circa 1903.
3 pages, 4 colour illustrations
Imitation Stained Glass from Paper
A description of an early 20th century German patent that used embossed paper and varnish to produce imitation stained glass.
1 page, 1 illustration