No 14, March 1995

No 14, March 1995

The Quarterly, No 14 - March 1995

The Marking of Paper for Excise Duty - H. Dagnall

The statutory requirements relating to British Excise duties on paper were complex and made up a "tangled thread of taxation". The regulations were detailed, difficult to comply with and increasingly burdensome on papermakers. These regulations, which were to protect the revenue against fraud, throw much light on the process of papermaking in the 18th and 19th centuries, this, however, is outside the scope of this article which is concerned with the ways in which parcels of paper were marked to denote the assessment of duty.

7 pages, illustrated

Offensive Effluvium Invades East Malling - M J Fuller

An account of a court action brought against the papermakers Messrs. Busbridge and Hodge for polluting the East Malling stream in 1859. Much of the history of the East Malling Mills is revealed in the exchanges between plaintiffs and defendants, taken from newspaper reports, as well as history relating to the surrounding area.

7 pages, illustrated, map

Book Review

Mechanisms of Image Deterioration in Early Photographs by Mike Ware. Published by the Science Museum and the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television.

British Watermarks: Martha Lay and Anne Blackwell - Peter Bower

Although women have always played a very large part in making paper by hand, from rag sorting to quality control, it is rare to find their names recorded in watermarks. Martha Lay took over the running of St. Mary Cray Mill, Kent in 1804 on the death of her husband Samuel and ran it until 1816. Anne Blackwell ran Nash Mills, Hertfordshire from the death of her husband William in 1777 until 1802.

2 pages, illustrated

British Papermills: Ruthven and Methven - R L Hills and J Reece

Brief histories of the papermills at Ruthven and Methven, some three to four miles north west of Perth. Ruthven operated from about 1767 till around 1804, Methven was established later, probably 1776 or 1786, and ceased trading between 1837 and 1844.

3 pages, illustrated

Miscellany: Images of Papermaking

Artists throughout the centuries have painted, drawn, etched and engraved paper mills and the various activities that take place in them. Little is known about many of these images: where and when, or for what purpose, they were made. For example, there are unresolved questions with both the works reproduced here. If you have any information please contact the editor.