No 44, November 2002

The Quarterly, No 44 - November 2002

Olive & Partington, Papermakers of Glossop, part one - Richard Hills

Matthias Koops had been granted two patents in 1800, one for a method of de-inking and remaking paper, and the second for making paper from straw and other materials. The first patent had been enrolled in the Court of Chancery as was required, the patentee is protected against infringement by the inhabitants of Great Britain, but not against foreign infringement, as happened.. The second patent was not enrolled and Koops petitioned for protection on his second patent. The text of the report on this is reprinted in full in this article.

5 pages, illustrated

Bryan Donkin's Rose Engine - Harry Dagnall

Short article describing the machine used to produce the engine-turned security patterns of the compound plates used to produce Paper Duty Ream Labels. It was recently restored and is now on display in the Museum of London.

2 pages, illustrated

The Illusive Silver Lining: The Rise and Fall of the Lancashire Limited Paper Company between 1860 and 1880 (Appendix) - Mike Malley

John Mitchell's 'retrospect' on the state of the Paper Industry in Lancashire, circa 1882, and a table of Lancashire and Lancashire 'Related' Paper Mill Company Incorporation's 1860 - 1876, identifying those failing in less than six years and between six to ten years from incorporation.

2 pages, table

Employment of Children in Paper Mills in England and Wales in the Mid-nineteenth Century part three - Tanya Schmoller

Continuation of an extract of information on this subject from the 1843 Second Report to the Commissioners on Trades and Manufactures contained in Volumes 9 to 11of the British Parliamentary Papers. The areas inspected are Kent, Bucks and Herts; Exeter; Northumberland and Durham; West and North of Lancashire; some miscellaneous mills in the south east; and Wrexham. Volume 9 reports on the industry in general, covering Place of Work, Nature of Employment, Hours of Work, Accidents, Wages and Physical Condition. The author considers the information sufficiently interesting to quote verbatim, using the numbered paragraphs.

9 pages

Further Explanations of on the Art of Papermaking by W. Heath Robinson - Peter Bower

Three illustrations of papermaking as seen through the eyes of this renowned and innovative artist. If anyone knows of other Heath Robinson papermaking illustrations would they please contact the editor.

3 pages, illustrated

Papermaking Texts: Of the Street-Buyers of Rags, Broken Metal, Bottles, Glass and Bones - Henry Mayhew

A second extract from Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor describing the working habits of London street-buyers of rags. The first extract was published in The Quarterly 42 (May 2002).

3 pages

In Memoriam - Peter Isaac (1921-2002)

Professor Peter Isaac was a noted authority in the twin fields of public health engineering and the history of the book.
In the former, his achievements included work for the World Health Organisation and presidency of the Institution of Public Health Engineers. He was also the first Professor of Public Health Engineering in Britain.
In the latter, both the research group "The History of the Book Trade in the North' and the British Book Trade Seminar have much to owe him. He also served as president of the Bibliographical Society. His association with paper history came about through his researches in to the history of the book and the subject benefited greatly from his knowledge and enthusiasm.

2 pages

Book Reviews

The Broad Spectrum: Studies in the Materials, Techniques, and Conservation of Color on Paper. Edited by Harriet K. Stratis and Britt Salvensen.
American Watermarks 1690-1835. Thomas L. Gravelle, George Miller & Elisabeth Walsh.
The Story of Bill Mills. Heather Hurley.
Dunhuang Manuscript Forgeries. Edited by Susan Whitfield.

The Edinburgh Papers (part three)

History of Bertrams Sciennes - Tom King

History of the famous engineering company of Bertram Sciennes which was founded at a time of great innovation in the in the paper machinery business, by two Scottish brothers: William and George Bertram. They had come from an engineering and papermaking background, with their grandfather having been a mechanic at the old Esk Mills at Penicuik, and their father a papermaker and engineer at Springfield Mill, Polton. The article is well illustrated with design plans and photographs of the works and machinery built by them.

9 pages, illustrated

The Bates Collection of Watermarks - Peter Bower

A collection of several hundred British and European watermarked papers dating from ca. 1400 to ca. 1850. A chance discovery in a small auction, it appears that the collector, Lt Col A. S. Bates, had intended to publish his findings, as, amongst the papers, were some seventy 'plates' prepared for his intended book. As well as providing illustrations from the collection the author also examines where Bates's work fits in the context of the development of filigranology as a discipline.

11 pages, illustrated