No 61, January 2007

The Quarterly No 61, January 2007

Making Paper for the Daily Mail in Britain's Oldest Colony - Bryan C Marsh

The story behind the role played by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company Limited in the genesis of pulp and paper manufacture in Newfoundland. The first cargo of newsprint leaving the factory in 1909 and destined for the presses of the Harmsworth owned Daily Mail in London.

6 pages, illustrated

Papermaking in Honoré de Balzac's Lost Illusions - Daven Chamberlain

Lost Illusions is actually a composite of three books published by Balzac 1837-1843. The author quotes the relevant parts relating to papermaking which contain a reasonable and concise history of paper up to the date of writing albeit with some slightly inaccurate descriptions of pulp and paper manufacture.

7 pages

Device for Preventing Accidents on the Drying Cylinders

Short article taken from The World's Paper Trade Review, 1888, detailing improvements made by Mr Kommercienwrath Rostosky with the object of averting injuries caused by drying cylinders.

1 page, illustrated

Inventory of Two Waters Mill - Michael Stanyon

Transcription of an inventory for Two Waters Mill held at Hertfordshire County Record Office. It was created by John Hall and Bryan Donkin in 1810 and gives a detailed picture of the equipment of the mill.

5 pages, illustrated

An Account of an Essay on the Origin of a Natural Paper

This unusual article is taken from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, December 1769, and purports to describe a natural substance akin to paper. The editors would be pleased to hear from anyone who has seen such a substance, or is aware of any held in a private or public collection.

3 pages, illustrated

Fred Cook's Story: Paper Making at St Cuthbert's Mill in the Early 1900s - Brian Luker

Edited transcript of a conversation with Fred Cook about his time working at the mill and life after leaving. It gives an idea of a life that has now nearly vanished - esparto, poachers, beaters, sandtraps, deckle straps, steam engines and 12 hour shifts.

6 pages

The Evolution of the Sulphite Digester

This monumental article, serialised in The Paper Maker and British Paper Trade Journal, 1898, gives a very thorough treatment of its subject, and has the advantage of being written only around three decades after the earliest such apparatus was published.

7 pages

A Dispute Concerning Wages and "Rejections," and the Duties of a Foreman

Court cases and legal disputes are an interesting source of social history. This example, reprinted from The Paper Trade Review, 1888, concerns a wages dispute between one mill owner and several of his staff.

2 pages

Envelope Gumming Machine

Drawing and description of an envelope gumming machine reported in The World's Paper Trade Review, 1888.

1 page, illustrated

Cirencester Conference 2005

Balancing the Books on Paper - Andrew Gold

Paper exploring the use of paper for bookkeeping prior to computers, and pays particular attention to bound account books and the little known life cycle of heavyweight loose leaf ledgers.

7 pages, illustrated

The Way of the Watermark - Harry Dagnall  

Summary of an undated 12 page pamphlet issued by dandy roll manufacturer TJ Marshall & Co Ltd in order to clarify which way and how many times the watermark is required to appear in a sheet of paper of a given size.

1 page, illustrated

Watermarks found in drawings at the Sir John Sloane Museum - Peter Bower

Brief catalogue of the watermarks found in various drawings from the office of Sir Christopher Wren relating to the architecture and detailing of two projects: Greenwich Hospital and Hampton Court Palace. Listed by papermaker where known.

5 pages, illustrated

Book Review

De La Fin Des Familles à la Mondalisation. Marc de Ferrière le Vayer

Dark Watermarking

Short article from The Paper Trade Review, 1889, purporting to describe an unusual variety of watermark, but actually spending most of the time outlining a more unusual bi-coloured form of hand-made paper developed for security purposes.

1 page

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Last modified: October 25, 2008