The Papermaker This life-size statue, which stands in the center of the Paper Museum, is an adaptation of an illustration entitled "The Papermaker," which is believed to have first appeared in 1698 in the Book of Trades by Christopher Weigel. It next appeared in 1717 in the Book of Trades by Abraham van St. Clara, a copy of which is held by the Museum. The reproduction on which the statue is based appears on page 43 of Dard Hunter's book Papermaking Through Eighteen Centuries (New York: William Edwin Rudge, 1930), which is also on display in the Museum. In all its forms, "The Papermaker" is an excellent introduction to the craft of papermaking in pre-industrial Europe.

The Process of Papermaking

Although the craftsman depicted in our statue would hardly recognize the equipment of a modern paper mill, the procedures he used to make paper were not that different from the processes of today. Preparing the stock, forming the paper web, drying the sheet, and applying coatings and additives were all as much a part of his work as they are of ours. Although many improvements in technology were made after the introduction of papermaking to Europe, the following description will give some impression of the operations which made up the papermaker's craft.

Raw Materials for Paper

The material of choice for the European papermaker was cotton or linen fiber from rags. The rags were sorted, cleaned, and heated in a solution of alkali, at first in an open vat and later under steam pressure. After draining and seasoning, the rags were then washed and macerated to a pulp, which was then bleached to remove the final traces of dyes and the residual darkening from the cooking process.

Paper Molds

To form a sheet of paper, the papermaker dipped a paper mold into the vat of stock and lifted it out horizontally, trapping the fibers against the screen of the mold. Paper molds were made by hand from parallel lengths of wire laced together together with fine wire or thread ("laid" molds) or from woven wire mesh ("wove" molds).

Drying the Sheet

After forming, the sheet was removed ("couched") from the mold and placed on felts or woolen cloth for pressing. A stack of paper sheets and felts, called a "post," was placed in a large wooden screw press, and all the workers in the mill were summoned to tighten the press by pushing or pulling a long wooden lever. An average 2-foot post might be reduced to 6 or 8 inches in this way.

After pressing, the sheets were strong enough to be lifted from the felts and hung to dry, usually in groups of four or five known as "spurs" to prevent wrinkling and curling. Drying was usually carried out in the highest level of the mill, away from soot and dust.

Sizing and Finishing

To make the paper less absorbent, the dried sheet was dipped in animal gelatin or glue. Such sizing was more important for writing papers than for printing stock, since printing inks were thicker and did not soak into the paper so easily. The first method for smoothing the sheet was simply to burnish each sheet by hand with a glossy stone; a water-powered hammer smoother was developed in the early 17th century.

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