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*The
quotations and picture are taken from the book by
kazimiera Maleczyńska Dzieje Starego Papieru (The
History of old Paper)
 The
invention of paper. Originally paper comes
from China. Before the invention of paper in China
different materials were used to write on: the oldest
Chinese writing material were small boards, written
on with a gravel. Silk was another material used
for the purpose of writing, an expensive one, though.
It is believed that the inventor of paper was a
Chinese minister, Tsai-Lun, and the year of 105
of our era was accepted as the date of this invention.
The Chinese paper was made from vegetable fibres.
For this purpose mulberry and hemp bark was used.
The crushed material was mixed with water and poured
onto bamboo moulds. This way paper sheets were made.
When the demand for paper increased, also other,
widely accessible materials, were used - rice straw
and bamboo stalks.
The history
of paper outside China. The Chinese kept
the invention of paper in secret for many years.
But the knowledge about this product was gradually
leaking out to the West - to Korea, Japan and Arab
countries. "In the 9th and 10th century paper
was produced on a large scale in the whole vast
Arab country." That was the time of paper factories
in Samarkand, Damascus, Tripoli, and Baghdad. Then
the Arabs brought the technology of paper production
to Morocco, and some time later to Spain. This happened
about 1100. the knowledge of paper was transferred
from Spain to Italy. There the paper factory of
Fabriano was set up in the 13th century and that
was the first mill to introduce the watermark.
Paper factories. With the course of time
paper ceased to be produced in a home-made way.
The production process was concentrated in big plants
called paper factories or paper mills - due to the
large similarity to corn mills - "Because paper
factories used water energy, they were usually built
at mountain rivers or larger lowland rivers, provided
these had a current which was strong enough... Paper
factory worked on the same principle as corn mill
and hence the name of paper mill."*
Moulding
of paper is a paper-production technique
applied from the very beginning of its invention.
"The main material was vegetable fibre, which
in Europe were obtained from hemp rags. They were
ground and mixed with water, and thanks to this
process was obtained the so-called paper mass, i.e.
thick suspension from which paper sheets were formed
by manual moulding with a square mould - hence the
name of moulded paper. This manual moulding was
the basic principle of the old technique of paper
production, differentiation it from the technique
applied today."*
Watermark.
Old papers are interesting mainly because of their
watermarks, which make it possible to specify their
place and time of production. Watermarks are not
visible on the surface of paper, but it is enough
to look at the paper against the light to see the
mark hidden inside. The oldest watermarks presented
the shapes of a cross, square, circle, oval and
other. Watermarks are made with watermark embroidery
on the mould, which leaves a picture on the paper
(see the picture). The oldest watermark embroidery
known to us is one from ca. 1280, coming from the
Fabriano paper mill, presenting the Greek cross.
Then more complex watermarks appeared, related to
the paper mill, such as water wheel, hammer, and
scales. From the 17th century watermark embroidery
presenting coats of arms and emblems were becoming
popular.
First paper factories in Poland.
In Poland first paper mills were set up in the second
half of the 15th century in the area of Gdansk Pomerania
and near Krakow. The first paper factory near Krakow
was set up in the town of Pradnik Czerwony (today
within the city of Krakow, in the district of Klepacz).
Apart from Krakow paper factories, the paper industry
began to develop near Poznan, and then near Warsaw.
In the 18th century Jeziorna became the leading
paper factory.
"At the end of the 18th century the paper machine
was invented, which in the 19th century displaced
the technique of manual moulding. However, hand
made paper is still an object of interest."*
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