Material collected by the National Paper Museum Trust, c1386-1998.
Original archive material includes correspondence, reports, minutes, notes, plans, photographs, slides, illustrations and watermark samples. Published material includes articles, brochures, catalogues, leaflets, price lists, sample books, advertisements, specifications, journals, newsletters, statistics, standards, patents, books.
The National Paper Museum was established by the British Paper and Board Makers' Association. It was opened on 24 April, 1963 at The Vegetable Parchment Mills, St. Mary Cray, Kent. Remy Barcham Green was one of the founding members of the Museum, and a
large proportion of the archive material had been collected by his company J. Barcham Green Ltd. before the Museum was established.
The Mill at St. Mary Cray closed down in 1967 and the Museum exhibits had to be put into storage at Cray Vally Mills, Kent until alternative premises could be found. The NPM Trust then approached the University of Manchester, having heard that it was involved in setting up the Manchester Museum of Science and Technology. The museum agreed to house the NPM material and the exhibits were transferred in 1968. Dr Richard Hills, director of the The Manchester Museum of Science and Technology, sat on the NPM board of trustees and worked with them to continue collecting material for exhibition and research.
The collection was originally held on loan, under the reference L1969.30. The collection was subsequently donated to MOSI in 2006. The collection was given the new accession number 2006.60.
Rag cutting table.
Large stone trough/basin with set of 3 stamps and wood blocks. (French maker).
Papermakers couch stool; disassembled.
manufacturer unknown. Part of NPM collection
Wooden lay stool.
Manufacturer unknown. Part of National Paper Collection.
Paper press.(Dissass. in 10 parts).
A Watson's standard gauge, made by Thomas Scott & Company.
Southworth burst tester, made by the Illinois Iron & Bolt Company.
paper tensile tester, with paper.
manufactured by Jackson
Dandy roll.
Model dandy roll made by Knowles Trotman Ltd, 1964
Model of pressing rolls.
Steam Drying Cylinder- Model of steam drying cylinders, total of 5 cylinders with cog wheels on each ends, set in a cast iron frame. The top is covered with white fabric.
Manufacturer unknown.
model drum reeler.
manufacturer unknown. Part of NPM collection
Letter scales mouted on wooden base with holes in for weights, made by S. Mordan & Company.
bronze stuff valve, from Barcham Green
Manufacturer unknown. Part of NPM collection
bell, with wood stand; 'Joynsons clock in bell'. Made in 1851.
Part of NPM collection.
one hanging scale, near-complete, and has only fragment of central fitting left
Hand paper mould (wove).
2 hand paper mould with deckles.
Pair of 2 man (sheet) moulds, made by J. Green & Sons.
A pair of 2 man paper moulds.
Whatman double laid hand paper mould. c.1942
Pair of sheet moulds, with deckle. Have watermark 'CHSt JH'.
Manufactured by E. Amies & Son. Part of National Paper Collection.
One pair of sheet moulds with deckles.
Manufactured by E. Amies. Part of the National Paper Collection.
paper mould; watermarked Giovanni Amamtruda in a box
manufacturer unknown
paper mould; watermarked Giovanni Amamtruda in a box
manufacturer unknown
papermaking mould; Jardine, Matheson & Co, China embossed on panel.
manufactured by E Amies & son
Hand paper mould with deckle. Watermarked; Naandgjort postpapir
Manufactured by E Amies & Son. Part of National Paper Collection
Paper mould and deckle, with a watermark 'Kobenhaven'
Manufactured by E Amies & Sons. Part of the National Paper Collection
Papermaking Vat- Large copper water heater inside lead lined vat, steam heater and agitator. Manufacturer unknown.
Electric motor made by the General Electric Co. Ltd, Manchester
Hand paper mould (laid), made by E Amies & Son in England, United Kingdom,
hand paper mould (laid)
Hand paper mould (wove), made by Marshall & Co in England, United Kingdom,
2 hand paper mould (double mould).
Section of hand paper mould (wove). Two pieces of wire mesh.
Hand paper mould (wove), made by W Green in England, United Kingdom,
Pair of hand paper moulds with deckle.
Manufacturer unknown. Part of National Paper Collection
pair of hand paper moulds with deckle.
Manufacturer unknown. Part of National Paper Collection
hand paper mould (wove)
hand paper mould (laid)
hand paper mould (laid)
hand paper mould (laid)
hand paper mould (wove)
hand paper mould (laid)
hand paper mould (laid)
hand paper mould (wove)
hand paper mould (laid)
hand paper mould (wove)
hand paper mould (wove)
Hand paper mould (laid), made by E Amies & Son in England, United Kingdom,
hand paper mould made by E Amies & Son, England
Hand paper mould (wove), made by W Green in England, United Kingdom,
paper tensile tester
hand paper mould for three sheets with deckle. From Liverstock papers ltd.
Pocket-sized paper tensile tester made in Germany and supplied by H.Bertram and Co., London, with case.
Wooden model of paper machine, non working, showing beater floor (withiut beaters), mixing chests moving wire and couch rolls, presses, drying rollers. Mounted on a baseboard with perspex cover.
Part of Nation Paper Museum Collection.
Model of a batch sulphite wood pulp digester, presented by Boving & Company Limited.
Wet end slice.
Three papermaker's crosses used for drying hand-made sheets, c. 1910.
Section of a wooden paper hanger.
Dandy roll from E Towgoods.
Part of dandy roll, Granville Parchment.
Part of dandy roll, with "Printers (Fleetwood) Ltd" on the surface.
Part of a dandy roll. This dandy roll has the embossed inscription "Sawston Granta Parchment Tub Sized Air Dried".
Watermarks were first used in late thirteenth century Italy as a means of identifying the manufacturer or client with the product, and are still widely used today with the added function of being a security measure.
With the mechanisation of papermaking in the late eighteenth century, the means by which the watermark was applied had to be changed from a flat design on the paper mould to a cylindrical design on a roller which moved over the paper. The design of the watermark is raised slightly above the mesh of the dandy roll. When in contact with the paper surface, the design causes a slight impression which means that the thickness of the paper at that point is not as great as elsewhere on the roll. When held to the light, the design shows clearly.
Air dryer and calendar rollers, used for papermaking.
Part of National Paper Collection.
Rag cutter from the National Papermarking Museum collection. Used at Hayle Mill, Maidstone - the last mill to make paper by hand
Wooden feeder leads from the top of the machine, cast iron side plates, at top sets of wheels with serrated edges to shred the rags which then fell down to a "moving machine" rotary cutter to chop them up and pass them to second converyor in wood trough which lifted them to top of the sack. Belt driven from electric motor.
This machine replaced the women who used to sort and cut up the rags which were to be used for paper-making. The rags were still sorted and cut into lengths by hand but the chopping into small pieces was done on this machine.
three palm leaves, in wooden frame (with glass).
part of NPM papermaking collection
One cast iron paper cutting machine. Has five rollers.
Manufactured by Bentley & Jackson Co. Ltd. in 1874.
Single blade on drum with variable speed pulley drive (sliding cone pulley). Belt driven with fast and loose pulley, canvas convey for delivering sheets. Mounted on pair of cast iron side frames, very light construction.
Shows end of paper-making process in a paper mill and also shows a different principle in cutting paper than the usual drop-blade guillotine
Dandy Roll, made by E. Amies & Son, Maidstone - India Stamp Office India
(NB Object is misnumbered in record photo as 1978.65.3)
Bronze metal construction. Discs in centre made from thick plate but with very large open holes cut in them so the supports are slender. Watermark: India Stamp Office, surrounding Royal COat of Arms set in frame. Watermarks sewn onto wire.
Part of dandy roll, with "Gardiner No. 1425" stamp.
Part of dandy roll, with "Ministerio das Relacoes [Exteriores?]" stamp.
2 sheet mould and deckle, laid cover, watermark J. Whatman, 1831. Single facing - only to cover; ribs have pairs of water bars between them.
Made by Balston's, Springfield Mill, Maidstone.
Springfield Mill was founded 1806/7, probably the first all steam-driven mill in the world. It's production remained entirely by hand until the 1930s. Used to make high-quality writing and drawing papers, now entirely filter papers.
The original founder, William Balston had worked and then become a partner with James Whatmna the younger. When Whatman sold out in 1794, Balston carried on at Turkey Mill, Maidstone in partnership with the Hollingworth's until 1805 when he decided to found his own mill, SPringfield Mill, where carried on the Whatman tradition of papermaking.
Pair of two sheet moulds and deckle large laid post, laid cover, watermark posthorn, countermark J. Whatman, Handmade, 1942.
Made by Balston's, Springfield Mill, Maidstone
Springfield Mill was founded 1806/7, probably the first all steam-driven mill in the world. It's production remained entirely by hand until the 1930s. Used to make high-quality writing and drawing papers, now entirely filter papers.
The original founder, William Balston had worked and then become a partner with James Whatman the younger. When Whatman sold out in 1794, Balston carried on at Turkey Mill, Maidstone in partnership with the Hollingworth's until 1805 when he decided to found his own mill, SPringfield Mill, where carried on the Whatman tradition of papermaking.
Pair of imperial single-sheet moulds and deckle with wove cover, watermarked "J. Whatman, Turkey Mill, 1945, England, BN."
Pair of single sheet moulds and 2 deckles, square elephant, wove cover, watermark, handmade, J. Whatman, 1956, England, moulds have X bracing at back.
Made by Balston's, Springfield Mill, Maidstone
Springfield Mill was founded 1806/7, probably the first all steam-driven mill in the world. It's production remained entirely by hand until the 1930s. Used to make high-quality writing and drawing papers, now entirely filter papers.
The original founder, William Balston had worked and then become a partner with James Whatman the younger. When Whatman sold out in 1794, Balston carried on at Turkey Mill, Maidstone in partnership with the Hollingworth's until 1805 when he decided to found his own mill, SPringfield Mill, where carried on the Whatman tradition of papermaking.
Two single sheet moulds. One toned laid, e.g. no backing wires under voer and no deckel. One toned wove, e.g. only one layer of backing wires under cover, and deckel. Watermark J. Whatman, England.
Made by Balston's, Springfield Mill, Maidstone
Springfield Mill was founded 1806/7, probably the first all steam-driven mill in the world. It's production remained entirely by hand until the 1930s. Used to make high-quality writing and drawing papers, now entirely filter papers.
The original founder, William Balston had worked and then become a partner with James Whatman the younger. When Whatman sold out in 1794, Balston carried on at Turkey Mill, Maidstone in partnership with the Hollingworth's until 1805 when he decided to found his own mill, SPringfield Mill, where carried on the Whatman tradition of papermaking.
Cover for cylindrical mould machine, produced for J. Whatman, with a laid surface, containing the watermark "Fleur-de-Lys."
Paper mould, La Gitana, & deckle., c.1920s; used for making cigarette paper
Hand paper-making mould of light construction, probably of pine wood, deckle very light, mould itself has sloping edges, cover, laid but chain lines do not run over ribs so cover is toed to ribs in a special way. In middle a wave section is inserted with 'La Litana' impressed into surface, rubbing bottom edge of mould metal lined.
This is a typical 'Spanish' mould as used around 1920s, possibly featuring eariler construction details such as the cut-away sections inside the deckle, the chain lines lying between the ribs and only a single cover, method of tying cover to ribs etc. These moulds were used for making cigarette paper, Note also sloping edges to upper surface of mould.
Scale for weighing paper. Cast iron stand with a hook on top; wooden base.
Manufactured by R.H Wood, Maidstone
Schopper Riegler wetness tester made by Frank, Germany.
Standard device for empirical but quick assessment of paper pulps, used throughout industry
Electrically driven 'Hollander' beater on stand, made by Bentley and Jackson.
Laboratory drying cylinder.
Steam heated drying cylinder
Skew hand apparatus.
Paper tensile tester made in Austria and supplied by J. J. Marshall and Co.
Wooden body with dial in middle of one long side, reading 0-50 pounds. Patent Paper Testing Machine, J.J. Marshall & Co, London and Dartford, Made in Austria. Paper clamped with steel plates and thumb scres on top, one side adjustable in half inch lengths, handle at right endtensions right clamp. Brass end plates at both ends
As the quality of paper became increasingly important to suit the specialist uses of customers, samples needed to be tested to ensure that they met the required standard once in production. Writing paper needs to have a consistent surface and an ability to hold ink whereas packaging paper needs to be tested for strength and how resistant it is to tearing. Quality testing is important to maintain high standards in production. Any variation of quality would impact upon the paper's capability to be used for a defined purpose.
Paper tensile testers were used to test the force which was required to tear a single sheet of paper. This tester would be used in the laboratory. Any noticeable variance from the required standard would lead to production being stopped so that machines could be checked and recalibrated as necessary until the problem had been rectified, causing a temporary loss of output and income.
Ferranti Argus 400 computer, 1969. Consists of 4 processing units, operator's desk, operator's and programmer's manuals, Teletype, Westrex tape reader/writer, ICT TR6 tape reader and two boxes of circuit boards.Ferranti Argus 400 computer, 1969 used at Wiggins Teape paper production plant in Dartford, including a small series of Routine Maintenance and Maintenance Sheets completed by Ferranti Engineer.
Replica of original Rober Paper machine by N L Robert in 1977. This replica was made using the original drawings and documents and manufactured by Severn and Lamb Ltd.
Large wooden cask sits within a wooden frame. Above the cask through the side, there is a belt conveyor-type mechanism with rollers.
Paper burst tester made by the Ashcroft Manufacturing Co. New York c.1912, with leatherette box. Patented 31 December 1912. Sold in the UK by HB Legge and Co, London
This instrument is used to test the amount of force required to burst a sheet of paper of a particular type and therefore to give an indication of its strength and ability to withstand impacts.
As the quality of paper became increasingly important to suit the specialist uses of customers, samples needed to be tested to ensure that they met the required standard once in production. Writing paper needs to have a consistent surface and an ability to hold ink whereas packaging paper needs to be tested for strength and how resistant it is to tearing. Quality testing is important to maintain high standards in production. Any variation of quality would impact upon the paper's capability to be used for a defined purpose.
Perforator. Slopers patent 27 40.
Cone-shaped thimble mould for forming paper filters, c. 1960.
Test-tube shaped thimble mould for forming paper filters, c. 1960.
Cylindrical thimble mould for forming paper filters, c. 1960.
Test-tube shaped thimble moulds for forming paper filters (2 parts), c. 1960.
Handle of mould with mesh has vacuum attachment point. It was put into a bath of paper fibres, water sucked out by vacuum and thimble blown off mould with air. Solid mould then used to remove any dents made by operator's fingers in wet paper before drying thimbles on a rack in an oven.
Brass dandy roller, with mesh screen (carmelite Rac Blotting). From Green, Son & Waite.
wooden flue/stuff pipe, has lead lining.
manufacturer unknown
pallet of sheets of handmade paper.
part of NPM collection.
Wooden vat, with lead lining, and a pipe attachment.
Manufacturer unknown. Part of National Paper Collection
Paper Drying Rack- Marked as 'Paper drying rack- upright and wrapped other parts'. 4 large wooden racks with holes. Otherparts are wrapped in plastic sheet and the contents are invisible.
Manufacturer unknown. Part of NPM/ Papermaking collection.
