Bull's Head and Mermaid - The Bernstein Project - Österreichische ...

Scientific research on watermarks, their systematic collection,
classification and analysis, was already begun in the
early 19 th century, milestones being set thereby by the major
works of Briquet and Piccard. The possibilities watermarks
offer for historical research are, first of all, connected
to questions concerning the history of paper, but also, of
even more importance, the texts and illustrations the paper
bears.
The use of particular watermarks not only allows one to determine
where the paper was produced, their spread also
testifies to the paper’s distribution: paper trade and related
economic questions can thus be examined. Maria Zaar-Görgens
was able to map, on the basis of watermarks, the
spread of paper from paper mills in Lorraine-Upper Rhine
between 1385 and 1600, showing not only the impressive
increase in paper production, but also developments in paper
trade and the economic situation of southwest Germany,
both over time and distance (Ill. 1).
Watermarks are of particular methodological importance
for describing manuscripts, which includes an analysis of
the paper they are written on as well as any inscriptions
and the texts themselves. In addition to actual historical
questions concerning the paper, undated manuscripts and
prints can usually be dated to within a few years on the basis
of their watermarks; watermark research is particularly
significant as it provides a much more accurate aid for historical
dating (Piccard) than, for example, palaeographical
analysis. A prerequisite is, of course, the existence of an
identical, dated watermark, which furnishes the time period
for the paper’s production.
The technical possibilities for copying or reproducing watermarks
from original documents range from tracing, either
hand tracing or rubbing, to expensive modern techniques
such as beta radiography, which has increased accuracy.
Analysis of watermarks has become standard in
scholarly descriptions of manuscripts, and has profited from
the continually growing watermark collections and their
availability on the internet.
Literature: Zaar-Görgens, Champagne – Baar – Lothringen;
Piccard, Die Wasserzeichenforschung als historische Hilfswissenschaft.
P.R. (C.P.-K.)
IV Watermarks and Research on Manuscripts
The Commercial Aspects of Paper
In common with all manufactured goods fabricated in every
period and place, paper was a product that presented different
mercantile properties depending on purchasers’
needs. Even if a wide range of uses for paper has been
identified – as a substitute for glass in windows, for example
– the most important differentiating criterion distinguished
between writing paper and wrapping paper, just as
it does today. Contrary to what certain people have supposed,
wrapping paper did not form the bulk of the paper
that was produced; rather, it represented about 20–25% of
production.
The thing that distinguished the two chief categories of
paper wasn’t only colour – inasmuch as wrapping paper
was made from rags that were more or less brown, while
writing paper was made from white rags – but also the material’s
degree of refinement: the pulp that was destined to
produce writing paper was, in fact, far more refined, and in
order to produce it, special pounding mills which were able
to reduce fibres to the smallest dimensions were necessary.
For this reason, not all paper mills were able to produce
both kinds of paper: thus, at Colle Val d’Elsa in the 16 th
century, paper mills were divided into two categories,
“black”, and “white”, which only produced wrapping paper
and did not enjoy the right to process white rags. However,
even within the “writing paper” category, the product
could present in various quality grades; in addition to “fine
paper” one often encountered so-called “fioretto” grade
product (the etymology of this term is unclear) or, descending
even further on the quality scale, so-called “fiorettone”
grade papers. In the absence of “archaeological” evidence,
unfortunately we have to ignore the possible differences
seen among the different quality grades. Indeed, today we
would be completely unable to distinguish between the different
types of sheets that corresponded to the different
names.
The price of paper varied in function with its quality and,
needless to say, cases of fraud were numerous and frequent.
For this reason, a great many regulations were issued
by civic authorities in places of production and/or consumption,
testimony to the care taken to safeguard consumers’
interests early on in the history of paper
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