History of Watermarks
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The Map Collector
The Map Collector, initiated by Peter Scott and Valerie G. Newby, was a journal on historical cartography published every quarter. The first issue appeared in 1997 and continued for nearly 20 years. After 74 issues the last copy appeared in Spring 1996. Mrs. Valerie G. Newby, is presently editor of the IMCoS Journal.www.imcos.org
By The Map Collector
Published on 1 March 1979
by Bob Akers
Collectors of maps, prints and drawings on early paper always want to know the value of watermarks in dating works of art and their use in exposing forgeries but, as Bob Akers, Principal Lecturer-in-charge of Bookbinding and Paper Conservation at Camberwell School of Art, explains, the information they provide may sometimes be unreliable. Here he gives the reasons why and traces the history of these fascinating 'hidden designs' from the thirteenth century until the present day.
Collectors of maps, prints and drawings on early paper always want to know the value of watermarks in dating works of art and their use in exposing forgeries but, as Bob Akers, Principal Lecturer-in-charge of Bookbinding and Paper Conservation at Camberwell School of Art, explains, the information they provide may sometimes be unreliable. Here he gives the reasons why and traces the history of these fascinating 'hidden designs' from the thirteenth century until the present day.
by Bob Akers
Collectors of maps, prints and drawings on early paper always want to know the value of watermarks in dating works of art and their use in exposing forgeries but, as Bob Akers, Principal Lecturer-in-charge of Bookbinding and Paper Conservation at Camberwell School of Art, explains, the information they provide may sometimes be unreliable. Here he gives the reasons why and traces the history of these fascinating 'hidden designs' from the thirteenth century until the present day.
MOST MAP COLLECTORS will be familiar with watermarks, those interesting and often artistic distinguishing marks that are only fully revealed when paper is held up against the light.
Their study can prove fascinating especially as the significance of the numerous ancient symbols used for watermarks often remains a mystery. It is sometimes suggested that the watermark designs on old papers possess hidden meanings connected with religion, folklore or mysticism.
Unfortunately, the term watermark is rather misleading. A more accurate description is provided by the earlier English term 'papermark' and the French 'filigrane'. Paper is marked in the course of making: the designs are shaped from fine wire and sewn to the surface of the paper maker's mould on which the sheet is formed and lifted from the vat. The wire acts as a form of matrix, the impression of which is formed in the paper. The resulting difference in the thickness of the paper produces the translucent watermark image which appears in delicate light lines on a darker background.
[Click on image for watermark examples]
The year the first watermark appeared is still open to some doubt but it is generally agreed that they first started to appear in Italian paper towards the end of the thirteenth century and quickly spread throughout Europe. The earliest known water¬mark appears in an Italian paper made in Bologna in 1282. It represents a pomme cross with small circles at the ends of the arms of the cross and a large one at the centre.
The original purpose of the watermark remains obscure although a number of different theories exist. One theory suggests that early watermarks were used by heretical paper makers as symbols for religious propaganda or were used by mystical groups to carry signals with hidden meanings. It is also suggested that watermarks sewn to the surface of each mould made it easier for the paper maker to identify each matching pair of moulds. This, however, seems a very elaborate and expensive method of marking for identification when numbers attached to the side of each mould would have obtained the same result. A more acceptable explanation is that paper makers, who in the Middle Ages made and sewed the watermarks on to their own moulds, considered their work as an art and formed the various designs to satisfy their own artistic natures. They were paper makers by trade and the mark of their trade was the watermark, used at a time when only stone-masons, mint-masters and goldsmiths were entitled to mark their products in a similar way. Whatever particular theory is correct some of the countless variations of the symbols and devices used by early paper makers may well have had more than one meaning or purpose.
The watermark designs of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were rather primitive. This was probably because the early paper makers lacked the necessary artistic ability, coupled with the difficulty that the wire used to fashion the design was initially of a very heavy gauge, not easily shaped into intricate patterns. During the following centuries the designs grew in complexity as craftsmen took a greater interest in them and began to produce an astonishing richness of shapes and ideas. It is surprising what a wealth of motifs the early paper maker used for his watermarks. The standard source of information on the subject is the four volume work Les Filigranes by Dr. Charles Moise Briquet (1839-1918) the Swiss watermark expert. This monumental work published in 1907 contains tracings of 16,112 European watermarks extend¬ing up to the year 1600 but not including any from Great Britain or Scandinavia. Regrettably there is no comprehensive volume on the subject of the watermarks of paper makers in the British Isles.
It is interesting to note that no watermarks of symbols or devices are found in early Oriental papers. This is accounted for by the fact that the designs shaped from fine metal wire used for European watermarks would not have been possible with the thin and brittle strips of bamboo used by the Chinese in the construction of their paper making moulds.
Engraving from Diderot's encyclopedia showing the construction of a paper mould.
Classification
Watermarks from their early beginnings in the thirteenth century until the latter part of the eighteenth century, when they tended to lose their simplicity, are usually classified into four categories according to their subjects, simple designs or symbols; human beings and human belongings; fruit and vegetation; animals and insects.
Most of the early watermarks were in the form of crosses circles, triangles, ovals, knots and other devices of the simple kind that could be fashioned in wire. Crowns and crosses signifying the power of the state and the church appear frequently in all their forms and variations as part of a watermark. Sun, moon and stars also find their place in an array of patterns.
The second category, human beings and human belongings, includes many thousands of designs. The male figure was rarely used and the female figure usually only appears in mermaid form. Parts of the human body, the head, feet and hands were frequently used. The hand was symbolic of fidelity and labour and was used by the paper makers of various countries as watermarks. The hand often appears surmounted by a cross, star or some other ornament. The works of man embrace agricultural implements and small tools such as shears, spades, swords, pruning hooks and axes. Also used were the everyday things with which the paper maker was most familiar, his waterwheel, scales, tongs and even his cart.
The third category of fruit and vegetation includes such watermarks as flowers, sheafs of wheat, pine cones, grape clusters and acorns. In a number of the old symbols there are combinations of the works of man and vegetation such as a bunch of grapes with a bell or crown.
The fourth category includes animals and legendary beasts as well as snakes, fish, snails, turtles, crabs and most other living creatures. The bull's head and the legendary unicorn were particular favourites.
Makers of early watermarks obviously knew their business and worked within the limitations of the paper making process. Symbols having small circles, long straight lines and solid areas which could have created problems during the forming of the sheet, were usually avoided.
The position of the watermark design in handmade sheets of paper tends to vary considerably . Initially, most watermarks were positioned to appear in the centre of each sheet. When the sheet was folded into folios for bookwork these tended to become concealed in the backfolds of the binding. To over¬come this problem it became customary for the watermark to be positioned in the centre of one half of the sheet with a further watermark called a 'countermark' facing it on the other half of the sheet. The maker's name or cipher may form the main watermark and those of the patron, customer or merchant used for the countermark. Sometimes watermarks are to be found in the corner or edge of a hand-made sheet.
In the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries the motif of the watermark becomes more and more consistently related to the size of the sheet even though the connection may not be apparent. In 1791 maximum level dimensions for paper were introduced in England for Pott, Foolscap, Crown, Medium, Demy, Royal and Elephant. Many of these names have a direct connection with the original watermark design. No other reasonable explanation can be found for such names as Pott and Foolscap. The name Pott was probably derived from the watermark of a pot, tankard or flagon. The original watermark for Foolscap was, as the name suggests, the head of a jester with cap and bells. This is one of the most accepted and obvious examples of the name and size of paper being derived from the original watermark.
Collectors of maps, prints and drawings on early paper always want to know the value of watermarks in dating works of art and their use in exposing forgeries but, as Bob Akers, Principal Lecturer-in-charge of Bookbinding and Paper Conservation at Camberwell School of Art, explains, the information they provide may sometimes be unreliable. Here he gives the reasons why and traces the history of these fascinating 'hidden designs' from the thirteenth century until the present day.
MOST MAP COLLECTORS will be familiar with watermarks, those interesting and often artistic distinguishing marks that are only fully revealed when paper is held up against the light.
Their study can prove fascinating especially as the significance of the numerous ancient symbols used for watermarks often remains a mystery. It is sometimes suggested that the watermark designs on old papers possess hidden meanings connected with religion, folklore or mysticism.
Unfortunately, the term watermark is rather misleading. A more accurate description is provided by the earlier English term 'papermark' and the French 'filigrane'. Paper is marked in the course of making: the designs are shaped from fine wire and sewn to the surface of the paper maker's mould on which the sheet is formed and lifted from the vat. The wire acts as a form of matrix, the impression of which is formed in the paper. The resulting difference in the thickness of the paper produces the translucent watermark image which appears in delicate light lines on a darker background.
[Click on image for watermark examples]
Early Watermarks
The original purpose of the watermark remains obscure although a number of different theories exist. One theory suggests that early watermarks were used by heretical paper makers as symbols for religious propaganda or were used by mystical groups to carry signals with hidden meanings. It is also suggested that watermarks sewn to the surface of each mould made it easier for the paper maker to identify each matching pair of moulds. This, however, seems a very elaborate and expensive method of marking for identification when numbers attached to the side of each mould would have obtained the same result. A more acceptable explanation is that paper makers, who in the Middle Ages made and sewed the watermarks on to their own moulds, considered their work as an art and formed the various designs to satisfy their own artistic natures. They were paper makers by trade and the mark of their trade was the watermark, used at a time when only stone-masons, mint-masters and goldsmiths were entitled to mark their products in a similar way. Whatever particular theory is correct some of the countless variations of the symbols and devices used by early paper makers may well have had more than one meaning or purpose.
The watermark designs of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were rather primitive. This was probably because the early paper makers lacked the necessary artistic ability, coupled with the difficulty that the wire used to fashion the design was initially of a very heavy gauge, not easily shaped into intricate patterns. During the following centuries the designs grew in complexity as craftsmen took a greater interest in them and began to produce an astonishing richness of shapes and ideas. It is surprising what a wealth of motifs the early paper maker used for his watermarks. The standard source of information on the subject is the four volume work Les Filigranes by Dr. Charles Moise Briquet (1839-1918) the Swiss watermark expert. This monumental work published in 1907 contains tracings of 16,112 European watermarks extend¬ing up to the year 1600 but not including any from Great Britain or Scandinavia. Regrettably there is no comprehensive volume on the subject of the watermarks of paper makers in the British Isles.
It is interesting to note that no watermarks of symbols or devices are found in early Oriental papers. This is accounted for by the fact that the designs shaped from fine metal wire used for European watermarks would not have been possible with the thin and brittle strips of bamboo used by the Chinese in the construction of their paper making moulds.
Engraving from Diderot's encyclopedia showing the construction of a paper mould.
Classification
Watermarks from their early beginnings in the thirteenth century until the latter part of the eighteenth century, when they tended to lose their simplicity, are usually classified into four categories according to their subjects, simple designs or symbols; human beings and human belongings; fruit and vegetation; animals and insects.
Most of the early watermarks were in the form of crosses circles, triangles, ovals, knots and other devices of the simple kind that could be fashioned in wire. Crowns and crosses signifying the power of the state and the church appear frequently in all their forms and variations as part of a watermark. Sun, moon and stars also find their place in an array of patterns.
The second category, human beings and human belongings, includes many thousands of designs. The male figure was rarely used and the female figure usually only appears in mermaid form. Parts of the human body, the head, feet and hands were frequently used. The hand was symbolic of fidelity and labour and was used by the paper makers of various countries as watermarks. The hand often appears surmounted by a cross, star or some other ornament. The works of man embrace agricultural implements and small tools such as shears, spades, swords, pruning hooks and axes. Also used were the everyday things with which the paper maker was most familiar, his waterwheel, scales, tongs and even his cart.
The third category of fruit and vegetation includes such watermarks as flowers, sheafs of wheat, pine cones, grape clusters and acorns. In a number of the old symbols there are combinations of the works of man and vegetation such as a bunch of grapes with a bell or crown.
The fourth category includes animals and legendary beasts as well as snakes, fish, snails, turtles, crabs and most other living creatures. The bull's head and the legendary unicorn were particular favourites.
Makers of early watermarks obviously knew their business and worked within the limitations of the paper making process. Symbols having small circles, long straight lines and solid areas which could have created problems during the forming of the sheet, were usually avoided.
The position of the watermark design in handmade sheets of paper tends to vary considerably . Initially, most watermarks were positioned to appear in the centre of each sheet. When the sheet was folded into folios for bookwork these tended to become concealed in the backfolds of the binding. To over¬come this problem it became customary for the watermark to be positioned in the centre of one half of the sheet with a further watermark called a 'countermark' facing it on the other half of the sheet. The maker's name or cipher may form the main watermark and those of the patron, customer or merchant used for the countermark. Sometimes watermarks are to be found in the corner or edge of a hand-made sheet.
In the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries the motif of the watermark becomes more and more consistently related to the size of the sheet even though the connection may not be apparent. In 1791 maximum level dimensions for paper were introduced in England for Pott, Foolscap, Crown, Medium, Demy, Royal and Elephant. Many of these names have a direct connection with the original watermark design. No other reasonable explanation can be found for such names as Pott and Foolscap. The name Pott was probably derived from the watermark of a pot, tankard or flagon. The original watermark for Foolscap was, as the name suggests, the head of a jester with cap and bells. This is one of the most accepted and obvious examples of the name and size of paper being derived from the original watermark.
Dating and Forgeries
Collectors of prints, drawings, maps and other works of historic, scientific or artistic importance based on early paper always want to know the value of watermarks for dating purposes and their use in exposing forgeries. Although watermarks when taken in consideration with other evidence can sometimes prove helpful in exposing forgeries, the information provided by the watermark must for the following reasons be used with caution. Few of the early watermarks bear dates and if they do the date of the mark might not be the same as the date of the printing. It is not uncommon even today for paper to remain for a considerable time at the mill to mature before being sold. It is also possible for a dated watermarked mould to have been used for many years without the date being changed. There was nothing to prevent a well-known water¬mark used on a popular quality paper from being copied by an unscrupulous paper maker. It was also possible for moulds to change hands when a mill closed down and the new owner might have retained the original watermark. For example, a number of old English and other European moulds found their way to North America where they are used by amateur paper makers.
Watermark design sewn to the surface of a laid wire paper making mould.
In order to obtain paper of consistent colour, texture and thickness it was always possible that the printer found it necessary to sort through the makings of different mills and dates. This is the reason why so many different watermarks appear in some early printed books. William Caxton, the first printer in England, never used papers of one watermark design in bis books. To obtain paper of consistent quality he would use from fifteen to twenty papers with different watermarks and various dates and presumably from different mills in Holland. It is uncommon for early watermarks to have any relationship with the purpose to which the paper was to be put. One notable exception is the watermark showing Atlas holding-up the world which appears on the paper made for Blaeu's great atlases of the seventeenth century.
It should be mentioned that attempts are sometimes made to apply false watermarks to prints and maps in order to make them acceptable as one of a rare or valuable set. The practice involves getting a skilled forger to use a small bladed scalpel to carefully scratch away selected surface areas from the back of a print or map to make a transparent image. If the work is skilfully executed it is often difficult to detect with the naked eye. Fortunately, the process damages and breaks the surface fibres of the paper and can usually be recognised as an attempt at watermark falsification when the print or map is closely examined with a magnifying glass.
Watermarking Machine made Papers
Subsequent to the introduction of the continuous paper making machine in the early part of the eighteenth century there were attempts to produce watermarks on machine made paper similar to those that for five centuries appeared in hand made papers. The invention of the dandy roll by John Marshall in 1826 eventually overcame the problem. Nowadays the major part of paper making and consequently watermarking, is done by machine. In simple terms the dandy roll is a hollow roll covered with laid or woven wire to which watermark designs can be attached. The roll is positioned at the wet end of the paper making machine and rides over the surface of the newly formed paper from which most of the water has been drained. It compresses and consolidates the fibres and at the same time can be used to impress the watermark into the surface of the paper. On large dandy rolls the wire design for the watermark usually has to be repeated many times especially when the paper is very wide and is to be cut into smaller sheets.
Watermark designs are fixed to the surface of the dandy roll in much the same way as in the modern hand paper making mould. They are usually soldered in position but if they have to be removed they are sewn in. This allows one dandy roll to be used for several designs.
Watermark images being soldered in position on a wove dandy roll
(By courtesy of Wiggs Teape Group Limited)
Some modern mills produce machine made papers with rubber impressions or dry marks as an alternative to marking in the traditional way with a dandy roller. The design to be used is engraved on firm rubber rollers which are positioned on the dry end of the paper making machine between the drying rollers. The paper is formed and partially dry when the design is compressed into the surface and as a result there is very little displacement of the fibres. A mark with a sharper outline is obtained in this way, but when the sheet is held up to the light the mark is much less easily visible than that of a traditional watermark.
From its early primitive beginnings the watermark has been highly developed in a way which renders the fraudulent reproduction of paper money and security documents almost impossible. The modern technique of light and shade water¬marking (more correctly referred to as Chiarocuro or Shadow watermarking) was invented by William Henry Smith in 1848. This method of watermarking allows degrees of density and lightness to be included in the design so that when held to the light the paper reveals, through its watermark of various thicknesses, an object or form rather similar to a monochrome photographic negative.
The original, which may be an artist's drawing or a photograph, is carefully transferred by incising the image into a smooth thin sheet of prepared wax. Using a process known as electrolysis, an electrotype die is produced which is then chrome-faced for hardness and backed with lead. A second die is made which is an intaglio version of the first to give a male and female die of the image. Only a woven wire can be used and the image is transferred to this by a process of annealing and placing the mould under heavy pressure between the two dies which depress and raise parts of the wire which will cause the paper formed on the wire to be of varying thicknesses to match the design. This technique of water¬marking can reproduce intricate portraits, landscapes and other pictures with pleasing results.
Watermarks, at first thought, may seem comparatively unimportant, but these symbols of art and mystery hidden away for centuries in early papers will forever continue to interest and stimulate collectors of engravings, prints, maps and incunabula.
Further Reading:
COPYRIGHT March 1979 The Map Collector, All rights reserved.
No portion of this article nor the accompanying illustrations can or may be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Collectors of prints, drawings, maps and other works of historic, scientific or artistic importance based on early paper always want to know the value of watermarks for dating purposes and their use in exposing forgeries. Although watermarks when taken in consideration with other evidence can sometimes prove helpful in exposing forgeries, the information provided by the watermark must for the following reasons be used with caution. Few of the early watermarks bear dates and if they do the date of the mark might not be the same as the date of the printing. It is not uncommon even today for paper to remain for a considerable time at the mill to mature before being sold. It is also possible for a dated watermarked mould to have been used for many years without the date being changed. There was nothing to prevent a well-known water¬mark used on a popular quality paper from being copied by an unscrupulous paper maker. It was also possible for moulds to change hands when a mill closed down and the new owner might have retained the original watermark. For example, a number of old English and other European moulds found their way to North America where they are used by amateur paper makers.
Watermark design sewn to the surface of a laid wire paper making mould.
In order to obtain paper of consistent colour, texture and thickness it was always possible that the printer found it necessary to sort through the makings of different mills and dates. This is the reason why so many different watermarks appear in some early printed books. William Caxton, the first printer in England, never used papers of one watermark design in bis books. To obtain paper of consistent quality he would use from fifteen to twenty papers with different watermarks and various dates and presumably from different mills in Holland. It is uncommon for early watermarks to have any relationship with the purpose to which the paper was to be put. One notable exception is the watermark showing Atlas holding-up the world which appears on the paper made for Blaeu's great atlases of the seventeenth century.
It should be mentioned that attempts are sometimes made to apply false watermarks to prints and maps in order to make them acceptable as one of a rare or valuable set. The practice involves getting a skilled forger to use a small bladed scalpel to carefully scratch away selected surface areas from the back of a print or map to make a transparent image. If the work is skilfully executed it is often difficult to detect with the naked eye. Fortunately, the process damages and breaks the surface fibres of the paper and can usually be recognised as an attempt at watermark falsification when the print or map is closely examined with a magnifying glass.
Watermarking Machine made Papers
Subsequent to the introduction of the continuous paper making machine in the early part of the eighteenth century there were attempts to produce watermarks on machine made paper similar to those that for five centuries appeared in hand made papers. The invention of the dandy roll by John Marshall in 1826 eventually overcame the problem. Nowadays the major part of paper making and consequently watermarking, is done by machine. In simple terms the dandy roll is a hollow roll covered with laid or woven wire to which watermark designs can be attached. The roll is positioned at the wet end of the paper making machine and rides over the surface of the newly formed paper from which most of the water has been drained. It compresses and consolidates the fibres and at the same time can be used to impress the watermark into the surface of the paper. On large dandy rolls the wire design for the watermark usually has to be repeated many times especially when the paper is very wide and is to be cut into smaller sheets.
Watermark designs are fixed to the surface of the dandy roll in much the same way as in the modern hand paper making mould. They are usually soldered in position but if they have to be removed they are sewn in. This allows one dandy roll to be used for several designs.
Watermark images being soldered in position on a wove dandy roll
(By courtesy of Wiggs Teape Group Limited)
Some modern mills produce machine made papers with rubber impressions or dry marks as an alternative to marking in the traditional way with a dandy roller. The design to be used is engraved on firm rubber rollers which are positioned on the dry end of the paper making machine between the drying rollers. The paper is formed and partially dry when the design is compressed into the surface and as a result there is very little displacement of the fibres. A mark with a sharper outline is obtained in this way, but when the sheet is held up to the light the mark is much less easily visible than that of a traditional watermark.
From its early primitive beginnings the watermark has been highly developed in a way which renders the fraudulent reproduction of paper money and security documents almost impossible. The modern technique of light and shade water¬marking (more correctly referred to as Chiarocuro or Shadow watermarking) was invented by William Henry Smith in 1848. This method of watermarking allows degrees of density and lightness to be included in the design so that when held to the light the paper reveals, through its watermark of various thicknesses, an object or form rather similar to a monochrome photographic negative.
The original, which may be an artist's drawing or a photograph, is carefully transferred by incising the image into a smooth thin sheet of prepared wax. Using a process known as electrolysis, an electrotype die is produced which is then chrome-faced for hardness and backed with lead. A second die is made which is an intaglio version of the first to give a male and female die of the image. Only a woven wire can be used and the image is transferred to this by a process of annealing and placing the mould under heavy pressure between the two dies which depress and raise parts of the wire which will cause the paper formed on the wire to be of varying thicknesses to match the design. This technique of water¬marking can reproduce intricate portraits, landscapes and other pictures with pleasing results.
Watermarks, at first thought, may seem comparatively unimportant, but these symbols of art and mystery hidden away for centuries in early papers will forever continue to interest and stimulate collectors of engravings, prints, maps and incunabula.
Further Reading:
- Charles M. Briquet, Les Filigranes 4 vols. Geneva 1907.
- W.A. Churchill, Watermarks in Paper in Holland. England, France etc. in the 17th and 18th centuries and their interconnection. Amsterdam 1935.
- Dard Hunter,Paper Making. The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft. The Cresset Press, 1957.
- E.J. Labarre, Dictionary and Encyclopaedia of Paper and Paper Making. Second Edition. Swets and Zeitlinger, Amsterdam, 1952.
COPYRIGHT March 1979 The Map Collector, All rights reserved.
No portion of this article nor the accompanying illustrations can or may be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.