# Watermarks and Paper Features in Modern Italian Manuscripts: A Digital and Archival Approach

Alberto Campagnolo, Robert G. Erdmann

► To cite this version:

Alberto Campagnolo, Robert G. Erdmann. Watermarks and Paper Features in Modern Italian Manuscripts: A Digital and Archival Approach. 8th International Conference on Watermarks in Digital Collections The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies Reykjavik, Iceland 19-21 June, 2025, The Bernstein Consortium, Commission for Scientific Visualization (VISKOM), Austrian Academy of Sciences (www.viskom.oeaw.ac.at) Tech Gate Vienna, Donau-City Str. 1, A-1220 Vienna, Austria; Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, Jun 2025, Reykjavik, Iceland. hal-05272655

HAL Id: hal-05272655

https://hal.science/hal-05272655v1

Submitted on 22 Sep 2025

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Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Watermarks and Paper Features in Modern Italian Manuscripts: A Digital and
Archival Approach

The ERC-funded PRIMA project, based at the Centre d'Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (CESR), University of Tours, investigates modern manuscript production, with a particular focus on Italian collections from the late 16th century to the end of the 18th century. Despite the widespread assumption that print replaced manuscripts, an overwhelming number of manuscripts continued to be produced during this period, accounting for a significant portion of Italian library holdings. Given the vast scale of this manuscript tradition, our approach prioritises the structured yet selective documentation of laid paper features, including watermarks. While full-scale recording of all paper characteristics is impractical, our methodology ensures the systematic collection of essential data to support research in watermark studies.

In parallel, we will conduct an archival study of paper production and trade, employing an archivist to analyse watermarks and paper features in archival documents from the period. This will include tracing paper and ink acquisition records from family account books and other financial documents, shedding light on the economic networks behind manuscript production.

To enhance our analysis, we are collaborating with Robert Erdmann to apply machine vision and AI tools. His Magic Eraser technology (https://images.erdmann.io/magic_eraser/) will be used to digitally remove ink, allowing for clearer watermark identification. Additionally, a specialised imaging pipeline will be employed to help differentiate between felt and mould sides of paper.

Our findings and dataset will be made available for integration into the Bernstein database, contributing to the broader study of watermarks and historical paper research.
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# WATERMARKS AND PAPER FEATURES IN MODERN ITALIAN MANUSCRIPTS

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## A Digital and Archival Approach

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### Alberto Campagnolo

Senior Researcher, PRIMA ERC project, CESR, University of Tours
Assistant professor, Book Heritage Lab Director, KU Leuven
Editor-in-Chief: Journal of Paper Conservation

alberto.campagnolo@univ-tours.fr

alberto.campagnolo@kuleuven.be

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orcid.org/0000-0002-8672-8400

### Robert G. Erdmann

Advisor, PRIMA ERC project, CESR, University of Tours
Professor, University of Amsterdam

r.g.erdmann@uva.nl

Reykjavik
2025

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The PRIMA project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant agreement No. 101142242.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

<figure><img src="image_10.png" /></figure>

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The project is hosted by the Centre d'Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (CESR), Université de Tours
PRIMA

# Manuscript Culture in the Age of Print (1575-1800)

ERC Advanced Grant

PI: Prof. Elena Pierazzo

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CESR,
University of Tours

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Italian collections

PRIMA

<figure><img src="image_15.png" /></figure>

Funded by
the European Union

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European Research Council
Funded by the European Commission

The PRIMA project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant agreement No. 101142242.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

<figure><img src="image_17.png" /></figure>

université
de TOURS

The project is hosted by the Centre d'Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (CESR), Université de Tours
<figure><img src="image_18.png" /><figcaption>Alberto Campagnolo
Senior researcher</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_19.png" /><figcaption>Serena Carlamaria Crespi
PostDoc researcher</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_20.png" /><figcaption>Carlos González
Associate professor</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_21.png" /><figcaption>Maria Antonia Papa
PostDoc researcher</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_22.png" /><figcaption>Robert G. Erdmann
Professor</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_23.png" /><figcaption>Ambra Stefanello
PhD researcher</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_24.png" /><figcaption>Victoire Muller
Engineer</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_25.png" /><figcaption>Alice Gydé
MA student</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_26.png" /><figcaption>Nina Amambal
Project manager</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_27.png" /><figcaption>Orsetta Baroncelli
Archivist</figcaption></figure>
# Common Narrative about Manuscripts and Print:

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* A one-way narrative: from manuscript to print

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* Print becomes the main medium for cultural dissemination in the 16th century

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* Manuscripts fall into oblivion, except for private use or to evade censorship

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* Palaeography ceases to be a discipline

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* Same for codicology

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* Book history (i.e., the history of printed books) takes over
# Manuscript Collections 1575-1800

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* Manuscripts Produced by Professionals

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* In **abundance**

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* All genres: scientific, theatre, satire, song lyrics, translations, history, manuals

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* Where do they come from? Why were they produced? Who were they intended for? How did they end up being used?
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# Project's objectives

- Study a large number of manuscripts to analyse manuscript culture at a time when it was supposedly no longer present

- Understand materiality through modern codicology

- Understand the evolution of handwriting through modern palaeography (or neography?)

- Understand textuality through the philology of modern manuscripts

- Understand places of production: monasteries, schools, academies...

- Understand the market in relation to literacy and cultural circles

- Understand the audience to rethink the culture of the Italian Ancien Régime
# A layered corpus

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Partner libraries

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18K mss * 70% = 12.600
relevant records

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Existing databases

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156K records

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Filtering and mining

40% ≅ 57K relevant records

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6K records from
Crespi's PhD

- ICCU Manus: 128K records

- Gallica: 1.200 records

- Schöenberg DB: 3K recs

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# Project's objectives

* Study a large number of manuscripts to analyse manuscript culture at a time when it was supposedly no longer present

* Understand materiality through modern codicology

* Understand the evolution of handwriting through modern palaeography (or neography?)

* Understand textuality through the philology of modern manuscripts

* Understand places of production: monasteries, schools, academies...

* Understand the market in relation to literacy and cultural circles

* Understand the audience to rethink the culture of the Italian Ancien Régime
<figure><img src="image_49.png" /></figure>
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<table><thead><tr><th rowspan="2"></th><th colspan="1">-fold</th><th colspan="1">fore-edge→</th></tr><tr><th>inner</th><th>(centre)</th><th>outer</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>head →</th><td>❖</td><td>❖</td><td>❖</td></tr><tr><th rowspan="3">tail →</th><td>top</td><td>❖</td><td>❖</td></tr><tr><td>(middle)</td><td>❖</td><td>❖</td></tr><tr><td>bottom</td><td>❖</td><td>❖</td></tr></tbody></table>

Watermark position on the page

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Watermark position in the gatherings
## Paper sizes

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Papal/Gradual

Imperial

Super-royal/Law-royal

Royal

Super-median

Narrow-median

Median

Super-chancery

Chancery

Half-median

## THE NEEDHAM CALCULATOR 1.0

Diagnose the Category and Format of 15th Century Paper

Enter your paper details

Pages in a Book

A Single Sheet

23

17

The chain lines are

Vertical

Horizontal

https://www.needhamcalculated.net/
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The PRIMA project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant agreement No. 101142242.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
<figure><img src="image_56.png" /><figcaption>Orsetta Baroncelli</figcaption></figure>

- Paper and ink purchases
- Frequency
- Sellers
- Nomenclature

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- Provenance
- Dating
- Usage
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Laid lines

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## twin watermarks

The PRIMA project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant agreement No. 101142242.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

## Watermark Motif description

* Primary Motif

* Secondary Elements

* Correlation Between Motifs

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## Watermark type

* Main watermark

* Countermark

* Third mark

thickness

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Paper for manuscripts v. print

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Poor quality

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The PRIMA project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant agreement No. 101142242.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Title: Corso di riforme pei seminarj fatte da un giovane passionista.

Manuscrit

Date: 1700

Extent: duodecimo [?]

Language: Undetermined [italian]

Period of production: 1601-1700

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<figure><img src="image_71.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_72.png" /></figure>

The PRIMA project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant agreement No. 101142242.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Drag and drop one or more images here for ink removal, or click to select.

<figure><img src="image_73.png" /></figure>

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Made by **Robert G. Erdmann**. Please provide feedback! Images are saved on the server to improve the algorithm.
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https://images.erdmann.io/magic_eraser/

https://images.erdmann.io/send/2401.0218_AFHEPP_PAPIERS_N18_Smilauer_Erdmann.pdf

<figure><img src="image_77.png" /></figure>
Synthesizing
Training
Data
For
A
Neural
Network

<figure><img src="image_78.png" /><figcaption>Random manuscript page</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_79.png" /><figcaption>Extracted region from page</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_80.png" /><figcaption>Extracted ink density (GMM)</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_81.png" /><figcaption>Ink-free watermark image (FPT Project)</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_82.png" /><figcaption>Synthetically inked with ink density</figcaption></figure>
Examples
During
Training

INPUT

OUTPUT

GT

<figure><img src="image_83.png" /></figure>

INPUT: Synthetically inked sample

OUTPUT: Neural Network removes ink

GROUND TRUTH: Original image

INPUT

OUTPUT

GT

<figure><img src="image_84.png" /></figure>
Thank you!

Merci!

Dank u!

Grazie!

Takk fyrir!

# WATERMARKS AND PAPER FEATURES IN MODERN ITALIAN MANUSCRIPTS

PRIMA

<figure><img src="image_85.png" /></figure>

## A Digital and Archival Approach

<figure><img src="image_86.png" /></figure>

### Alberto Campagnolo

Senior Researcher, PRIMA ERC project, CESR, University of Tours
Assistant professor, Book Heritage Lab Director, KU Leuven
Editor-in-Chief: Journal of Paper Conservation

alberto.campagnolo@univ-tours.fr

alberto.campagnolo@kuleuven.be

<figure><img src="image_87.png" /></figure>

orcid.org/0000-0002-8672-8400

### Robert G. Erdmann

Advisor, PRIMA ERC project, CESR, University of Tours
Professor, University of Amsterdam

r.g.erdmann@uva.nl

Reykjavik
2025

<figure><img src="image_88.png" /></figure>

<figure><img src="image_89.png" /></figure>

The PRIMA project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant agreement No. 101142242.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

<figure><img src="image_90.png" /></figure>

<figure><img src="image_91.png" /></figure>

The project is hosted by the Centre d'Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (CESR), Université de Tours
Program

**8th International Conference on Watermarks in Digital Collections**

**The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies Reykjavik, Iceland**

19-21 June, 2025

Thursday 19 June

9:00-10:30: Session 1

* Emanuel Wenger: 20 years of Memory of Paper: 2006-2025

* Silvia Hufnagel, Beeke Stegmann: "Life of Paper" Project Report: Quire Structures and Watermarks in 17th-Century Icelandic Manuscripts

* Luisa Martínez Leal: The Latin American database of underground watermarks

10:30-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-12:30 Session 2

* Maria Stieglecker: Paper mixes and manuscripts

* Alberto Campagnolo, Elena Pierazzo, Robert G. Erdmann: Watermarks and Paper Features in Modern Italian Manuscripts: A Digital and Archival Approach

* Stefaniia Demchuk: Paper, Prestige, and Recipes: Cataloguing Watermarks in Early Modern Cookbooks

12:30-14:00 Lunch break

14:00-15:00 Session 3

* Marie Benešová: Printed versus digital databases of watermarks

* Linus Hartmann-Enke: German Museum of Books and Writing

15:00-16:00 Tour through the manuscript exhibition

19:00 dinner

Friday 20 June

9:00-10:30 Session 4

* Thomas Klinke: Cranach on Paper - An exploration of the graphic oeuvre

* Gloria Boero: Late 19th-early 20th century paper types and uses at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts

* Chiara Palandri, Elisa Albano: Watermarks and Artistic Practices: Drawings by the Neoclassical Artists Andrea Appiani and Giuseppe Bossi in the Brera Academy of Fine Arts Collection

10:30-11:00 Coffee break
11:00-12:30 Session 5

* Rachel Hapoienu: The VSC: a new tool for watermark research at The Courtauld Gallery, London

* Aurora Belli: The Watermarks Project: documenting watermarks from the 17th century Dutch drawings collection at the Rijksmuseum with low-energy X-ray radiography

* Sytske Weidema, Sabine Craft-Giepmans: Innovative watermark research in Dutch drawings: a pilot project at the RKD

12:30-14:00 Lunch break

14:00-15:00 Session 6

* Ibrahim Jabbie: Exploring Watermarks in Historical Sierra Leonean Documents

* Stephanie Gowler, Nicole Finzer: Using multispectral imaging to augment digitized West African manuscripts

15:00 Tour to be confirmed

Saturday 21 June

Excursion to Þingvellir and Skálholt (own expense)

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The Árni Magnússon Institute
for Icelandic Studies

BERNSTEIN

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THE MEMORY OF PAPER