The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-09-13
FAMoUs ANp uNIouE PAPER.
Bank of England Notes and the Paper on
Which They Are Printed.

Aanh oh england Notes and the Paper on
Which They Are Printed.
Paper World.
The paper used for printing the Bank of Eng
lana notes has always been made by the Portal
family, whose ancestor came over from Bor-
deauX after the revocation of the edict of Nantes
bringing with him the art of making fine paper
which, like those of silk weaving and dyeing
scarlet was up to that time unknown in Eng
land Except by burglary, it is absolutely inn
possible to obtain scrap of the beautifully
water-marked paper produced at the mill at
Layerstoke Every piece of this paper is reg
lstered before 1t is removed from the frame, an
account is Kept by locked dial and every dam
aged note is accounted for before being ground
up again into pulp. Mr. Portals paper has
potential value, quite apart from its worth
merely as paper, for it has always been regarded
as so essential to a passable forgery that the
world at large felt perfectly easy regarding any
attempts TO impose on them through the
medium of the Bank of England This paper
it IS, perhaps needless to tell anyone-is quite
UNIQUE Tested by touch, it emts crisp,
crackllng sharp sound, and in color it has been
described as neither blue-wove nor yellow
wore, nor cream-laid, but white of hue that can
be compared with no other white" The three
deckled edges show the natural boundary of the
pup when first nodded The fourth is left
smooth by the knife which cuts the notes in
twain The paper is tough-so tough indeed
tnaI after the addition of one grain of size it
viii hold weight of sixty pounds without tear
ing Yet the quantity of fibre in five pound
note Is not more than eighteen and a half grains
ana the sheet is SO thin that erasures are often
times found to be extremely difficult
but what constitutes the main safeguard of
the bank is the water" or, more properly the
wire mark, that transparent design which can
pc instantly detected when the paper is held up
between the eve and the light This device is
OBTAINED, as all water-marks are, by twisting
wires to the desired shape, and sticking them
on the face of the mold, so that when the pulp
scales down, 1t must of necessity be thinner on
the wire design than on the other parts of tho
sheet. The water is then permitted to run
through the sieve-like face the mould and the
sheet OF paper in embryo ''couched' by the
mould being gently but firmly pressed upon
blanket to which this sponsy sheet clings. Siz-
ing IS a subsequent process so that when dry
the water-mark is plainly SEEN being transpar-
ent where the substance is dryest The water
mark IS secured to the bank by virtue of special
ACT OF Parliament, so that, apart from the pains
ana penalties which attach to any attempt to cir
culate forged notes, 1T is very risky game to
initiate even the trademark of this most inn
portant monetary institution in the world.
The largest amount of bank note in circula-
ton In 1927 was FL. 000 1t is said that two
notes for 100000 each and two for 100000
each were once engraved and issued butcher
VINO had amassed an immense fortune in the
war times, went one day with one of these
t3O,OO0 notes to a private banker, asking for the
loan OF $4,000, and wishing to deposit the big
note as security in the bankers hands, saying he
had kept it for years. The Is. 600 was handed
over, but the banker hinted at the same Time
to the butcher the folly Of hording such a cum
and losing the interest
Very true sir replied the butcher, 'but /
likes to look ont so very well that / have tother
one OF the same kind at home" An eccentric
gentleman in London framed bank-nost bill for
900. and exhibited it for FIVE years in one of
his sitting rooms. The fifth year he died, when
the picture was at once cashed by his heirs.
Some years ago. at a nobleman's house near
Hyde Park. dispute arose about certain
passage in Scripture and a dean who was pres
ent fienying that there any such text. a
Bible was called for. When it was opened a
mari ter was found in it which on examination,
PROVED to be a bank-post bill for 100000. 1t
might possibly have been placed there as re-
proafh to the son, who, perhaps, did not consult
the Bible so often as his mother could have
wished.