The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1895-02-27
STORIES OF PAPER.
HOW WATER MARKS WE'RE MADE AND
WHY THEY CAME INTO USE.

Clever Use Made of Them by ireland In
His shaIespearean Observation-Disclosures
Designs Impressed by the 'sDandy" Roll
er-The Bogus Virgin Mary Letter.
Stories and incidents innumerable are
wound up in the art of paper making,
and its mechanical processes have af-
forded to the ingenious story teller many
chance for thrilling tale.
This is especially true of the system
of placing water marks, so called, in
various brands or makes Of paper.
Perhaps the most interesting true
story which has to do with this branch
Of the industry is that of the famous
''Ireland's Confessions. I"
Ireland had fabricated some Shake
speare manuscripts, which for a long
time were accepted as actual. They
made such an impression indeed that
number of men, famous at that time for
their erudition and for their literary
standing, voluntarily prepared testi-
monial attesting absolute belief in the
authenticity Of the manuscripts. To this
document these men affixed their sigma
lures and sent the paper broadcast.
The whole of the original edition of
the fakes was disposed of in few hours,
and SO great was the eagerness for the
edition that single copies were disposed
of in auction rooms at enormous prices.
Some time after that Ireland himself
threw these gentlemen into much sor-
row by explaining just how he had had
fun with them.
Ireland's story was that the sheet Of
paper which he used was the outside Of
had been kept during the reign of
Charles /. At that time Ireland was
wholly unacquainted with the subject
of water marks.
81 carefully selected, "says he, 1.-TWO
half sheets not having any mark what
ever, on which penned my first effu-
sion. A few pages further on he wrote:
Being thus urged forward to the pro-
duction of more manuscripts, 1t became
necessary that should possess a sufh-
cient quantity of old paper to enable me
to proceed, in consequence of which
applied to bookseller, who, for the
sum of shillings, suffered me to take
from all the folio and quarto volumes
in his shop the fly leaves which they
contained.
''By this means was amply stored
with that commodity, nor did I fear
any mention of the circumstances by
the bookseller As was fully aware,
from the variety of water marks which
are in existence at the present day. that
they must have constantly been altered
since the period of Elizabeth, and being
for some time wholly unacquainted with
the water marks of that age, livery care
fully produced my first specimens of the
writing on such sheets of old paper as
had no mark whatever.
"Having heard it frequently stated
that tho appearance Of such marks on
the papers would have greatly tended to
establish their validity, l listened to
every remark that was made on tho sub
ject, and at length CLEANED the intelli-
gence that jug was the prevalent wa
ter mark of the reign Of Elizabeth, in
consequence of which l inspected all
the sheets of old paper then in my pos
session, and having selected such as had
the jug on them produced the succeed
ing manuscripts upon these, being care
full, however to mingle with them a
certain number of blank leaves that the
production ON sudden Of so many wa
ter marks might not excite suspicion in
the breasts of those persons who were
most conversant with the manuscripts "
A traveller in Messina was once shown
a letter written by the Virgin Mary
with her own hand He remarked that
it must indeed be a miracle, since the
paper showed by its water mark that 1t
was not made till some centuries after
the age of Mary.
1t is the greatest mystery to most peo-
pie how water marks are made. And
yet the matter is the simplest thing in
the world. In the manufacture Of paper
the pulp, before it has begun to be
dried and after it has been spread on
the moving platform, passes under q
roller called the dandy" On this
dandy is affixed the device which
works the water mark.
1t is of bent wire, and as the roller
presses the paper it presses into it the
mark.
In the same manner most elaborate
designs and even pictures and intricate
representations Of whole battle scenes
have been done from an engraved plate
similar to an electrotype, used In the
same manner ON the dandy roller.
OF course check paper and bank pa
per is the most important variety dis
tinguished by water marks. In pair of
e5 note molds prepared by the old proc
ess there are curved borders, 16
figures. 1853 large waves and 240 letters,
which had all to be separately secured
by the finest wire to the curved surface.
There were 1866 wires and 67, 584
twists and the Same repetition where
the stout wires were introduced to sup
port the under surface
In ancient times the water marks
were used for the same purposes as the
old inn signs The old inns had dolls
and beehives, horses and various other
forms as signs. For the same reason the
paper makers had some distinguishing
mark which made their product distinct
from that Of other makers.
A very famous mark Of the sixteenth
century was the handmark-a hand top
ped with etar. The jug or pot mark
gave the name to the "pot" paper, while
the foolscap mark used ON paper of
certain size gave that size its name,
which it retains to this day.
The post paper was SO called because
it bore mark Of shield with a post
horn ON it.-London Letters.
A Delicate Distinction.
Ibid you say you wanted Shake