WHAT IS A WATERMARK

Watermarks

Watermarks are simply impressions made in the paper during the manufacture process. In the case of most of the documents dating to the early 1800s and before, the paper used is hand laid. In this process the paper is made on a wire mesh screen the impression of which can be seen on the paper (see photo right).

The water mark is made by wire being added to the screen in the shape desired. These marks can identify the manufacturer of the paper as well as the time period when the paper was made. The can also help document collectors (and even art collectors) identify forgeries.

While I'm on ths subject of watermarks I would like to speak a bit about paper. The paper used on most of the early documents I collect is hand laid but documents printed or written after 1757 CAN be on wove paper. The photo to left shows the difference in the appearence of these two forms of paper. Wove paper did not come into wide use until after 1807.

You will hear early paper often refered to as "rag" paper and much of it was actually made from ground up cotton rags.

Paper made from rags holds up very well and documents from the 1700 and even eariler are often not near as fragile as their age would suggest. They should still be handled with care of course. On the other hand modern paper is made usually from wood pulp and does not hold up as well. Because of this Newspapers printed before the civil war when rag paper was used are more common often than the ones printed in the years following the civil war when pulp paper (cheaper) was used. Newspapers from the post civil war period into the early 20th century are often very brittle and can crumble when handled.

Rag paper can be either hand laid or wove.