A Paper History Timeline

Paper has been around for thousands of years. I thought a paper history timeline was the easiest way to present the significant events that have contributed to the history of paper through the ages.

Here is the Paper History Timeline as I see it:

BC2700 Chinese characters conceived; Ts’ang Chieh is credited with the invention.

2200 We see the earliest Egyptian documents on a papyrus paper.

1400 –1300 The earliest actual evidence of writing on bones in Hunan Province China.

400-300 silk was used as a material for writing and books.

The Paper History Timeline continues:

AD105 Ts’ai Lun announces to the emperor of China he invented papermaking, using mulberry and other barks, fish nets, hemp, and rags.

264 Earliest clearly dated paper was found in Loulan by the Swedish explorer Dr. Sven Hedin.

300 Chinese records show paper to be universally accepted as a substitute for bamboo, wood and silk as writing material.

610 Papermaking introduced into Japan from China.

700 Sizing of some paper with gypsum, glue or gelatin made from lichen and starch flour and other sizing agents rendered from grains.

793 First paper made in Bagdad, introduced by Harun-al-Rashid who acquired the skill from Chinese artisans.

900 True paper made in Egypt for the first time, using the methods the Chinese employed.

950 Earliest use of paper in Spain.

1035 The Persian traveler Nasiri Khosrau on a visit to Cairo was astonished to see paper used as wrapping material for vegetables, spices, and hardware making it the earliest recorded instance of packaging.

1102 Earliest use of paper in Sicily.

1109 Earliest existing European manuscript on paper which was a deed of King Rogers written in Arabic and Greek, and Sicily.

1154 Earliest use of paper in Italy.

1228 Earliest use of paper in Germany.

1276 First mention of the Fabriano, Italy, paper mill. This mill is still in operation--a noteworthy event in the Paper History Timeline.

1282 Watermarks used in Europe for the first time. They consisted of simple crosses and circles.

1285 Earliest use of a Fleur-de-lis watermark in paper.

1293 First paper mill in Bologna, Italy.

1309 First use of paper in England.

1322 First use of paper in Holland.

1348 Probably the first mill in the Saint-Julien region of France.

1390 First mill in Germany established by Ulman Stromer.

1420 Papermaking introduced into Kashmir India.

1450-5 Johann Gutenberg’s 42-line Bible is produced.

1468 First printed book on paper in England.

1470 German printer Peter Schoffer produced a poster for a book shop- thought to be the earliest printed poster on paper in Europe.

1495 First paper mill in Hertfordshire, England by John Tate.

1550 Wallpaper introduced into Europe from China.

1580 First ever newspaper to be published by Micael of Isselt in Cologne, Germany.

1591 First paper mill in Dalry Scotland by Mungo Russel and his son Gideon.

1638-9 First printing press set up in North America by Stephen Daye, at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1679 The first Dutch gilt papers, originated in Germany, imported to the New World.

1678 First paper mill in America by William Rittenhouse.

1679 Invention of the Holland Beater, to speed up the processing of rags.

1720 Wooden glazing rolls invented to give paper a smooth surface.

1725 From 1725 to the present day Messre Portal has exclusive rights to manufacture English bank notes.

1757 Woven paper used for the first time in European book printing, although it had already been used for years in China.

1758 First forgery of English bank note--crime makes its appearance in the Paper History Timeline!

1796 First English patent process for embossing paper.

1800 The invention of rosin sizing by Moritz Friedrich Illig.

1806 Henry Fourdriner paper machine invented: the basis for most modern machines today. Manufacturing appears in the Paper History Timeline.

1809 Francis Bailey of Salisbury Pennsylvania received a patent for the Hot Pressing of paper, a method still in use today.

1820 Thomas Bronsor Crompton grated a patent in England for drying cylinders for the paper machine. Previous to this time the semi-moist paper was taken from the machine, cut into sheets, and dried in a loft, as had long been the practice with handmade paper.

1824 First machine for pasting sheets together to cord “cardboard” was invented by John Dickinson.

1829 John Dickinson patented the process for running silk or other thread though a length of paper; a process still used today.

1830 Commercially made sandpaper was produced about this time.

1841 Charles Fenerty, a Nova Scotian, produced in Halifax the first ground wood paper made in the Western Hemisphere.

1842 The artist Will Egley in England produced the original Christmas card.

1843 Earliest safety (security) paper produced in England and was printed on both sides with specialized inks with an all over patterns.

1848 W.H. Smith invents, but fails to patent, light and shade watermarks allowing paper makers to produce portraits and pictures as marks in the sheet.

1850 First use of “ribbed” paper in printing postage stamps in Austria.

1862 Earliest manufacture of tracing paper as a definite commodity for professional use.

1863 Germans used paper as coffee cups.

1869 Paper coffins manufactured in the US, although the Persians had been doing this already for hundreds of years.

1871 Earliest use of toilet paper in a roll form, patented in the USA.

1877 America introduced beveled cards with gold edges, a novelty that captured the American and English trade for several decades.

1893 The largest paper machine in the world started running April 7 at the star mill, Fenniscowles, England.

1896 Electricity used in papermaking for the first time in the US July 10 1896 in the mill of the Cliff Paper Company, Niagara Falls, New York. The Industrial Revolution impacts the Paper History Timeline.

1905 Glassine paper introduced into the US by Olaf Hedstrom.

1907 Medicated papers were in wide use. These antiseptic papers included gout papers, Christy’s chrome-gelatin for bandaging, East India paper plaster for slight flesh wounds, mustard paper and more.

1920 Paper was first made at a speed of 1000 feet a minute on October 23 1920 on a Fourdrinier machine made by Bagley and Sewell.

1934 Largest sheet of paper ever made by hand was formed in Japan; it measured 200 square inches.

1945 There were more then 14,000 different paper products by this time.

1953 Appleton Coated atarted working with the National Cash Register Co. to develop carbonless copy paper.

1957 Wiggins Teape obtain the license to produce Carbonless paper for Europe.

1963 Development of the Inverform; a vertical forming style paper machine in Bristol.

Even though the Paper History Timeline spans thousands of years, the technology of the 21st century will certainly contribute new innovations.

Use the Contact Form if you have comments or questions about the Paper History Timeline.

For a fun family project, read Make Your Own Paper in 10 Easy Steps.

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