United Kingdom · Paper craft; Book arts; Kent heritage
Whatman Handmade Paper — Turkish Mill Tradition
The handmade paper tradition of Turkey Mill, Maidstone, Kent — the mill of James Whatman the Elder and Younger (18th century) where the wove mold (a paper-making mold woven from fine wire rather than laid wires, producing the smooth surface without chain line marks that became the standard for artists' watercolor paper and fine printing paper) was invented around 1757. The Whatman paper maker reads the correct sheet formation quality through a transmitted-light watermark assessment that is the sheet-making counterpart to the Gutenberg Bible conservation transmitted-light assessment (CRAFT-1214) — reading the paper structure in formation rather than conservation.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not listed; British handmade paper on the UK national heritage inventory
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