Whatman plc: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Paul Sandby - A View of Vinters at Boxley, Kent, with Mr. Whatman's Turkey Paper Mills - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''Mr. Whatman's Turkey Paper Mills'' by [[Paul Sandby]] (1794)]]

The papermaker [[James Whatman (papermaker)|James Whatman]] the Elder (1702–1759) founded the Whatman papermaking enterprise in 1740 in [[Maidstone]], [[Kent]], England. He made revolutionary advances to the craft in England and is credited<ref name=bywho/> as the inventor of [[wove paper]] (or Vélin), an innovation used for high-quality art and printing. His son, James Whatman the Younger (1741–1798), further developed the company's techniques.<ref name="Roberts">{{cite book|last1= Roberts|first1= Matt T.|last2= Etherington|first2= Don|title= Bookbinding and the conservation of books: A dictionary of descriptive terminology|url= https://archive.org/details/bookbindingconse0000robe|publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office|isbn= 978-0-8444-0366-3|chapter= Whatman, James (1741–1798)|date= 2011-11-19|accessdate= 2016-09-02|url-access= registration}}</ref> At a time when the craft was based in smaller [[paper mill]]s, Whatman innovations led to the large-scale and widespread industrialisation of paper manufacturing.

[[John Baskerville]] (1707-1775), who needed paper that would take a light impression of the printing plate, approached Whatman; the resultant paper was used for the edition of [[Virgil]]'s poetry, embellished with Baskerville's typography and designs.<ref name="Roberts"/> The earliest examples of wove paper, bearing his [[watermark]], appeared after 1740.<ref name="NGA">{{cite web|url= http://nga.gov.au/Conservation/Watermarks/listing.cfm|title= Watermark and countermark library|year= 2010|work= Conservation|publisher= [[National Gallery of Australia]]|accessdate= 2010-11-29}}</ref>

The Whatman [[business]] is credited with the invention of the wove wire mesh used to mould and align pulp fibres.<ref name=bywho>{{Cite webODNB|title=Whatman, James (1702–1759), paper maker|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-40776|access-date=2020-08-30|websiteyear=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/40776|last1=Baker|first1=Anne Pimlott}}</ref> This is the principal method used in the mass production of most modern paper. The Whatmans held a part interest in the establishment at Turkey Mill, near Maidstone, after 1740;<ref name=EarlyYears/> this was wholly acquired through the elder Whatman's marriage to Ann Harris.<ref name=bywho/>

"Handmade" paper bearing the Whatman's mark continued in production for special editions and art books<ref name="Roberts" /> until 2002.<ref name=Chalmers>{{cite journal|first= Mark|last= Chalmers|title= Whatman - Springfield Paper Mill, Maidstone|journal= Archive|issue= 91|date= September 2016|pages= 52–65|publisher= Lightmoor Press|___location= Witney}}</ref>