Adaptation: Early papermaking in Italy, 1264

Italy had no previous tradition of paper manufacture, and the need to improvise appears to have led to a series of transformational innovations. The most important of these was the mechanisation of the production process. In particular, the fulling mill, which had been developed previously for processing wool, was adapted to drive the fibrillation or pulping process, significantly cutting labour time and cost.  Second, animal gelatines replaced starch as the binding agent, increasing the durability of the paper and its reception of ink. Third, since bamboo was not available, metal wire was used to construct the screen on which the paper was formed, which opened the possibility of introducing watermarks, which could be varied infinitely to serve as trademarks identifying the origin of the paper. Together, these innovations led Fabriano to dominate first the Italian and then the European paper markets: Italian paper was also exported to south and east as early as 1300.

The video below, from the Museum of Paper and Papermarks in Fabriano, provides a clear account of the main innovations which distinguished Italian papermaking from its predecessors elsewhere. 

Credit: Howard Hotson (May 2019)