Figure 45. — Handmade-paper mill. The vat man (center background) 

 dips the mold into the vat of dilute pulp, forming the sheet of paper. The screw- 

 press in the foreground is being loaded with alternate sheets of newly formed 

 paper and felt. Excess water is being squeezed from the stack of paper and 

 felts in the press in background. From Louis Figuier, Les Merveilles de r Industrie 

 (Paris, 1873?), v °l- 2 - 



five sheets well separated on ropes or poles to dry, 

 and after drying;, such paper as had to be used .is 

 writing paper had to be sized by dipping into a vat of 

 warm liquid animal size or gelatine, and again dried 

 and finished by pressing between I maids, sheets of 

 copper or zinc or polished pasteboards known as 

 fullers boards. The highest grades were dried by hot 

 pressing, by heated plates of iron at certain distances 

 apart in every post being pressed. After all of this the 

 sheets, sheet by sheet, had in the finishing room to go 

 through the hands of inspectors, mostly women, who 



with an erasure would remove specks and knots, 

 rejecting what was called retrieve and that generally 

 amounted to about a quire to every ream put up, 

 which was divided and pi. iced on each side of the 

 ream. Now, we have no retrieve, every parcel ol 

 paper put up is perfect according to its grade and 

 instead of an average time in favorable weather of 

 say eight days from the vat for writing papers, now 

 from the same point, prepared pulp, an order may 

 be taken for any desired thickness, size and finish, 

 and within an hour from starting the paper machine, 



103 



