Handmade Laid
Support: Antique laid paper, sized, by the papermaker Benjamin Malherbe, de Cirey (now Cirey-sur-Vezouzes); paper factory established in 1796. The motif of the beehive might be a pun on the name of the town Cirey (cire = French for "wax"). Media: Black pen and ink. Manuscript letter dated 25 Vendémiaire de l’An 6 (16 October 1797), Paris, written by the chemist and politician Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau (1737 – 1816) to the École Polytechnique on using air balloons for military and mapmaking purposes. From Box 5, Folder 8.
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EnlargeTransmitted light photograph with the verso (back of the letter) face up shows the watermark, a beehive, and the countermark with the initials of the French republic (RF) and the name of the papermaker, B. Malherbe.
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The same image, processed through the website retroReveal. retroReveal's software passes the source image through various color spaces -- which brings forth or pushes back various visual elements -- then automatically recombines the broken out color spaces into a single black and white image that shows the watermark more clearly. As in the original transmitted light photograph, however, the writing media is still very present, affecting the watermark's legibility.
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EnlargeTransmitted light photograph after the first Photoshop processing step, to minimize the visibility of the media.
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EnlargeTransmitted light photograph after the second Photoshop processing step, to increase contrast and render the watermark even more legible.
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EnlargeSame exact image as previous, but with a ruler added to the image to provide a reference.
Handmade Wove
Support: Handmade wove paper by the English papermaker J. Budgen (referenced in W. A. Churchill, Watermarks in Paper, p. 48). A 1757 edition of Virgil by the English printer John Baskerville is the first documented use of wove paper; the Montgolfier paper mill started making wove paper in 1777. Media: Pen and ink. Manuscript letter, undated. From Box 4, Folder 6.
Machine Made Laid
Support: Machine made laid paper. Media: Black printing ink. Printed wedding invitation from the families Chevreau and Billereau. The groom, René Chevreau, was an aviator and lieutenant in the French Army (Lieutenant d’Artillerie-Aviateur). This paper, with its watermark, may have been specially made as wedding invitation stationery. Paris, March 1912. From Box 3, Folder 14.
