Watermarks & Paper Making

Paper makers in Fabriano developed the use of wire-made signs as identifying marks in the Middle Ages. Today we call these impressions “watermarks”— the papermakers’ logo and calling card. Find out more about the history and development of papermaking and watermarks in some of the oldest medieval paper mills and discover their use in identifying the provenance and production of medieval manuscripts and drawings.  Resources:Fabriano Paper in Library of Congress Collections TM 1181:  Carthusian Ordinarium for the Mass and Office