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Dear Jan (and others),
I have studied almost carefully the paper production and its market
in Europe, Italy and particularly in Naples between the half of the
XVIII and the half of the XIX centuries.
See the chapter "Supporti e filigrane" in V.V., L'Italia nei
manoscritti dell'Officina Topografica, Napoli 1985, pp. 35-58 with
25 watermarks (true size!) eight of them from english wove paper from
elephant size, unknown before that publication
and
V.V., Carta per le Carte. Filigrane dall’Archivio dell’Istituto
Geografico Militare, «L’Universo», LXXVII (1997), pp. 119-132.
For that researches I was also in contact with some expert members of
the International Association of Paper Historians (http://
www.paperhistory.org/index.html) who published with the Paper
Publications Society in Amsterdam several striking volumes on the
paper production all along Europe (Monumenta Chartae Papyraceae,
which are to be consulted).
As it is clear from the historical data so far known, before the half
of the XVIII century, wove paper was absolutely unknown to European
countries. The first publication on wove paper seems to have been a
Virgil printed in 1757 (http://www.wovepaper.co.uk/wove.html).
For that reason any print on wove paper might not be physically
printed before, we may say, 1750! It is a matter of fact.
If we find a print on wove paper signed on the plate " XY sculpsit
1643" it means at the most that the original copperplate was engraved
by the artist XY in 1643 but the print has been done after the half
of the XVIII century. No doubt on this.
As a great deal of copperplates have survived decades and centuries
(and still survive) it is almost easy that we may find on the market
and on Libraries prints pulled starting from the time of the
engraving up to the present days.
As an example, I may refer to the exceptional collection of
copperplates kept in the former Calcografia Camerale in Rome
(nowadays Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica http://
www.grafica.arti.beniculturali.it/, the richest collection of
copperplates in the world) who printed copperplates by Piranesi
(second half XVIII c.) till to the first half of the XX century. The
Istituto Geografico Militare Italiano (http://www.igmi.org/) who has
the richest collection in the world of cartographical copperplates
(several hundreds), drew prints from their collection up to 1930's.
Thus we may find in the market copies of sheets from the "Carta
geografica del Regno di Napoli, engraved in 1788 but printed on paper
produced in 1930, with railways tracks on them.
A question: are they fakes?*
The history of your copy, dear Jan, has to be placed within this frame.
vladimiro
*No, according to me, it is another matter.
Il giorno 22/ago/09, alle ore 16:03, Jan Rybar ha scritto:
Dear Sirs,
just to briefly follow up on my question about the "mysterious"
paper - I cannot send the Hollar´s long view of Prague, as it is
just being restored. But I enclosing a photo of the only print I
was able to find in my collection which has similar paper, eg
without any chains or visible lines... It is also very strange, as
the impression is nearly perfect and I cannot believe that this
could be printed later then, say, 1700. I came across plenty of
similar later prints which are much more worn out and printed on
newer paper.
If you magnify the photo, you can at least partly see the structure
of the paper.... (and I do not believe the the print "fit" by a
chance just between two lines that were cut off...)....
I would be much obliged for you comments...
Thank you!
Sincerely,
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