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This essay explores the material imperatives of nineteenth-century statistical ambition, at a time when the nature of paper itself underwent rapid change. It expands the concept of paper technologies to include knowledge about the materials themselves, as well as the infrastructures, techniques, and agreements that made it possible for the right kind of paper to be made available for particular purposes. Taking the production of the forms for the Prussian census as a case in point, it argues that the enumeration effort of Prussian census statisticians went far beyond designing a form, collecting information, noting and compiling figures, or creating tables. Paper knowledge to define and control the material substance of the forms mattered as much as political impetus and statistical methods in getting the census right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper was already being used in southwestern Germany before the first paper mills began production there in the late 14th century. But it was the establishment of a local paper industry that made the still relatively new writing material available in large quantities. The demand for paper made the operation of a paper mill seem profitable, and the increased supply of paper in turn fueled the rise in writing. At the end of the Middle Ages, paper thus became the material basis of a media evolution that extended far into modern times. But how was the new writing material produced? The new craft of papermaking differed significantly from the production of parchment, the traditional writing material, in terms of equipment, raw materials, capital requirements, and working methods. Nevertheless, papermaking could use already existing infrastructures, especially in the field of energy supply by waterwheels. This article examines the specific characteristics of the new craft using the example of the German southwest, where numerous paper mills were established in the 15th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemp is a primary substance for papermaking, having been used for 2,000 years in this capacity. In the 20th century wood pulp came to replace hemp and other long fibres, and this has been an environmental disaster. Recent efforts to re-introduce hemp fibres into paper pulp are under way, with a number of writing papers having been manufactured in Europe and North America. However, most of these were done in small batches. Most papermills in southeast Asia produce 500,000 tons or more annually, whilst mills in the West tend to be small, specialty paper mills. Hemp is used rather consistently for fine papers, including cigarette paper and cosmetic tissue paper, but writing paper may continue to be made from trees until we run out and are forced to use other material. One large papermill in Germany, Gmund (which is distributed in the UK by The Hemp Shop) is starting to catch up, with a number of different papers including writing paper now being made in increasingly larger batches. A number of other companies are also offering hemp papers, ranging from writing paper to wallpaper. Part of the issue is the fact that the hurd, which is lower in cellulose content that the bast, can be used for paper, as demonstrated by the US government in the early 20th century. doi:10.1300/J237v12n02_08 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article informs that mass deacidification technology in Germany and its quality control. European archives and library preservation officers today are able to choose among several commercial companies providing mass deacidification services according to different systems. To develop a holistic deacidification programme, they have to be able to evaluate which collection materials should be subjected to such a mass treatment. Until recently, there has been no meaningful analytical procedure for evaluating the efficacy of mass deacidification treatments. Common tests provided only limited information and required destructive analysis on extensive sample material. None of these tests can predict the chemical stability or ageing properties of paper.