If Printer Paper Is The Standard Paper That Is Used Now, What Was The Basic Paper 50 Or More Years Ago?

[andreasn]

I'm not sure if this really belongs here or in pen history, so feel free to move it if it doesn't belong here.

 

was the common paper used in the first half of the 20th century more friendly for fountain pens? and what type was common back then? How about earlier than that, in the 19th century for example. Is there any equvivalent to the paper back then, now? or is it even still available, just as it was then?

 

maybe some of the older members of the site can tell us.

[FOUR X FOUR]

I don't have a clue, I'll just say that I think this is a very good question

[FOUR X FOUR]

My guess would be that the paper used a 100 years ago was FP friendly for a different reason than today. I imagine the paper back then was of a much heavier stock.

[Studio97]

I have some old paper documents from WWII era and older. The paper was heavier because it had to withstand old style heavy duty typewriters like Underwood and Remington. Tablets for letter writing by hand were lighter paper in general but heavy enough to withstand decades of storage. In some cases documents were typed on onion skin paper which still appeared heavier to me than onion skin paper from the 60s and 70s.

[praxim]

Looking back at some old family documents, it varied wildly. Sometimes heavier, maybe embossed edge, note paper but often quite light and thin, akin to Tomoe River. It was partly a matter of what one thought might look elegant to the recipient, thin leaves for letters or heavier for gracious notes or invitations. If sending by air mail, lightness was essential to keep the cost down at the time. Standard office pads wrote well because pens were used; maybe 70 gsm?

 

Every one of those written documents were with a pen, so all of them worked well for the ink.

[erpe]

From the few old letters I have dating around 1900, I would say the paper was thicker, maybe in the area of 80-90 gsm but also the ink was different, maybe more iron gal types. Interesting question though.

The answer might be in Nicholas Basbanes' "On paper" which is unfortunately still on my night table to read stack.

Edited July 18, 2016 by erpe

[zwack]

Hmmm, unfortunately my copy of a book on the history of the book and printing trades in Scotland isn't here. It does have an essay on Paper manufacturing in it, and I know that it would at least have had sufficient detail in it to give a reasonably detailed answer.

 

So, given that I can't really answer in great detail you might want to look at this website... This is specific to British paper making as is my answer.

 

http://baph.org.uk/ukpaperhistory.html

 

Prior to 1757 Paper was Laid so it would have had very obvious ridges running down the length of it.

 

Prior to the mid nineteenth century all paper was rag paper.

 

The first machine made paper wasn't made in the UK until the start of the nineteenth century.

Edited July 18, 2016 by zwack

[zwack]

As for the question of whether any of these forms of paper are still available...

 

Twinrocker http://www.twinrocker.com/index.htm make laid rag paper by hand, and I am sure that they are not the only ones.

 

http://www.st-armand.com/English/E02d-Drawing.php is another hand paper maker...

 

https://cycleback.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/identifying-and-dating-paper/ has some nice examples of what some of these terms mean and what they will look like.

[andreasn]

From the few old letters I have dating around 1900, I would say the paper was thicker, maybe in the area of 80-90 gsm but also the ink was different, maybe more iron gal types. Interesting question though.

The answer might be in Nicholas Basbanes' "On paper" which is unfortunately still on my night table to read stack.

 

Thank you so much for telling me that book exists! It's the perfect book for me! Thank you.

[Conan the Grammarian]

I have some older papers ('40s through '60s) from my dad's estate and some of them are pretty thin. He used to use onionskin paper for typed documents and anything for which he made carbon copies (i'm that old and he was that old fashioned). I'm guessing that depending upon the use, different papers were standard. He had a stash of 100% rag that he told me to use for resumes.

 

When I got him to switch to a computer and printer, he used printer paper for everything.

 

The father of a friend of mine sold paper back in the day ('70s and '80s). He told me that he was required by the federal government to account for all of his 100% rag sales, due to counterfeiting.

 

Rather than learning to differentiate papers and stocking different papers today, I think we just reach for what's available. And since most office and home documents are printed now, we've gotten used to using printer paper as our go-to for everything. I've never worked in an office that stocked anything but 25% rag letterhead and printer paper. And lately, most offices I've worked in have a Word template for letterhead and stock only printer paper.

[zwack]

I do remember buying typing paper in the UK in the 1980s. There were several different options at the time... very lightweight paper (think 52 gsm TR), standard paper was like "printer paper" there were also heavier papers, useful for resumes...

 

For correspondence you would usually use letter paper from a pad, or airmail paper if it was going to be sent abroad... You could also get cotton paper if you wanted to be fancy... And this was all the sort of thing you could get in your local high street stationary store.

Edited July 24, 2016 by zwack

[sidthecat]

I have some old family documents dating from the 1920s to the 1960s, more-or-less. Much of it is on thin papers like onionskin, reflecting the cost of postage. The papers mostly have smooth surfaces and I suspect some rag content, which makes for a more durable product than the cheaper wood pulp. Wood pulp is the reason 20th century books fall apart so quickly. Rich people had their own stationery made, and your class could be determined by the quality of your business card. Linen laid papers were considered the nicest (made, I suppose, from the underwear of upper-class schoolgirls). The paper they use to make money is still made from rag, but is slowly being replaced by plastic.

I used to do animation, and Disney had the best paper: 100% rag with a slight tooth; great with pencils but surprisingly FP-friendly. Sometimes you'll see it in animation galleries: it has a distinctive cream cast and three strange holes on the bottom. Most of Tim Burton's best work was done on Disney paper - on company time, I suspect.

[Jordan N]

During the 70s and early 80s, the basic paper was paper for typewriters. Very often, it was watermarked and almost always fountain pen friendly. (Most of typed documents were signed by fountain pen.) The onionskin paper was intended for carbon copies. If you needed multiple copies, you would use carbon paper and onion paper. The idea of onion paper was to allow you to type more carbon copies at the same time. However, "the original" (1st copy) was never typed on onion paper.

 

Other that that, it was possible to buy special paper and envelopes for personal letters. It was impolite to type personal letters. That paper was also fountain pen friendly. It was also possible to buy special, light paper for air mail. Again - fountain pen friendly.

[tamiya]

BiTD wrote with Quink (& cheaper) on all types of typing paper ('cos it's nicked from typewriter desk) and never remember seeing anything that feathered

 

perhaps it's the SolvX in Quink

 

Also often wrote with a blotter to hand but seldom used it... blotters were given away free by Big Pharma BiTD and being a medico family on receiving end of tons of drug samples, we had tons lying about, most stayed inkfree. They mostly ended up getting used as cup coasters or folded into furniture leg wedges to solve rocking table.

[Sasha Royale]

In 1966, I learned "touch typing", in preparation for college. The high school typing class used the Smith Corona typewriter. The paper, we were instructed to buy from the school book store, came in cardstock folders and in pads. It was heavier than today's 20#. There was some "rag" content that gave the paper texture. I have always written with a light touch, and the texture made ballpoint pen use easy. The name "MEADE" (?) comes to mind.

[wjeverly]

Last weekend I found two boxes of Southworth Racerase typewriter paper in a local thrift store. (250 sheets each) It's very thin, only 16lb, but 25% cotton fiber content. I had no way of telling how old it is, but I was curious so I bought one box, brought it home and tried it out, and went back and bought the other box. I use only extra-fine nibs, so that helps, but I was surprised and pleased that the paper handled my pens very well.

 

I have no idea what I'm going to do with it yet. I printed some light lines on several sheets - though my Canon printer did not like the thin typewriter paper at all!

 

Here's a sample with the pens I currently have inked:

Edited August 2, 2016 by wjeverly

[Jordan N]

Last weekend I found two boxes of Southworth Racerase typewriter paper in a local thrift store. (250 sheets each) It's very thin, only 16lb, but 25% cotton fiber content. I had no way of telling how old it is, but I was curious so I bought one box, brought it home and tried it out, and went back and bought the other box. I use only extra-fine nibs, so that helps, but I was surprised and pleased that the paper handled my pens very well.

 

I have no idea what I'm going to do with it yet. I printed some light lines on several sheets - though my Canon printer did not like the thin typewriter paper at all!

 

 

Old typewriter paper is not printer friendly, they didn't expect that paper to be use with automatic feeding systems. However, I'm satisfied with Southworth Quality Bond Paper. It's printer friendly, but ok for fountain pens.

[wjeverly]

Old typewriter paper is not printer friendly, they didn't expect that paper to be use with automatic feeding systems.

 

So I've learned

 

... However, I'm satisfied with Southworth Quality Bond Paper. It's printer friendly, but ok for fountain pens.

 

I have several remnants of various Southworth papers that I've picked up in thrift stores, yard sales, etc. I print it out with light lines, in various formats, colors, and sizes. It's a great way to source premium paper, perfect for fountain pen uses.

[wastelanded]

I bought a box of Southworth 25% Cotton Business Paper from Staples last year. It's very good with fountain pen ink, lots of shading. A dear friend of mine uses this paper with dip pens and loves it.

 

I had a sample of the 100% Cotton version. It's also good, but has much more tooth. Fans of G. Lalo would like it.

 

Re: back in the day. I have a largish collection of letters written to my grandparents. Most of them are written on what is slightly thicker than onionskin. I imagine that was the way to get more pages in the envelope without going overweight for postage. No feathering or bleeding to be seen on any of them.

[wjeverly]

Last weekend I found another box of vintage typing paper at the local Goodwill store. It was a box of 500 sheets completely full, but no cover, so no information. But there is a watermark on the paper identifying it as "Eaton's Corrasable Bond Cotton Fiber Content". I got it for $4.50, and found someone selling an identical box on ebay for $50!

 

When I got it home I pulled the top sheet off and tried it out with all 11 pens I currently have inked up, and it was great! No bleed-through, no feathering, the lines are all EF just like they're supposed to be.

 

So I printed several sheets with light lines (printer will only take one at a time) and then started writing on one and was shocked: What had been a nice EF line on the first sheet was at least a medium on the second sheet... and the third, and the fourth, and the fifth... completely unusable for my purposes.

 

The watermarks are the same on all the sheets, but there's something different about that first sheet from all the rest I've tried so far. Glad I only wasted $5...