1492
This is traditionally thought to have been the year when the
Arches Mill was created, although much about its true
origins is still a mystery. The mill was subsequently
purchased and expanded by various local middle-class
(bourgeois) landlords.
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View of the old Arches
mill.
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1500
The paper mill provided the means for producing incunabula
(books of that age), such as Dürer's "Chronicle of
Gutenberg". (Nürnberger Kroniken ??)
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View of the old Arches
mill.
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105
According to legend, paper was first discovered in 105 A.D.
in China by Cai Lun, a noble of the Han Court, who, whilst
observing wasps, saw how they collected plant fibres, ground
them up with their mandibles. With the resulting paste, the
insects would build the walls of their nests. Cai Lun cut
some bamboo stalks, ground them up in water, and then formed
a paste, which he gathered on a sieve and then placed
against a smooth wall in order to enable the moisture to
evaporate. Paper was born.
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751
During the Battle of Talas,, near Samarkand, the secret of
paper production was made known to the Islamic world, as
some of the Chinese prisoners were paper makers.
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A paper maker and his tools -
Manuscript from Kashmir, circa 1850-1860 (India
Office Library and Records, London)
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1469
Our story begins in the Vosges, near Epinal... The first
paper factories were constructed, using converted grain
mills, on the Rupt-de Raon stream, now called Raon-au-bois,
in Arches.
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1470
Other mills were converted for paper production on another
tributary of the Moselle, the Ruy d'Archettes. All of these
mills were collectively known as the Archettes paper
mills.
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1700
The Arches and Archettes mills were resolutely geared
towards the top of the line. Their watermarks are present on
some of the most famous works of the period.
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The "dubbele C" and the crown of
the emperor
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1766
In 1766, the Arches paper mills were sold to Claude CUPERS,
but management problems and difficulties in getting the
enterprise under control caused it to collapse.
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Reproduction of labels placed on
packets of Arches paper, circa 1760
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1775
The buyout of the paper mills by famous writer Caron de
Beaumarchais is a significant chapter in the history of
Arches. In order to promote a work written by his friend
Voltaire, whose works were banned in France, Beaumarchais
acquired the Arches paper mills, as well as a printing house
in Germany, through the help of ostensible intermediary
Jean-François Le Tellier.
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Voltaire
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1784
Beaumarchais was recognized in a deed drawn up by a
solicitor as the real owner of the Arches
factory.
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Beaumarchais
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1788
After an adventure that lasted 13 years, Beaumarchais could
not bring his plan to a successful conclusion due to a lack
of subscribers. Ruined, he sold Arches to the Desgranges
brothers, who were paper makers in Luxeuil. Arches entered
yet another difficult period.
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Document signed by Baron de
Beaumarchais (1789)
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1807-1823
For 15 years, Arches produced two million sheets of paper
that displayed remakably high quality and new formats,
called Eléphants, Grand-Monde and Grande-Egypte,
which was financed by Napoleon I upon his return from his
Egyptioan campaign. The paper bore a special watermark that
comprised these words: "Ancient and Modern Egypt". But the
extraordinary investment required for this publication
ruined Arches, since the Empire did not pay well.
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General vieuw of the
pyramids
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1814-1815
The Cossacks besieged and sacked the factory.
1829
Dennis Couad assumed management of the Arches factory and
finally put it back on the right economic track. His
daughter, Marie-Thérère Morel, succeeded
him.
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1860
Auguste Morel inherited Arches and, forming an association
with Albert Masure and his nephews, the Bercioux, they
created a new factory. This new facility was located just a
few metres from the old unit in order to avoid overly
frequent floods.
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Le Ruy d'Archettes
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1869
The launching of the Ingres MBM paper, developed for design
in collaboration with painter Dominique Ingres, whose
surname is followed by the initials of the three owners
(Morel-Bercioux-Masure). This paper still exists today. At
the time, Arches paper already enjoyed a solid international
reputation. The paper was sold to the coloured print
producers Pellerin dÉpinal, a well-known illustration
company, to the Atelier du Timbre (the first postage stamp
printing company), and also a number of German
publishers.
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Paper tank
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1895
Jules Perrigot, the son-in-law of Albert Masure, became the
sole manager of Arches. He thorougly transformed the factory
in order to propel it into the modern age. A visionary, he
knew how to apply the most modern industrial processes to
paper production. Arches specialized in the production of 3
types of paper, intended for banknotes, watercolours, and
the publications of art books.
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The Arches factory at the turn
of the century
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1900
First universal exposition in Paris: Jules Perrigot
presented his archives here. The cylinder replaced manual
labour at this point, whilst steam accelerated the drying
process.
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Portrait of Jules
Perrigot
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1928
Thanks to the quality of its watermarks, which are
recognised worldwide, Arches began to succesfully produce
currency papers (banknotes....).
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1942
Jules Perrigot died. Etienne, his son, and Alex Carretelet,
Perrigot's son-in-law, took over the family business. The
factory became diversified in the production of industrial
paper products: filter paper, abrasive backings, and
stratified backings (e.g.: formica base)
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Abrasive backings
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1954-1956
At this time, there were four competing paper mills that
manufactured sophisticated paper products with high added
value, especially security papers (banknotes, passports,
etc.) A joint merger plan was drawn up in 1954 and led to
the formation of the first French paper-manufacturing group:
ARJOMARI. The name of the group came from the first two
letters of the names of the paper mills participating in the
merger: Arches, Johannot, Marais, Rives.
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1968
The Prioux company joined the foursome, and the group became
ARJOMARI-PRIOUX, one of the first and foremost global
paper-manufacturing groups.
1980
Development of the durability of watercolour, design, and
art publishing paper. Henceforth, this paper would be made
without acid or optical brighteners in order to ensure that
they may be stored safely over time. Arches paper
manufactuers symblised this advance by including an
"infinity" sign in the watermark used for these types of
paper.
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1990
Arjomari merged with Anglo-American paper manufactuer
Wiggins Teape Appleton to become Arjo Wiggins Appleton
(AWA); the resulting company bercame number 1 worldwide in
the production of paper with high added value.
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1992
A prosporous year for the Arches paper mills. There was a
celebration, with much fanfare, of 500 years of making very
high quality paper.
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