Documentation systems

Together with the reference library the various documentation systems form the research apparatus of the Paperhistorical Collection. At the study room three systems can be referred to. Firstly, a vertical file of documentation about the Dutch and foreign paper industry and trade, ordered alphabetically according to company. The files also contain information concerning small-scale paper-making, private paper manufacturers and paper artists, which have been inserted under the name of the mill or person. The gathered information, which have been added to the inventory, are very diverse and comprise files, correspondence, leaflets, price lists and paper samples.
The second documentation system concerns the picture archive, consisting of photographs, slides, microfils and videofilms, prints and drawings. The materials have been sorted according to subject.
A special place is occupied by the documentation on papermarks. This comprises a great number of watermarked paper, which have been placed in vertical files and ordered acoording to name or initials of the paper mill or factory, or have been ranged according to depiction. There are also some separate collections with reproductions of papermarks, such as photographs and drawn copies, among which the collection of the Algemeen Rijksarchief (Public Record Office), of E. Kirchner and T. Gerardy. Particularly the latter collection is of the utmost importance. With his research of papermarks and his scholarly publications, Gerardy assumed a prominent place within the paperhistorical world and he was the co-founder of the International Paperhistorical Association (IPH). The collection which he built over 30 years of around 15,000 drawn copies and photographs of papermarks from mainly German archives and libraries, was acquired by the KB after his death in 1987.
In addition to the almost complete collection of specialist literature in the field of papermark studies, with amongst others the well-known reference works by Briquet and Piccard, and the Monumenta-series of the paper Publication Society, the Department disposes of a philigranological apparatus of international interest. Consequently, the paperhistorical collection is a well-known oracle for individuals and institutions to date paper and localise the country or place of origin.