Paper – No Longer in 2D!

Fellows at Winterthur generally deal with objects widely recognized as … objects! That is, we study artifacts of human creation and use, such as porcelain bowls, Windsor chairs, and copper kettles. As students and scholars, we recognize that these objects are both aesthetic and functional. Users interact with these objects with their eyes, but we also pick them up and engage them with our hands and bodies. Such tactile interaction differentiates these objects from purely visual pieces of art. While many scholars study books, manuscripts, and broadsides as objects that we only engage with our eyes (things only meant to be read, for example), Winterthur Fellows approach paper objects with the recognition that they are also three-dimensional artifacts and can be studied with the same connoisseurial eye as more ‘traditional’ objects.

Broadside, Ephrata, Pennsylvania 1784.  Courtesy of Franklin and Marshall College Library.

Just as redware plates might show potters’ fingerprints, paper objects used over extended periods of time might display evidence of past use or handling. Consider the image above. This devotional broadside, printed in Ephrata in the late 18^th century, has distinctive smudging on areas where one would expect human fingers to grip it. That such smudging appears on various areas of this broadside suggests that it was not simply an object pasted onto a wall for viewing. Instead, close-looking reveals that it was physically engaged by its users.

Different lights are especially useful tools when studying papers as material objects. Consider the table-mounted light in this image below and what it reveals about the broadside.

Broadside, Ephrata, Pennsylvania, 1819.  Joseph Downs Collection Col. 742.  The three pieces of paper to the left are samples of paper quality.

The table light reveals the construction of the stained 19^th century broadside. When compared to other papers of lower, middling, and high quality (descending from the top of the image), one sees that the broadside is most similar to paper of the lowest quality, highlighting its low-cost manufacture. While not present in this broadside, hidden watermarks might also appear under intense lighting, as seen in the late-18^th century embroidered print below.

Silk Embroidery on Paper, likely England 1790-1800. Photograph by James Schneck. Winterthur Museum 2010.0025.

Some paper objects provide so much information that we might not need to use any special lights. Consider the worn early-19^th century Pennsylvania German almanac below. The black spots filling the cover are actually fly-specks, or the excrement left by hungry flies. While some might find this shocking, the presence of fly-specking on the cover suggests the almanac’s presence in the open air for a long period, likely corresponding to display in the household. This visibility is underlined by the presence of string on the object’s upper left corner meant for looping around a nail or tack, perhaps in a kitchen or on a mantle-piece!

German Almanac, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1800.  Winterthur Library.

Although paper can sometimes be tricky to study as three-dimensional objects, students at Winterthur are well-equipped to approach these artifacts as such. Close looking and proper tools can teach us much about how paper objects have been touched, used, and displayed throughout their lifetimes!

By Trevor Brandt, WPAMC Class of 2017