This lecture, by The Morgan Library & Museum’s Astor Curator and Department Head, John Bidwell, will summarize the findings in Bidwell’s forthcoming book, American Paper Mills, 1690-1832, to be published by the American Antiquarian Society and the University Press of New England, 2012.

In his work, Bidwell identifies and describes more than five hundred paper mills, a large body of evidence providing the means to trace the growth of the paper trade and its close connections with printing and publishing ventures in America.

Bidwell will present an overview of a typical paper mill of the period, its personnel, products, and manufacturing facilities.

Bidwell’s talk will also trace the careers of noteworthy papermakers in an attempt to show how they got into the business, where they obtained working capital, how they expected to sell their goods, and why many of them failed.

Papermaking in America: A Progress Report
A Lecture by John Bidwell
Tuesday, October 18
6-7:30pm
Butler Library, Room 523