_Paper Manufacture._
In a preceding volume an account was given of the attempts made in the
seventeenth century to establish the manufacture of paper in Scotland;¹
and I will narrate briefly the establishment and development of this
manufacture through the eighteenth century onward to the present time.
The appliances used by the early paper-makers were of the simplest kind
in preparing the pulp and making the paper by the hand. The application
of machinery to this manufacture is of comparatively recent date; and
the process of preparing the rags and the pulp was a very slow one. The
pulping engine was invented about the middle of the eighteenth century,
and its introduction superseded the process of fermenting the rags and
bruising them in a mortar.
¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume
III., pages 317‒19.
The paper-making machine was invented about the end of the last century,
and is one of the most ingenious contrivances employed in the arts. It
has been brought to surprising perfection in the present century. Very
complete paper-making machines have been made, in Edinburgh, by Mr.
George Bertram, Sciennes, and Messrs. James Bertram & Son, Leith Walk.
A machine, exhibited by Mr. George Bertram at the Exhibition of 1862
was much admired, as the most perfect paper-making machine which had,
up to that time, been produced.
The chief centres of the paper manufacture are in the counties of
Edinburgh, Lanark, and Aberdeen. In 1709 Mr. Anderson built a paper
mill at Valleyfield, Penicuik, which is still in operation; and by
gradual extensions it has become one of the largest in the county of
Edinburgh. But the manufacture for a long time made little progress. In
1763 there were three paper mills in the vicinity of Edinburgh, and the
quantity of paper then produced was 6400 reams a-year. In 1773 there
were twelve paper mills in this district, and the annual production
had risen to 100,000 reams. At this time a considerable quantity of
printing paper was exported to London; but in the early stages of
paper-making in Scotland the business was not very remunerative.
The Messrs. Alexander Cowan & Sons are amongst the oldest paper
manufacturers in Scotland. They have three mills at Penicuik, in the
county of Edinburgh, which are near each other, and worked as one
establishment. The Valleyfield Mill, which is the central and the
largest one, was begun, as already observed, by Mr. Anderson in 1709,
and in 1779 Mr. Charles Cowan bought this mill. But in the years 1810
to 1814 it was used by the Government as a place of confinement for
French prisoners of war. In 1803 this firm purchased a corn mill,
which was converted into a paper mill, and it is now known as the Bank
Mill; in 1815 they also bought a paper mill belonging to Mr. Nimmo of
Edinburgh, in the same neighbourhood, which was called the Low Mill.
Before the year 1815, the number of hands employed by the firm was
about thirty, who worked by the hand process, and produced from two to
three tons of paper a-week. Shortly after the close of the French war,
they repurchased the Valleyfield Mill from the Government, fitted it
up anew with the most improved appliances, and restarted it in 1821.
The operations of the firm have been carried on with marked energy and
judgment; and besides their three mills, they have an establishment at
Musselburgh, in which the esparto used is reduced to pulp, and another
one at Leith, in which the rags are sorted and cut.
The water-wheels and steam-engines employed in these mills are equal to
about 200 horse-power. In 1870 they had five machines in operation, and
were producing from 2000 to 3000 tons of paper annually, all of which
were of the finer kinds of writing and printing papers.
In 1870, about 600 persons were employed in the various departments
of the works, and upwards of £1200 a-month was paid in wages, at the
following rates:――Mechanics, 25 shillings a-week; millworkers, men
and lads, 18 shillings to 19 shillings; women, from 8 shillings to 10
shillings. The mills were then under the Factory Acts. But in 1841, the
following rules were enacted by the heads of the firm:――“1. No child
under thirteen years of age shall be employed. 2. No young persons
shall be employed before they are able to read, write, and figure, and,
in the case of girls, to sew. 3. Wives shall not be employed, as it is
considered that they should be keepers at home, for the sake of their
husbands and children.”
The most extensive manufacturers of writing paper in Scotland, and
indeed in the world, are the Messrs. Alexander Pirie & Sons, Aberdeen.
This great establishment was begun on a small scale about the middle
of the eighteenth century; and the works have been gradually extended,
chiefly in the present century. The works at Stoneywood now cover
upwards of sixteen acres of ground; and the locality where they
stand――the south bank of the river Don――is well adapted for this
department of manufacture, as there is a plentiful supply of water,
a prime requisite in the process of paper-making.
In these works there are in all six paper machines of great width; and
these, along with the necessary washing and beating engines, as well as
all the machinery required for the finishing processes, are driven by
water and steam power combined, about 2000 horse-power being constantly
required. Here, and in all the works of the firm, the best machinery,
the most efficient appliances, and the most refined chemical processes,
are brought into full operation. In many instances the proprietors
have been the inventors of the most efficient appliances themselves. In
short, this large manufactory has been developed with great judgment,
energy, and surpassing skill; hence its success and world-wide
reputation.
Some idea may be formed of the rapid development of these works from a
comparison of the quantity of raw material used annually at different
periods. In 1848, the quantity of rags used was from 600 to 700 tons
yearly, but at that date the mills were improved, and the premises
extended. So in 1859, the raw material annually used had reached 2500
tons; while in 1879, it had risen to 6000 tons annually. At the present
time, upwards of 8000 tons of raw material is used annually; and the
quantity of paper produced exceeds 6000 tons, or over 750,000 reams per
annum.
Besides the extensive works at Stoneywood, the firm since 1857 have
had mills at Woodside, in which the rags are sorted, classified, and
then stored, and sent to Stoneywood works when required for the boiling
process. Upwards of 200 persons are employed in the rag establishment
at Woodside.
At the Union Works in Aberdeen, which the firm have long devoted to the
manufacture of envelopes, there are over 700 hands employed. The rate
of production reaches to about 13,000,000 envelopes per week, or over
2,000,000 a-day.
In consequence of the introduction, especially in recent years, of
labour-saving machinery, although the output of the works has been
nearly doubled, the amount of hand labour has somewhat decreased. The
combined works of the firm still constantly employ upwards of 2500
hands.
The firm produces a great variety of fine writing papers, and also
the best classes of printing papers. Besides these leading lines of
high-class papers, they make many specialities. Their mills produce
the widest range of qualities, from the hardest and best qualities of
account book paper to the softest and most absorbent blotting papers.
They also make various kinds of card-board, enamelled cards and papers.
In a word, the papers of the firm are known and valued throughout the
world.
There are other four paper mills in Aberdeenshire. The Muggiemoss Paper
Mills, belonging to Messrs. Davidson & Company, which were established
in 1796. These works have also been developed from a small beginning;
and the firm, aided by its managers, have originated and adopted
many improvements in the appliances. At these works various kinds of
wrapping papers and paper bags are produced; and they also manufacture
a special kind of roofing felt. The firm employs from 500 to 600 hands.
The Culter Paper Works stand on the banks of Culter Burn, in the valley
of the Dee. In 1750 Bartholomew Smith erected a mill and commenced the
manufacture of paper. He was succeeded by Richard Smith and Lewis Smith.
For a long time the works were on a small scale, only six men were
employed toward the end of the last century. In 1820 the works were
acquired by Alexander Irvine, and carried on under the title of Irvine
& Company till 1837, when the mills were purchased by Messrs. Arbuthnot
& M‘Combie. In 1840, the machinery was driven by two large water wheels;
and sixty hands were employed at the works. The papers then produced in
the works were browns, cartridges, and all kinds of wrapping papers. In
1856 the Messrs. Pirie of Stoneywood purchased the mills; but, in 1865
they sold them to the Culter Mills Paper Company. The production was
then about 15 tons of paper per week. Since then the works have been
greatly extended, new machinery and improved appliances requisite for
the various processes of the manufactures have been introduced; the
weekly produce of paper is now over 60 tons, or 3, 220 tons per annum.
The motive power for the machinery is mainly supplied by steam engines,
but also partly by water, which make a total of over 1000 horse power,
There are two paper-making machines, each 72 inches wide, a number of
cutting, burnishing, super-calendering, and folding machines, etc. The
electric light is fitted into the principal rooms. The works are built
of granite, and occupy a large space of ground. The railway siding
runs into and through the mill, round the building, through the grass
sheds and dust house, passing close to the steam boilers, and thus
coal can be tipped from the trucks. The manufactures produced in the
works consist of various styles of the finest writing papers, excellent
printing papers, and a variety of other classes of papers. The products
of the company have attained a high reputation in the markets of the
world. About four hundred hands are employed in the works.
The Inverurie Paper mills were begun about sixty years ago by Mr.
Tait, and are now carried on by his sons. They produce various kinds
of printing papers, and a considerable quantity of paper-hangings.
Gordon’s Mills, Aberdeen, were commenced in 1888, and were recently
acquired by the Donside Paper Company. In these works various qualities
of printing papers are produced.
In 1870, there were fifty-seven paper mills in Scotland, of which
twenty-two were in the county of Edinburgh, nine in Lanarkshire, and
the rest distributed over eleven counties. There were then eighty
paper-making machines employed in Scotland, and about 10, 000 persons
directly engaged in the manufacture. In 1888 there were sixty paper
mills in Scotland, worked by fifty-six firms; and the number of
paper-making machines employed had increased to 101. In 1891 there
were 11, 879 hands employed in the manufacture; while the number of
paper-making machines had also increased.
In the development of paper manufacture, much difficulty has been
experienced in finding the requisite raw material in sufficient
quantity, and great ingenuity has been exerted in efforts to find
suitable materials and substances to meet the requirements of
manufacturers. Although many fibres, such as esparto grass, bamboo,
jute, wood, sugar-cane, etc., have been successfully treated so as to
suit for papers of an inferior description, nothing has as yet been
discovered to supersede the use of linen and cotton rags for making
the finer qualities of writing paper.
The manufacture of paper-hangings only commenced in Scotland at a
comparatively recent period, and was conducted on a small scale. In
1870, there were six firms engaged in it, but only one of them had a
large business; at that date there were about 500 persons employed in
this branch of paper manufacture, but since then it has been further
developed.
About 1857, Messrs. Wylie & Lochhead, a firm in Glasgow, began
paper-staining on a small scale, and limited themselves to block
printing; but after the abolition of the paper duty in 1861, they built
a large factory at Whiteinch, and introduced cylinder printing machines.
About 300 persons were employed, and 80,000 pieces of paper-hangings
were produced every week. The more costly papers are produced by the
block printing, and the cheaper varieties by the machines.
This firm have devoted special attention to the production of
paper-hangings of the highest class, and they have carried the art of
making gold, stamped, bronzed, and flocked papers to a high degree of
perfection. The designing of paper-hangings affords ample scope for
the exercise of artistic skill, and a large staff of designers and
engravers are employed by Messrs. Wylie & Lochhead.¹
¹ _Industries of Scotland_, by D. Bremner.