The Paper House?!

This is a paper landmark!

The following interview appeared in the Cape Ann Sun, 1996.

Mr. Elis F. Stenman, a mechanical engineer who designed the machines that make paper clips, began building his Rockport summer home out of paper as a hobby. That was in 1922 The paper was meant to be good insulation.

Now Stenrnan's grandniece, Edna Beaudoin runs the Paper House as her mother did for many years. The following interview is from a conversation with Beaudoin.

How do you make a paper house?

Well, let me see. (Elis Stemnan) started out making a house for the summer. The framework to the house is wood-just like any other house-it has a regular wood-en floor and wooden roof. The wall material, which was supposed to be insulation really, is pressed paper about an inch thick. It's just layers and layers of newspaper, glue, and varnish on the outside That keeps it pretty water-proof actually. This was done in 1924 and he lived here in the summertime up until 1930. Actually, I guess he was supposed to cover the outside with clapboards, but he just didn't. You know, he was curious. He wanted to see what would happen to the paper, and, well, here it is, 70 some thing years later.

Have you revarnished it?

Oh yes, lots of extra varnish on the Paper House walls. When the house was built, of course, the porch wasn't here. That was built sometime in the early '30s. So the porch roof really protects the bottom part of the Paper House walls. The top section-up there on the peaks of the roof-that has shingles on it. Roofing shingles, so there really isn't any paper exposed to the weather. Rain blows in, sometimes snow, but it's held up pretty well con-sidering how old it is. We really don't varnish the inside of the house because the more you put on, the darker it gets and we really just like to leave it so you can still read the papers.

After the wall material was made, and he was living in it, he made the furniture. The furniture is made out of little paper logs. The little rolls of paper are maybe a half inch thick and they're all cut to different sizes-cut with a knife. Then they're glued together or nailed together.

Who was Elis Stenman?

He's my- I guess you could say he's a grand uncle. He's my mother's uncle. HE and Mrs. Stenman lived in Cambrdige when they started this and he was an engineer. He designed machinery and we just really don't know where he got the idea to build a house out of paper. He was just that sort of a guy. He was curious- an amateur inventor. He started dabbling with trying to make a steam iron and that was back in the '20s. I don't believe that he ever patented it, but he was always doing little experimental things. When he was making the house here, he just mixed up his own glue to put the paper together. It was basically flour and water, you know, but he would add little sticky substances like apple peels. But it rea11y has lasted. The furniture is usable-it's quite heavy. Basically the furniture is all paper except for the piano which he covered.

He covered the piano with paper?

Yeah, it's a real piano and he just put the paper outside. And then there's the mantle on the fireplace. The fireplace actually is usable because it's really a brick fireplace.

There's a clock in there. It's actually very interesting. It's a grandfather clock and there's a paper from each one of the 48 states in it, so there's all the states' capitols and you can read them all the way down the front of the clock.

It was made in the '30s, so there's no Alaska and no Hawaii.

Do you know when the electricity was put in?

The house was built with electricity. Yup, electricity, and they even had running water in it when they lived here. It was summer water; the pipe came right up over the ground, but there was water in there. But there were no bathrooms. They were over there in the woods-over yonder. And, no, the outhouse wasn't paper.

What's the lineage? How did the house get passed down to you?

Well it was the Stenman's who actually raised my mother. Her parents dies when she was very young and they were her parents basically. I never knew him- he dies when I was just a baby, but Mrs. Stenman -and it was she who made all the little drapery things in there, which are also made of paper-was really like my grandmother. So, it's really like the family heirloom.

When did the house get opened up as a museum?

Probably in the '30s. When they were living in here in the summertime, people used to come up to the house. You know, word got around. This is a small town. Word got around that there was this man making a house of paper. People were curious as early as the late '20s. But I don't think they started to charge admission until after Mrs. Stenman died in 1942. I suppose that's when it really became a museum. It used to be 10 cents to get in.

How much is it now?

A dollar and a half. Inflation. lt's $1.50 for adults and a dollar for children six to 14.

Do you feel a great responsibility to keep it intact?

Yeah, I do. I feel responsible for it, but I don't worry about it. It's been here since 1924, so I guess that if a stone was going to blow it over, then so be it. Here it sits and you can't spend your life worrying that something is going to happen to it. You just take care of it and that's it.

What's the most commonly asked question about the Paper House?

I think probably the most common question is just why?

Do you know the answer?

No. I don't really know the answer. I don't really know why unless he was just really thrifty or something. Newspapers were pretty inexpensive; everybody gave him their papers.







GETTING THERE: The house is somewhat off the beaten path and the signs can easily be missed.
On entering Rockport follow 127 to Pigeon Cove. After the Yankee Clipper Inn take the second left
(Curtis Street) then another left on Pigeon Hill Street to No.52 (on your right).

Photos of the Paper Making Process

This is a nice site describing how paper is made at the Alberta Newsprint Company. They show the processes of Chip Processing, Mechanical Pulping, the Paper Machine, and Finishing.

Paper Finishing / Shipping / Warehouse

Paper Airplanes - the best origami paper planes to fold and fly

Paper Airplanes - the best origami paper planes to fold and fly: Paper Airplanes: ten original flying designs

Best Paper Airplanes .com is a free site that illustrates unique folded paper airplanes that you'll find nowhere else - because these ten models are original, copyrighted designs. These are paper aircraft made by folding paper in the style of Japanese origami yet they all fly. Some are complex, some simple, all are fun.

A Moving Sculpture Made From Paper - (Instructions Included)

A Moving Sculpture Made From Paper:

As I turn this little paper sculpture inside-out, it changes colors. First yellow, then blue, then red, then green, and then yellow again. I can keep turning it inside-out, cycling the colors, as long as I like.

Known as a Kaleidocycle, or Flexahedron, the toy was invented years ago by a bored mathematics student. It goes together quickly, and can keep you happily fidgeting with it for hours. Best of all, it's free. Just print out a picture from this web page, cut off all of the white parts of the paper, and follow the simple directions outlined below. Print the picture out as large as the paper allows.



The picture we have printed has two patterns on it. The pattern on the right has lots of extra lines and text on it, to help you fold your first toy properly. The one on the left will be the second toy you build, and it will look better because there is no extra printing on it. Once you are good at folding them, you can use this picture which has two patterns without any extra printing.

The first step after cutting out the colored pattern, is to fold it carefully along the lines that separate the colors, and along the lines that connect the points of the diamonds. Some of the folds will eventually go inwards, and some outwards, but in this step we are folding the paper back and forth both ways, and creasing the paper well.



Now that the paper is nicely creased along the fold lines, it is time to spread some glue on the first little triangle that says "Glue here".



You can use a toothpick or a small piece of paper or cardboard to spread the glue into a very thin film. Using too much glue will just make a mess, and take a lot longer to dry.



Next, we fold the paper so that the blue diamond fits onto the part of the paper we just covered with glue. You can bend the blue diamond in half to make it easier to get the paper aligned properly.



We repeat this process with the other two blue diamonds, so we have a snake-like collection of six tetrahedrons, all hinged together.



The last step is to spread glue on the two tabs at the end, and carefully insert both of them into the other end of the snake, in the open end. Now pinch that end closed, so the tabs are glued to the paper, holding the snake's tail firmly in his mouth, forming a ring.



It is important now to let the glue dry completely, since trying to play with the toy too soon will make it come undone, making a mess.



When the glue is dry, you can now start turning the ring inside-out, pushing the center up from the bottom, and the outside parts down. The colors will change from one to the next as you keep playing with it.

The World's Largest Paper-Making Machine

Who has the world's largest paper-making machine?:

"Stora Enso's machine in Langerbrugge Mill, Belgium, is the world's largest paper-making machine. The wire width is 11.1m and the machine is began production in June 2003, producing approximately 400,000 tons of newsprint per year."

Big Paper Airplane

Big Paper Airplane:

Paper Airplane Facts:
Year built: 1999
Material: fiberglass over steel and wood frame
Length: 26 feet
Weight: more than one ton
Designed by: Dillon Works, Inc.
Built by: Dillon Works, Inc.

World's Largest Paper Cup

World's Largest Paper Cup: "The World's Largest Paper Cup was a surprise stop for me - I had planned onavoiding the LA area, but dipped down to this area on the way through. I got there just as the sun was setting, so barely had time to get a photo before dark. Unfortunately, I don't know the near future for the Paper Cup - the building seemed to be taken over for another purpose, with a furniture liquidation sale going on inside. The logo on the cup had been painted over, as well as original sineage from the building taken down. The man in the little security booth didn't know what industry had been there (but he guessed it had something to do with making paper cups), or who to contact. Another collosus of the road in limbo. I hear there's another one in Kentucky.


World's Largest Paper Cup Stats
Way over three stories - that's a warehouse/manufacturing building right behind it, for scale. Painted concrete. That's all I got.

UPDATE: Just got an email from a Riverside resident - it used to have the teal splash logo foundon most Dixie cups - so, I'm assuming this was a Dixie Cup manufacturer, but take that with a grain of salt.

Hey - how 'bout moving it a little closer to a giant coffeepot? I know of quite a few..."

Watercolor Papers Soaking & Stretching Techniques

Soaking and stretching is recommended when lighter weight papers are used with a quantity of water (e.g. 150g/m², 190g/m², 300g/m²), because the paper will move and buckle/cockle.

Why does the paper move?
When applying water to paper it moves and buckles (known as cockling by papermakers) because the application of moisture to the sheet will cause one side to expand slightly. However, the other side remains dry, and due to the sizing contained within the sheet does not expand. To counteract this expansion on the wetted side, the paper does the only thing it can and bows and buckles. This is very unsightly for the finished painting and difficult to work with because the paint will pool in the waves of the paper

How to soak and stretch watercolour paper
1) Immerse the sheet of paper under running water from a tap, taking care not to touch the area you intend to paint (the paper is fragile when wet and finger marks will show up in the wash) for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

2) Place the soaked sheet on a sturdy board.

3) Blot any excess puddles of water with a clean paper towel.

4) Wet some gummed tape (do not soak) and place around all four edges of the paper, and leave to dry on a slight tilt.

5) Leave the paper to dry overnight. When dry the paper will be stretched tight on the board and when water is added with the paint the paper will not move.

Important
When soaking the paper it is very important NOT to accidentally contaminate the paper with residue detergents found in areas like baths, kitchen sinks. These detergents attack the sizing causing the paper to become very absorbent and unusable.

The History of Valentine's Day Cards

Emotions Greeting Cards Museum Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, when lovers said or sang their Valentines. Written Valentines began to appear after 1400. The oldest Valentine in existence was made in the 1400's and is in the British Museum. Paper Valentines were exchanged in Europe where they were given in place of valentine gifts. Paper Valentines were especially popular in England. In the early 1800's, Valentines began to be assembled in factories. Early manufactured Valentines were black and white pictures painted by workers in a factory. Fancy Valentines were made with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid 1800's. By the end of the 1800's, Valentines were being made entirely by machine. In the early 1870's, Esther Howland, an American printer and artist was among the first to publish and sell Valentines in the United States. In the early 1900's a card company named Norcross became one of the first companies to manufacture Valentines. With the exception of Christmas, American's exchange more cards on Valentine's Day than any other time of year.

America's First Toilet Paper Shortage

The Great Toilet Paper ShortageThere have been shortages of many things throughout history - oil, rubber, coffee, medicine, and so on. Yet, one of the most interesting shortages - the shortage of toilet paper - was one that should never have occurred.

Before telling this unusual story, let's first take a quick look at the history of toilet paper.

Obviously, toilet paper has not been around forever. We can be pretty sure that the caveman did not stop at his local Mega-superstore to pick up a case pack of Charmin. In fact, Since humans are the only animals that have the dexterity to actually wipe themselves after each defecation, it is currently believed that the original material used for cleaning (to put it politely) was leaves and sticks.

The material of choice among colonial America was corn cobs. When daily newspapers became commonplace in the 1700's, paper became the material of choice (I guess that one could say that Gutenberg's printing press caused the toilet paper revolution). Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) wrote in a letter to his son that one should always carry with them a cheap copy of the Latin poets so that he would have something educational to read while on the pot, as well as having a good use for each page after reading it (This is not a quote, just a story). This lead to a major problem in England - the landscape was littered with paper - they didn't have modern sewers to take the stuff away from our sight.

In the late 19th century, the Sears catalog became popular in rural America. People simply hung it up on a nail and had a free supply of 100's of pages of absorbent, uncoated paper. Corn cobs were still holding as a strong second place contender, however. Use of the Sears catalog declined in the 1930's due to the fact that they started printing on glossy, clay-coated paper. Many people complained to Sears about this glossy paper (Can you imagine writing a letter to Sears: Dear Sir, I want to register a complaint about your new glossy catalog paper. It is no longer soft and absorbent...).
The first actual paper produced for wiping was in England in 1880. They were individual squares sold in boxes, not rolls. This paper was very coarse - the type the British prefer today. Americans like the soft, fluffy type, which was introduced in 1907. The original American product was sort of like crepe paper, if you remember that stuff from kindergarten.

The Rittenhouse Paper Mill

The Rittenhouse Paper Mill1990 marked the 300th Anniversary of the first paper mill in the United States - The Rittenhouse Mill. On March 13, 1990, the United States Postal Service released the American Papermaking postal card celebrating this historic occasion. The Rittenhouse paper mill is featured on the card as well as the watermarks employed at the mill. But what of its beginnings?

In 1690 on the banks of the Monoshone Creek near Germantown, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, William Rittenhouse founded the first paper mill in the United States. Rittenhouse was born in Germany in 1644 near the city of Mulheim on the river Ruhr, his papermaking skills being mainly obtained in Holland.

William Rittenhouse, along with his sons Nicholas (Claus) and Gerhard (Garrett), both papermakers as well, and his daughter Elizabeth settled in German Town in 1688. William was a Mennonite, the first minister of that church in Germantown, and the first Mennonite bishop in America.

In order to make the mill a success, Rittenhouse teamed up with the first printer in Pennsylvania, William Bradford and two other gentlemen. Bradford depended heavily on the mill for a supply of paper for his printing establishment. Before this time Bradford relied solely on paper imported from Europe. Bradford continued to rely on the Rittenhouse mill even after relocating his printing business to New York. In 1697 Bradford rented his part of the property on which the mill stood to the Rittenhouses upon the condition that the mill supply paper to Bradford for ten years. In 1696 the following verse was written by John Holme under the title of A True Relation of the Flourishing State of Pennsylvania, but it was not published until 1847.

This verse relates to William Bradford and the Rittenhouse paper mill:

Here dwelt a printer and I find
That he can doth print books and bind;
He wants not paper, ink, nor skill
He's owner of a paper mill.
The paper mill is here hard by
And makes good paper frequently
But the printer, as I do here tell,
Is gone to New York to dwell.
No doubt but he will lay up bags
If he can get good store of rags.
Kind friend, when thy old shift is rent
Let it to th' paper mill be sent.


In 1704 Bradford sold his interest in the mill to the Rittenhouses. It is interesting to note that Bradford had a monopoly on all of the paper produced at this mill from 1697 to 1707. The yearly output of the Rittenhouse mill amounted to 1200 reams of paper. Unfortunately this quantity was not sufficient to meet all of Bradford's needs, so he continued to import paper from Europe. The original mill, built in 1690, was entirely destroyed by a spring freshlet in 1701. The following year a new mill was constructed only later to be destroyed by fire. A third mill was built which stood until the late 1800's. (The USPS postal card depicts the third mill.)

A unique feature of the American Papermaking postal card is the printed cachet in the lower left corner featuring the Rittenhouse mill watermark.

The first watermark used in Rittenhouse paper was the single word "Company," designating the original partnership. This watermark was used from about 1690, when the mill was first established, until 1704 when Rittenhouse became sole owner. The second watermark used in Rittenhouse paper features a monogram WR, the initials of the principal founder, on one half of the sheet of paper, while on the other half appeared a clover leaf inside a crowned shield. Underneath the shield, in outlined letters is the word "Pensilvania." The clover leaf design was adopted from the townmark or seal of the village of Germantown.

Today, in a community known as RittenhouseTown, several houses which the Rittenhouse families lived remain, as well as other houses which were built around the mill.

Making Coated Paper in 1920

Papermaking 1920NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

This is the March 1920 issue cover. The paper-making story is part of an article in this issue titled, "Massachusetts-Beehive of Business" by William Joseph Showalter.
Note:

The Papermaking History Page has made in depth searches to locate or find a record of the Champion International Company paper mill of Lawrence, MA without success. Apparently the mill has been closed for quite some time. The only reference we uncovered was an obituary of a person employed by Champion International Company during his life time but no indication of length of service or date.

The Merrimac Paper Co., of Lawrence, MA reviewed the paper machine photos and information we furnished them but could not identify the machines. They were confident the machines were not part of their mill history. We thank Rick Gibbons of Merrimac for taking the time to evaluate the information.

We also did a search of the records we have of machines built by Black Clawson, Beloit & Pusey Jones. The earliest Champion machines found were built in 1920 for the Canton mill, by Pusey & Jones. Both machines were left hand.

The Paper Art of Mexico

Papermaking is an ancient craft in Mexico. In pre-Columbian times deerskin, tree bark, and agave or maguey fibers were fashioned into forms of paper used for painting codices, or pictorial manuscripts, for religious or historical purposes. The library has examples of these codices dating from the post-Conquest period.

Some of these papermaking skills have survived today and are to be seen in popular art as well as in healing rituals. Paper called amate from the bark of mulberry and fig trees is made in the area where the states of Puebla, Hidalgo, and Veracruz meet, most notably in the town of San Pablito, Puebla. The mulberry produces a whitish paper, while the paper from the fig is dark. Men of the village peel the bark from the trees, but the women actually make the paper. The bark is washed, boiled in a large pot for several hours with ashes or lime, then rinsed and laid in lines on a wooden board. The fibers are next beaten with a stone until they fuse together into paper and are left to dry in the sun. The high demand for amate paper has resulted in the over-stripping of trees and even the poaching of bark.

Much of the amate paper goes to villages in the state of Guerrero where artisans who once decorated pottery, now paint imaginative scenes of everyday life, fanciful birds, animals, and flowers on this special paper. Such paintings of varying quality are produced in abundance for the tourist trade. Some works are signed, and occasionally a gifted artist may gain considerable recognition for his work.

In San Pablito amate paper is used by shamans for making cutouts of spirit beings associated with the sky, the earth, the underworld, and water for curing and fertility ceremonies. The shaman will bring them to life by breathing unto their mouths, holding them in the smoke of incense, or sprinkling them with alcohol. A vast number of seed spirits of fruits and vegetables are used to encourage good crops. These cutout figures in dark and light shades of amate are sometimes mounted and sold to tourists and collectors or even made into accordion-type books that explain the mystical ceremonies. Besides amate paper, ordinary tissue paper-cutouts of the spirits are also employed in rituals and books and provide an accent of color.

Tissue paper is the basis for another art form, the papel picado, in which multilayered sheets of colored paper are cut out from a pattern to make banners. These popular banners are ordered for local festivals, birthdays, or home decorations, and may depict flowers, leaves, birds, angels, crosses, names, or anything specified. Increasingly the banners, such as those in this exhibit, are made to represent skeletons in an infinite variety of activities and are sold for the Day of the Dead on November 2. Originally the papel picados were laboriously cut out with scissors, but now the artisans use sharp chisels to cut through as many as 50 sheets of tissue paper from a basic pattern, with the flexibility of changing their designs from day to day.

Pulp and Paper Technology - Nashville Paper Recycling Plant Development

Pulp and Paper Technology - Nashville Paper Recycling Plant DevelopmentThe Weyerhaeuser Company, a major integrated forest products company, completed the restructuring of its paper recycling plant in Nashville, Tennessee in the year 2000. The contract, which was awarded to MSS, required the development of a high-speed automated optical sorting system for recycled paper. MSS say the new technology is the first commercially available to the world. It is expected to greatly increase the recovery of recycled paper.

Milton's Big Paper

Milton's Big Paper: "Milton's Big Paper in the Guinness Book of Records.
In Milton on the Sunday of 'The Settler's Fair' 1998 - Oct. 4 - a group of people made the world's largest sheet of handmade recycled paper. The paper was 1.7m x 0.8m in size, about the size of a dining room table. We had a screen (or mould, to use the papermaking term) made from some old materials - a galvanised iron pipe frame with scrap mesh welded and sewn onto it and scrap wood for the lid or deckle that goes on and around the topside of the mould.
We set up a round mini swimming pool in the Milton Cultural Centre's courtyard and added litres and litres of water then litres and litres of waste paper pulp that had been beaten by a kitchen blender and a 1950's electric washing machine.The waste paper came from Deering Street Printers, local businesses and the how-to-vote leaflets from Milton's Polling Centre for the Federal election held on Oct 3. Children added leaves and petals to the pulp.
About 8 of us got into the 'vat' cum swimming pool - Pam Gray co-ordinated the event and Michelle Dunn, Janie Murray, Mitzie McKenzie-King and Christopher, there were other children who'd come to help. We put all the materials together and stirred the pulp with our feet and our hands.Then we all took hold of the mould with the deckle on top and submerged them into the vat of pulp where we were standing.. When we pulled up the mould and deckle with the first sheet of paper on it we weren't happy because it was patchy and uneven.
Our second attempt was fantastic - the pulp was even and it was just the thickness we wanted. We drained all the water off, had lots of photos taken, took the deckle off and then left the mould with the wet paper on it leaning up against the Milton mural on the Chemist's wall to dry in the sun.

Two Shoalhaven councillors, Pam Arnold and Pat Maso"

Photo of that Paper Crane

"A paper crane with a wingspan of over 60 metres was exhibited in the world's largest wooden stadium in Oodate , Maebashi, Gunma Pref. Japan, October 30th 1995. northern Japan. presumably this required a rather large square of paper. (The straits Times newspaper 4th August 1998) A Square 33m by 33m used to fold a crane. Reported by Joseph Wu. [From an article in the Japan Times. JW] "

Where Did He Get Such a Large Piece of Paper

Origami: "Jim Mockford, a Japanese language teacher in Washington State, USA, reports that in the fall of 1995 a class of 20 of his students made an ori-tsuru (paper crane), out of a single sheet of paper that measured over 23 feet wingtip to wingtip. Of course there have been larger cranes made from many sheets of paper pasted together such as the Maebashi record (see above), but Jim's crane seems to be the largest made out of a single square sheet of uncut, unpasted paper. It was a great teambuilding project and a lot of fun."

In order to make a paper crane with a twenty three fit wingspan how big would the sheet of paper have to be?

And, where do you get that paper?

Of course, it must have been a handmade sheet of paper. Commercial paper machines top out at 400 inches. A paper machine that can produce a 400 inch wide sheet of paper is typically two football fields long and three stories high. And, the paper is coming off that machine at 3000 feet per minute.

The Character of Paper

Have you ever really thought about Paper? I found this description of Paper written from the perspective of the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors" fascinating:

"The Character of Paper"

Paper is often considered the most subtle throw. There is nothing aggressive about the limp documents that move through our desks and offices. Even the gesture used to represent paper is peaceful an open palm like that used in a salute or handshake. Historically, an open palm has been a sign of friendship and peace because an open hand cannot hold a weapon. Some players, who unconsciously perceive Paper as weak or a sign of surrender, will shy away from using it entirely or drop it from their game when they are falling behind. On the other hand, Paper also connects with a player's perceptions about writing. There is a quiet power in the printed word. It has the ability to lay off thousands of employees, declare war against nations, spread scandal or confess love. Paper, in short, has power over masses. The fate of the entire world is determined by print. As such, some players perceive Paper as a subtle attack, the victory of modern culture over barbarism. Such players may use Paper to assert their superiority and dignity.

Do you use Paper to assert your superiority and dignity? Does Paper really represent the victory of modern culture over barbarism? I think so.

Nobody Stocks all of National Envelope Except...

National Envelope is the biggest envelope maker in the world, making the envelopes for most of the major paper mills. Their range of envelope products is so enormous that they probably make 200 kinds of envelopes for Neenah alone. Do they sell direct? No, they sell to the paper merchants who stock these envelopes in bulk. Paper.com has partnered with all of the major paper merchants to offer the complete lineup of National Envelope products direct to consumer. If Paper.com doesn't have an envelope, then just ask and they'll usually find it and special order it.

Gmund Paper Now Available at Paper.com

Gmund Paper is a very nice site describing one of the premiere paper companies in Europe. A small specialty mill with some innnovative techniques for coating paper (with crushed minerals, for example, in the Vibe and Reaction lines) Gmund Paper is now available in the United States from Paper.com.