Wire Mold Watermarking Tool

This month's feature is a watermark tool and some small wire figures used to create watermarks on molds. It is numbered in the Dard Hunter Collection as #929. Watermarks were secured directly onto the mold from which paper sheets are pulled, and two primary methods were used to create the marks. In the first method, wire was woven or soldered into the mesh screen. In the second method, a metal plate was made with a relief of the watermark formed by copper wires soldered onto its surface, and the mesh screen was pressed over the top to form a light-and-shade watermark. 

The tool from this artifact is a wire cutter, and the letters and figures were used to make woven watermarks, rather than light-and-shade watermarks. Small letters and shapes like these would have been sewn onto the molds with tiny brass wires, which were so thin that no impression would have been visible in the final sheet. The shaped pieces are of a variety of metals - there are copper and steel wires, which were the most common, and solder was used on the larger pieces. Copper in particular was a popular metal for both mold and watermark wire, since it was the most malleable. A delightful aspect of this artifact is the sketch for the original design of the wire eagle. 

We hope that you enjoyed this peek at our collection! We'll be back next month with another artifact. Have a great February!