Sir John Spilman and the London rag-gatherers

Abstract Most of England’s white paper came from France in the Elizabethan and early Stuart periods. In an unsuccessful 1585 petition for a monopoly on paper-making, the printer Richard Tottel complained that the French continually sabotaged English paper-making efforts by flooding the market with French paper at a loss and exporting English rags into France. The problem of a lack of a domestic paper supply was finally solved by John Spilman, the queen’s jeweller, in 1588. Spilman established a paper mill in Dartford, Kent and was granted a patent for the exclusive production of white writing paper, a monopoly on linen rags and other scraps, and the right to prevent others from establishing similar mills without his licence. It has always been assumed that Spilman quickly abandoned making writing paper because he could not compete against imported grades. An examination of surviving manuscripts with his watermark suggest otherwise. Contemporaries declared his paper ‘very large and very good’, compared to the ‘very bad’ paper available from other sources. This chapter explores the impact of Spilman’s paper on English paper awareness and connoisseurship, and suggests that his products were a source of national pride for people who were previously unaware of the technology of paper-making. It also shows that Spilman’s paper was much more ubiquitous than previously believed.