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Show THE OLD WATERMARK 32 In the year 1729 Thomas Willcox set up the third paper mill i the colony of Pennsylvania. This establishment used as a standar watermark a dove and olive branch design with the initials of th papermaker-first, Taow for the founder, and in later years th No. 20 The dove and branch watermark of the Willcox Mil letters aw, the initials of Mark Willcox, the son, who was oper ing the mill in 1767. In 1827 an ivy leaf was adopted as a wat mark, the mill being known as Ivy Mills because of the Englis ivy which covered the stone buudmg~ The original vine wa brought from England by Thomas Willco x to Pennsylvania i 1718, from near the Old Ivy Bndgcin Dcvonsh\rc. This mill als used the familiar post-horn device as a watermark previous to 1787 There were a great many bank note papers executed at Ivy Mills most of which were watermarked with the names and marks o states and banks. One of the earliest of these p'lpcmnxks wa made for Pennsylvania in the year 1777, shown in No. 206. A lette of Revolutionary interest (dated March 11th, 1778), concernin this watermark was written to Colonel Andrew Boyd, sub-Licucenaneof Cheses County,Pennsylvanis, where the Willos pape mill was located. This letter reads in part: "Mr. Willcox has in hi possession a mould for making paper bclon«mg to this state which you are requeste to bring away, it is marked with th word "Pensylvania" in twenty-four places, he did promise if th Digital Imag © 2004 University of Utah. All rights reserved |
