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The article briefly outlines the history of the handmade paper production, from its invention in China in 105 CE, its expansion through the Arab world and its arrival in Europe, to the end of the 18th century when paper began to be manufactured by machines. The history of the handmade paper is a long and interesting one, since its first invention as a replacement for parchment which was a prevalent writing surface material until invention of the first machines for grinding the paper pulp. The paper technology’s voyage through Asian countries via Arab countries to Europe had lasted 11 centuries and had gone through various technological changes. Some of those have been kept until today as part of the paper manufacturing tradition. After paper arrived in Europe the technology and raw material had been adjusted to local circumstances: linen rags began to be used as raw material, with gelatine as an addition. The technologies became more advanced, paper mills expanded and the demand for paper increased as the result of the invention of the printing press and rising book production. The paper also outlines the historical development of watermarks, from the oldest surviving simple ones from Cremona, Italy to the more complex ones that gradually appeared as the result of the technological advancement. Paper watermark collectors and their collecting passion are responsible for the development of the new auxiliary historical science i.e. filigranology. Today entire digital platforms across Europe are dedicated to this part of paper history, registering their appearance that can help in dating the paper and sometimes even documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gradual process in which the medieval commune of Dubrovnik developed into a classical city-state in the first half of the 16th century was related both to the outer and to the inner elements. Among the latter the most important role belonged to the establishment of a firm, reliable and well organised web of clerks. Since their work would have been impossible without a continuous supply of paper and parchment, the Government signed several contracts with various entrepreneurs who were undertaken to fulfil all such needs, including also the book binding. The primary sources always describe them simply as librarii. They were coming from various backgrounds, including native people and Italians, priests and laity, nobles and commoners. Although they had never formed a proper corporation, their profession enjoyed a particular status due to a relatively small, but regular income, their mutual connections (including education of apprentices) and particular professional knowledge they had, especially that of making parchment. The first decades of the 16th century witnessed to a severe restriction imposed to all civil servants, but since 1540s sources are particularly abundant with news concerning the parchment and paper supply. Therefore we traced the roots of paper from Venice and Ancona to Dubrovnik and, occasionally, to the Ottoman Empire afterwards. We are precisely informed about the prices, careers of several librarii who worked in a span of several decades and their mutual relations. Also, as there were various kinds of paper being supplied to the State offices, it is easily possible to perceive their value. Towards the end of the Republic the flourishing days gradually disappeared and 1790s brought just a single request from a local priest to learn the service of bookbinding in Rome. However, thousands of books kept today in the State Archives of Dubrovnik undoubtedly testify about the quality of the late librarii and their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]