The Worshipful Company of Engineers The Swordsman Newsletter ...

The Swordsman Issue 29
Novartis in 1996. It is the chemical and pharmaceutical
industries that are at the heart of the Basel economic
engine. Our guide said 30,000 commuters come
across the border to work in Basel every day. They say
the ideal is to work in the city and live in France,
where it is much cheaper.
As we made our way along the other side of the river
the guide left our carriage to join the rear one
following appeals from its Livery passengers. All was
not lost, as the trams recrossed the river via the
Wettsteinbrucke Bridge, to retrace its rails for much of
the return journey, before coming to a stop a short
distance from the Paper Mill Museum. Those with
umbrellas were well served, as we made our way to the
shelter of the museum, on a very wet Saturday
morning.
The Editor Could Not Possibly Comment
Before leaving the tram four recorded their journey
together, suitably headlined.
Keith Millard
Basel Papiermühle Museum
It is called the “Paper Museum”, but that is an
inadequate misnomer. It is really a museum of paper,
writing, printing and bookbinding.
Twelve water driven corn mills began in the area in the
mid 12 th century, when the monastery of St Alban built
a canal to carry water to drive them. During the late
Middle Ages ten were converted to paper mills to
satisfy the needs of The Church and its Synods,
making the area the most important paper producer in
Switzerland. Since 1980 the Stregreif and Galiciean
mills have housed the museum.
Until 1428 the Galiciean mill was a corn mill owned
by the Klingental monastery. It then became a
hammer mill until Antonious Galican made it into a
paper mill in 1453. The Galican family was
prosperous, witness the fine rooms on the first floor.
39
Political changes in 1521 brought this to a sudden end.
The Thuring family became the owners and developers
of the paper mill. In 1778, bookseller and publisher
Johann Christof Im Hof-Burckhardt (obviously more
distinguished than his contemporary, simple John
Smith) took it over and in 1788 replaced the
manufacturing part facing the canal with the present
two story building. A major change occurred in 1850
when it was all acquired by the Hugo Brothers,
tobacco manufacturers, and from 1857 it was a
warehouse for 123 years, until, guess when, 1980.
Our visit on the Saturday morning of the Basel OOT
Meeting was timely as it accompanied one of the few
spells of rain in the whole weekend. We were escorted
and shown many fascinating exhibits by Katrina, one
of the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides it
has been our pleasure to follow.
Withdrawing the Frame from the Pulp
Several of our party was persuaded to practice the arts
on display. The Master was one who made paper by
the old traditional method of scooping a thin “sheet” of
a weak solution of mainly pulped rags into a mould,
draining off the surplus and delicately rolling it on to a
piece of felt in a stack with others, to be pressed and
dried. Later he printed on to his own paper. He might
show you his if you want to show him yours.
Is That Enough?