The Basel Paper Mill (
German: ''Basler Papiermühle''), also known as the Swiss Museum for Paper, Writing and Printing (
German: ''Schweizerisches Museum für Papier, Schrift und Druck'') in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...
, is primarily dedicated to
papermaking
Papermaking is the manufacture of paper and cardboard, which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is made using industrial machinery, while handmade paper survives as a speciali ...
, the art of book
printing
Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...
and
writing
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols.
Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...
in general. Through a combination of pictures and objects, visitors gain insights into the old artisanal techniques of dipping paper, printing and
bookbinding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...
.
The museum is located in a carefully restored building that began its life as a
paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
500 years ago. It is a
heritage site of national significance.
[ (1995), p. 79.]
Footnotes
See also
*
Museums in Basel
External links
Basel Paper Mill website
{{authority control
Museums in Basel
Technology museums in Switzerland
Book arts
Cultural property of national significance in Basel-Stadt
Historic house museums in Switzerland
Papermaking in Switzerland
Printing press museums
Literary museums in Switzerland
Papermaking museums