Thomas Harry Saunders (19 September 1813, London – 5 February 1870,

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in E ...

), usually called T. H. Saunders, was a British paper-maker known especially for his

watermark A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...

s, and also a philanthropist. He was the youngest of the five children of hoop-maker John Saunders, and started a career in paper-making while in his twenties, becoming partner in a paper mill in 1840. He married Mary Marchant in 1844. He won medals at international exhibitions for his firm's ''light and shade'' watermarks, which contributed to his success at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

in London in 1851. At the Irish exhibition of 1853 there was special mention for his "specimens of paper ornamented with a water mark, showing gradations of light and shade". The description continued, "This kind of paper is intended to prevent frauds in bills of exchange . . ." and the watermarks attracted many banks as customers, and made T. H. Saunders & Co important suppliers of postage stamps and banknotes to many countries in Europe, the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and South America. The technology for this had been invented by William Henry Smith, and the design was created by "thin brass plates upon the bottom of the mould".Sproule Saunders built up a business with six paper mills, one of them the renovated Phoenix Mill at

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

. As well as secure, watermarked paper they also produced bulk products like newsprint for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...

''. With one of his managers he patented improved systems for drying paper and regulating the supply of pulp. He twice met

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...

, the prime minister, to discuss the taxation system as it related to paper manufacturing. He was an active nonconformist Christian who gave generously to charity and paid the salary of a metropolitan missionary. As a supporter of the Shaftesbury Society which promoted

ragged school Ragged schools were charitable organisations dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century Britain. The schools were developed in working-class districts. Ragged schools were intended for society's most destitute children. ...

s, he set up reading and writing classes for children from his mills. He was also a member of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. The paper business continued at various mills along the

River Darent The Darent is a Kentish tributary of the River Thames and takes the waters of the River Cray as a tributary in the tidal portion of the Darent near Crayford, as illustrated by the adjacent photograph, snapped at high tide. 'Darenth' is frequen ...

after Saunders' death in 1870. T. H. Saunders' name is still a registered trademark for drawing and watercolour paper, now produced as Saunders Waterford paper in

Somerset Somerset ( , ; Archaism, archaically Somersetshire , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the so ...

References

*''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''
English deaths index''Kelly's Directory of Kent'' (1882)UK trademarks

External links

Shaftesbury Society and ragged schools
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Thomas Harry Saunders, T. H. Watermarking Saunders, T. H. Defunct pulp and paper companies Saunders, T. H. Saunders, T. H. 19th-century British philanthropists Pulp and paper companies of the United Kingdom 19th-century English businesspeople