Robert C. Williams American Museum of Papermaking

The mission of the Robert C. Williams American Museum of Papermaking is to collect, preserve, increase, and disseminate information about papermaking - past, present, and future.

Paper developed separately in China around 200 BCE. It differs from papyrus in that the plants have been beaten to separate the fibers, suspended evenly in water, placed on a webbing to drain off the water, and dried. The beating allows a hydrogen bonding to form between the fibers. This hydrogen bonding gives paper its cohesion and tearing strength. Paper can be made from any cellulose-containing plant such as cotton, hemp, wood chips, bagasse, straw, kenaf, etc. Paper derives its name from papyrus and is a transferred application of an old name to a new material.