Nighttime Detective Work: LVG Watermark
This 18th century LVG watermark, characterized by those initials under a fleur-de-lys bearing a crown, was inspired by that of the Dutch Lubertus Van Gerrevink, who began using it in the late 1600s and trademarked it in 1726. Apparently that didn’t stop many papermakers from copying it: by then a sign of high-quality paper, throughout the 18th century European papermakers copied it, often combined with other papermakers’ marks. I haven’t yet figured out who made this one, but judging by the imperfections in the sheet (metallic particles and papermakers’ tears, or water drops spilled on the sheet during the papermaking process) I’m guessing this isn’t one of Gerrevink’s.
