Description
Finely executed unsigned early nineteenth-century watercolour of Florence looking up the Arno towards Ponte Vecchio, on watermarked and dated paper marked, J. Whatman Turkey Mill 1830. The words ‘Florence Morning’ are inscribed in an early hand in pencil on the verso.
The name Turkey Mill was first recorded in 1739. The mill passed to Ann Cripps, who married James Whatman in 1740 and it was here that he developed ‘wove’ paper. At this time, Turkey Mill was the largest paper mill in England. The copyright of ‘J Whatman’, the use of the name for the watermarks and the right to produce Whatman paper at Turkey Mill was transferred to William Balston in 1806. In 1859, the ‘Turkey Mill’ watermark was sold to William Balston’s two sons at Springfield Mill and thereafter, paper produced at Turkey Mill was watermarked ‘Original Turkey Mill’, ‘O.T.M.’ or ‘T & J Hollingworth’.
