Robert C. Williams Paper Museum

The Robert C. Williams American Museum of Papermaking is a research institution and public museum dedicated to the preservation of the history of paper and paper technology. Located inside the Paper Tricentennial Building at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, the museum features the largest collection of paper and paper-related artifacts in the world, including watermarks, papers, tools, machines, and manuscripts.[1] Changing exhibits focus on paper art, and a permanent exhibit details the science and technology used in papermaking.[2]

Robert C. Williams Paper Museum
Established1939
Location500 10th Street NW
Atlanta, United States
Coordinates33.781463°N 84.403249°W / 33.781463; -84.403249
TypePaper museum
DirectorTeri Williams
Public transit accessMidtown station
Websitepaper.gatech.edu

History

Originally called the Dard Hunter Paper Museum, the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum began in 1939. The original museum was created by Dard Hunter and located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hunter filled the museum with various artifacts representing the art of papermaking. Few people visited the museum while it was at MIT and eventually it was moved to a smaller building on campus.[3]

In 1954 the then Institute of Paper Chemistry of Appleton, Wisconsin offered the museum a prominent place on its campus. Hunter became the museum's curator, a job he held until his death in 1966.

In 1989 the Institute of Paper Chemistry was relocated to Atlanta, Georgia and renamed the Institute of Paper Science and Technology. The Dard Hunter Collection was packed and moved as well. Supporting this collection is one of the main goals of the Friends of Dard Hunter, an organization that promotes hand papermaking and the other arts practiced by Hunter.[4]

During the spring of 1993 the museum was re-opened inside of IPST and renamed the American Museum of Papermaking. During this time the museum continued to grow, and a traveling exhibition program was instituted.

In 1996 the museum received a substantial donation from the James River Corporation. As a result, the museum's name was again changed, this time to the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, in recognition of Robert C. Williams, the co-founder of the James River Corporation. Williams had been a student at the Institute of Paper Chemistry and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Paper Science and Technology.[5]

In 2005, through a donation from the Mead-Witter Foundation, an additional exhibition space was added to the museum. This new space was named the George W. Mead Education Center.

References
  1. Robert C. Williams Paper Museum Website
  2. "This is Atlanta with Alicia Steele". PBA30, Atlanta's PBS Station. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  3. "Visit the Robert C. Williams Museum of Paper Making in Atlanta Georgia". N-Georgia.com. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  4. "About Us". Friends of Dard Hunter. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  5. "Robert Williams, 1998 Paper Industry International Hall of Fame Inductee". Paper Discovery Center. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
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