Dutch-Style Paper Mill

Timeline

1. 1586Dordrecht · South HollandHans van Aelst, an economic and religious refugee from Antwerp, established one of the earliest known paper mills in the Netherlands at Dordrecht, marking the formal start of native papermaking in the northern Low Countries.
2. 1585–1588Northern Low Countries · Low CountriesAfter the fall of Antwerp in 1585, French paper supplies were disrupted, and workshops across the Netherlands accelerated the construction of water- or stream-driven paper mills, using hammer troughs to break rags into fibers to meet the growing demand for paper in books and commercial documents.
3. 1588–1590Veluwe · GelderlandBy the late 1580s, papermaking workshops spread to hilly fringe areas such as the Veluwe with rapids and clean water sources; the division of labor in sheet forming, pressing, and sizing gradually matured, forming the typical operating model of the Dutch-style handmade paper mill.