Ream wrapper printed for Athol, Massachusetts, paper manufacturer Eliphalet Thorpe (1778-1856).
Ream wrappers are paper sheets used to package bundles of paper, keeping them clean and neatly labeled for resale. The pictorial art on the labels often provides historians with views of both the interior and the exterior of extinct mills, including employees at work, equipment and the basic layout of the mill and its surrounding lands. Symbols such as the phoenix and the eagle were also common on ream wrappers.
This collection ranges in date from 1820 to 1860 and includes over sixty items from mills in a variety of states, including Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
Access
The collection has been fully digitized. Images are available through the Society's digital image archive.