Henk Voorn was born in Amsterdam in 1921 and went to work in 1937 in an Amsterdam firm that mediated in the sale of paper from foreign factories to the Dutch wholesale trade. There he learned the paper trade and its terminology, and made many contacts in the world of paper. In 1942, when World War II obstructed paper import, he applied for a new job at the Government Agency for Paper. This agency was responsible for the distribution of the raw materials of paper, the fuels for the paper factories, and the processed paper products. There he was commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to document the working procedures of the agency during the war years. His report, Papier in den oorlog (Paper in the war), was the beginning of Henk Voorn's interest in the history of paper. Though Voorn was offered jobs in the paper industry, he decided to follow another direction and founded a periodical: De Papierwereld (The paper world). This journal was no rich source of income, but with help of his relations from the paper trade and loans from the paper industry it survived for 35 years, the last issue appearing in 1980. Through his work for De Papierwereld, Voorn landed for good in the world of paper history. The many contacts he made with other paper historians include Emile Labarre who worked at the British consulate in Amsterdam. Voorn often visited Labarre's large and important paper-historical library, and wrote his first article together with Labarre in 1949. In addition to studying the literature, Voorn started to do his own archival research. This laid the foundation for the first part of his famous threevolume history of the Dutch paper industry: De papiermolens in de provincie Noord-Holland (The paper mills in the province of North Holland), published in 1960. Henk Voorn also worked on commissions from third parties. On request of the Association of Dutch Paper Manufacturers he contributed to a memorial volume for its 50-year jubilee in 1954. This association established the Foundation for Research of the History of the Dutch Paper Industry, of which Voorn was made president. Within this setting Voorn wrote the other two volumes of his magnum opus on the Dutch paper mills. From 1951 to 1970 Henk Voorn was a regular contributor to the American periodical The Paper Maker, and produced many articles on papermaking in different European countries. Also on other paper-historical subjects a continuous flow Paper, Song of Praise, and Henk Voorn: The Paper History Collection of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (National Library of the Netherlands) aliza thomas & henk porck of publications got under way. When Voorn resigned from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in 1986, he had written 15 monographs and 170 journal articles. Voorn was driven by a desire to own everything that he wanted to read; it was an important incentive in building his own collection. He wanted to have it all at home! In the 1950s this literature was not expensive. He could buy early-nineteenth-century books at the Amsterdam flea market for 25 cents, books that would cost 200 to 300 euros today. Voorn had a good eye for special works and managed to acquire many valuable and rare items. At the Paris bookstalls along the Seine he bought the famous Art de faire le papier by J. de la Lande, published in 1761, for only 60 guilders. In addition he bought through antiquarian booksellers and at auctions. An important acquisition was the collection of Ulco Proost, the Director of the Proost Papier company. This treasured collection was auctioned in 1967 and included works by the renowned paper historian Dard Hunter, and several very rare eighteenthcentury publications by Jacob Christian Schäffer with descriptions and samples of experiments in making paper from all kinds of plant materials. As Voorn did not have enough means for all such purchases, the Association of Dutch Paper Manufacturers would offer him financial support. Although Voorn's collection was focused on professional literature, he also collected many other objects of paper-historical interest, such as watermark papers, sample books, and all kinds of decorated papers including many fine specimens of papers from Japan and ebru marbled paper from Turkey. Gradually the collection expanded to such an extent, that Voorn decided to move from Amsterdam to a larger house in Haarlem. But that did not offer a real solution. The situation even became dangerous: one day a complete wall of books came forward, tumbling onto his wife. Besides lack of space, also financial restrictions limited the further growth of his collection. In 1970 Voorn started to search for institutional accommodation. He phoned the curator of the Museum Meermanno (House of the Book) in The Hague and simply proposed a sale of his collection. The curator paid a visit to Voorn, together with the librarian of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek. The deal was quickly settled: the Koninklijke Bibliotheek bought the whole collection for 125,000 guilders, which at that time was a considerable amount of money! Voorn, in his new function as curator, saw it as his chief duty to extend his collection. Because of the liberal budget available at the time, the Collection of Paper History grew into one of the most important in the field. Voorn was an avid collector of poetry on paper and papermaking. He wished that the entire collection of paper poems be published one day as a volume. Towards the end of his life, he offered to the Koninklijke Bibliotheek the collection of poems with which he included the following introduction: Paper is beautiful—not in the same sense as a work of art but more in the sense of a craft or an industrial product. By its most desirable functionality with a high degree of technical perfection, paper adds an additional dimension; it is the carrier of many aspects of science and culture that makes it an important factor in the history of our civilization. No wonder that poets and writers chanted the paper. There were poets who approached the sheet of paper with the utmost respect fearing they would tarnish the paper with their writing. Paul Valérie said, "Nothing is more beautiful than that what does not exist yet." Poets chiefly saw the paper as a carrier for their thoughts, in word or in pictures. The papermaker wasn't forgotten either: the craftsman who transformed rags into paper, a miraculous transformation. For centuries songs and poems were created by all kinds of people. Some of those poems were doggerel, some were true art. Important poets were for example, Guido Gazelle, Gerhard Hauptman, Luis de Góngera, Francisco de Quevedo, Voltaire, Hans Arp, and many others. The multilingual character of the collection of poems and songs reflects the diversity and international scope. Poems in the collection are in languages like French, Spanish, Polish, Italian, and others. Henk Voorn, at the age of 65, when he retired from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB) in 1986. Courtesy KB, The Hague. Recipe book for decorated paper, German, late-nineteenth century, 18 x 22 centimeters (7 x 8.7 inches) open, in the Paper History Collection, Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB), The Hague. Courtesy KB, The Hague. 26 - hand papermaking Here are five poems we have selected for the Storytelling issue of Hand Papermaking. The first one, excerpted from a poem by Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), is published here in its original English. The second poem, in an English translation, is by Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran (1883–1931). The third, by Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas (1580–1645), appears in Spanish, alongside a translation in English. The fourth, a short poem by humorist Wilhelm Busch (1832–1908), is presented in the original German with an English translation. And the final one is by Flemish poet Guido Gezelle (1830–1899), in Dutch along with a translation in English. On Paper Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) What are our poets, take them as they fall, Good, bad, rich, poor, much read, not read at all? Them and their works in the same class you'll find; They are the mere waste-paper of mankind. Observe the maiden, innocently sweet, She's fair white paper, an unsullied sheet; On which the happy man, whom fate ordains, May write his name, and take her for his pains. One instance more, and only one I'll bring; ‘Tis the great man who scorns a little thing; Whose thoughts, whose deeds, whose maxims are his own, Form'd on the feelings of his heart alone: True genuine royal paper is his breast; Of all the kinds most precious, purest, best.1 Said a sheet … Khalil Gibran (1883–1931) Said a sheet of snow-white paper: Pure was I created and pure will I remain for ever I would rather be burnt and turn to white ashes Then suffer darkness to touch me Or the unclean come near me. The inkbottle heard what the paper said And it laughed in its dark heart But never dared to approach her. And the multi-colored pencils heard her And they too never came near her And the snow-white sheet of paper Did remain pure and chaste for ever Pure, chaste and empty.2 Brocade paper manufactured by Johann Carl Munck, Augsburg, mid-eighteenth century, 41 x 33 centimeters (16 x 13 inches), in the Paper History Collection, Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB), The Hague. Courtesy KB, The Hague Canción a una dama hermosa, rota y remendada Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas (1580–1645) Cansada está mi musa de cantarte, Mas yo no estoy cansado de alabarte Pues no podrá hacerse de tus trapos, Tus chías y harapos, Tanto papel, aunque hagan mucha suma, Como en loarte ocuperá mi pluma. Song for a beautiful lady , tatt ered and done up Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas (1580–1645) My muse is weary of chanting you But I'm not weary of praising you Because of your dresses, Your hats and other rags, Cannot be made, though there is much of it Sufficient paper for my pen to praise you.3 ‘t Papier is onbeschaamd … Guido Gezelle (1830–1899) ‘t Papier is onbeschaamd Het mag geweldig liegen; ‘t Mag de waarheid zeggen en ‘t Mag iedereen bedriegen; Geen schaamte heeft het in, Van droefheid en berouw En weet het , noch verlies Van vriend, ‘t zij man of vrouw, Het lacht de mensen uit En korten tijd na dezen Een wereld van papier Zal heel de wereld wezen. Paper is impudent … Guido Gezelle (1830–1899) Paper is impudent It is allowed to lie It is allowed to tell the truth and Is allowed to cheat. It knows no shame Sadness or remorse It knows no loss of friend Husband or wife. It derides people and Shortly after now A paper world Shall the entire world be.5 ___________ notes 1. Voorn remarked that this poem, of which here only the three last verses are recorded, has been ascribed to Dr. Franklin, and that it was first published in 1787 (in Philadelphia); later Franklin's authorship was doubted. 2. Translated by Aliza Thomas, from a version in Dutch in Voorn's collection. 3. Translated by Henk Voorn. 4. Translated by Henk Voorn. 5. Translated by Aliza Thomas. Ein Dichterkragen von Papier Wilhelm Busch (1832–1908) Leicht reisefertig ist zumeist Ein Mensch, wenn er als Dichter reist. Ein Hut von Stroh als Sommerzier, Ein Dichterkragen von Papier, Das himmelblaue Flattertuch, Der Feldstuhl, das Notizenbuch, Ein Bleistift Nr. 4 und endlich Das Paraplü sind selbstverständlich. A poet's paper-collar Wilhelm Busch (1832–1908) Easily ready to travel is a man When he travels as a poet. A straw-hat as a summer dress, A poet's paper-collar, The sky-blue necktie, The field chair, the notebook, A pencil Nr. 4 and at last The umbrella are taken for granted.4

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