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What
makes a man become the major authority in traditional watermarks?
"Simple curiosity," says Thomas Gravell, a Delaware resident
who is one of the world's foremost experts in old-fashioned
watermarks.
Old-fashioned watermarks are the signatures or trademarks
of paper makers. In a piece of paper, the marks appear as
translucent pictures that can be seen when paper is held to
light. "Some of them are simple, and some others are really
beautiful," Gravell says, who has written two books about
watermarks.
Gravell,
83, has collected and classified more than 1,800 American
watermarks produced between 1690 and 1835. He collected stamps
until about 30 years ago when he discovered watermarks while
trying to authenticate pre-World War II German "inflation
stamps." Gravell's interest in watermarks started when he
realized that they could make his stamps more valuable by
authenticating their date of creation and place of origin
by deciphering the hidden signatures.
Even
though he's a well-known watermarks expert, Gravell still
thinks that this discipline is sometimes "very confusing stuff."
His
interest in watermarks has lasted three decades, but Gravell
acknowledges that it's a lonely addiction. "I have two daughters,
five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; but none
of them are interested in watermarks," he says, laughing.
"They just like when I get paid, because I split the money
between them."
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