Etchmiadzin Paper Factory

Etchmiadzin Paper Factory was an early Armenian paper-making enterprise associated with the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. It was created in response to a practical problem faced by the religious publishing operation established in the city in 1770: paper imported from Western and Central Europe was expensive, cumbersome to transport, and unreliable in quantity. The shortage threatened the continued publication of religious literature, prompting Catholicos Simeon Erevantsi to pursue local paper production. The project required the recruitment of specialists from outside Armenia. Simeon sought experienced papermakers in Constantinople, India, Persia, and elsewhere before eventually finding two French artisans in Paris, identified in the historical account as Monsieur Beysiaunie and Monsieur Dessiaurie. Production at the French-led facility began in 1775, and the first paper was reportedly produced on January 4, 1776. The initial sheets were considered unsatisfactory. After repeated efforts, the French specialists developed an improved sieve that produced a better-quality sheet. A second facility was built by papermakers from Persia who arrived at Etchmiadzin in 1775. These specialists trained two local students, Nigoghayos and Markar, and returned home in April 1776. Nigoghayos subsequently directed the Persian-trained operation and had learned from both the Persian and French papermakers. The two facilities therefore represented parallel attempts to establish paper production through imported technical knowledge and local apprenticeships. The factories used traditional pre-industrial tools and processes. Pulp was prepared with mortars, pestles, water mills, and other implements, while channels and stone containers moved the material through the works. Wooden presses, including a large device called a manguiana, were used to consolidate sheets. Copper components were used where contact with pulp required a less adhesive surface, and fine sieves helped remove impurities. The principal fibers came from worn canvas, cotton, hemp, and linseed stems. Various imported substances, including alkalis, borax, alum, and glue, were used in processing and binding. The resulting paper was coarse and generally light hay-colored or gray. Sheets carried a watermark incorporating a monogram associated with Saint Etchmiadzin and the initials of Simeon Catholicos. Some also included a 1776 date and the initials of Krikor Mikaelian, also known as Tchakikian, who financed the construction of the factory and the publishing house. Most output was consumed locally, especially by the Etchmiadzin printing establishment for religious books and administrative writing. Samples were also sent to prominent ecclesiastical and political recipients in Georgia, Constantinople, and Russia. The enterprise was short-lived. It operated for approximately five to six years and ceased after Simeon Erevantsi died in 1780. Later rebuilding efforts followed damage associated with invasions by Mamad Khan, and the facility was ultimately destroyed during a Russo-Persian war. A later proposal in 1837 by Bishop Sahag to establish a new operation producing paper, drawing pencils, and related materials was rejected by the Etchmiadzin synod. No subsequent Armenian paper factory was established at Etchmiadzin according to the referenced account. The factory is therefore historically significant less as a durable commercial brand than as an early Armenian attempt to develop local paper manufacturing in support of religious publishing.

The origins of the Etchmiadzin Paper Factory lay in the establishment of a printing press at Etchmiadzin in August 1770. The press was intended to publish religious literature, but its operation was constrained by the limited availability of paper. Imported paper from Western and Central Europe was costly, difficult to transport in sufficient volume, and subject to unreliable supply. Simeon Erevantsi, the Catholicos of the Armenian Church, consequently pursued the creation of a local paper-making capability. Erevantsi spent several years seeking skilled workers. His efforts extended to Constantinople, India, and Persia, but he did not initially succeed in recruiting suitable specialists. He eventually traveled to Paris, where he found two papermakers, identified in the historical account as Monsieur Beysiaunie and Monsieur Dessiaurie. Work on a French-led factory began in March 1775. The first paper was produced on January 4, 1776, but its quality was initially poor. After Erevantsi required further attempts, the papermakers devised a better sieve and improved the quality of the sheets. Etchmiadzin also received papermaking specialists from Persia. They arrived in 1775 and constructed a second facility in a short period. The Persian specialists trained Nigoghayos and Markar, two students who continued the work after their teachers returned home on April 16, 1776. Nigoghayos later directed the Persian-founded operation and also acquired knowledge from the French papermakers. Within roughly one year, two separate papermaking facilities had thus been established at Etchmiadzin through French and Persian expertise. The works relied on a combination of locally organized labor, imported materials, and traditional manufacturing technology. Wooden, stone, iron, and copper implements were used throughout the process. Pulp was reduced using mortars, pestles, and water-powered mills. Stone channels and containers supported movement of the pulp, while presses consolidated the sheets. Copper was favored for several tools that came into direct contact with pulp because it was less prone to adhesion. The principal fibers included discarded canvas, cotton, hemp, and linseed stems. Processing materials such as alkali, borax, alum, and glue were imported from Ottoman territories. The paper was mainly used by the Etchmiadzin publishing house. It supported religious books and other writings, including works associated with Simeon Catholicos, as well as secretarial and administrative uses. Sheets were coarse and commonly appeared in pale hay or gray tones. A watermark featured an Etchmiadzin-related monogram and Simeon's initials; other identifying marks referred to the 1776 production date and to Krikor Mikaelian, or Tchakikian, whose financial support covered the factory and publishing-house project. Samples were distributed beyond Etchmiadzin to ecclesiastical leaders in Constantinople and Russia and to the king of Georgia. The factory did not become a lasting industrial enterprise. It operated for approximately five or six years and closed after Simeon's death in 1780. The account describes later rebuilding attempts after invasions by Mamad Khan, followed by final destruction during a Russo-Persian war. In 1837, Bishop Sahag proposed a new Etchmiadzin factory that would make paper, drawing pencils, and other materials, but the synod rejected the petition on March 1 of that year. The referenced history states that Armenia did not subsequently regain a paper-producing factory at Etchmiadzin.

• 1837

  Later reconstruction proposal rejected

  [1]Etchmiadzin Paper Factoryen.wikipedia.org

  A proposal associated with Bishop Sahag to establish a new factory for paper, drawing pencils, and related materials was rejected by the Etchmiadzin synod on March 1.

• 1780

  Operations end after Simeon Erevantsi's death

  [1]Etchmiadzin Paper Factoryen.wikipedia.org

  The factory ceased operating after the death of its principal patron, Catholicos Simeon Erevantsi.

• 1776

  First paper produced and local apprentices trained

  [1]Etchmiadzin Paper Factoryen.wikipedia.org

  The first recorded paper was produced on January 4. Persian specialists completed their work in April after training Nigoghayos and Markar, and improvements were made to the quality of the French-produced paper.

• 1775

  Paper factory project begins

  [1]Etchmiadzin Paper Factoryen.wikipedia.org

  Construction and production work began on a French-led paper facility, while Persian papermakers also arrived and built a separate factory.

• 1770

  Etchmiadzin printing press established

  [1]Etchmiadzin Paper Factoryen.wikipedia.org

  A printing press was constructed at Etchmiadzin to publish religious literature. Paper shortages soon created the impetus for local paper manufacturing.

A locally produced, church-supported paper supply intended to reduce dependence on costly imported paper and sustain Armenian religious publishing.

• Writing and printing paper · 1776

  Etchmiadzin handmade paper

  The factory produced coarse, handmade sheets in pale hay-colored or gray tones. Fibers came from canvas, cotton, hemp, and linseed stems, while imported alkali, borax, alum, and glue supported processing. Surviving descriptions associate some sheets with a watermark showing an Etchmiadzin monogram and Simeon Catholicos's initials, along with marks referring to the 1776 date and the project's financier.

• Special-purpose printing paper · 1776

  Religious publishing paper

  Most output was directed to the Etchmiadzin printing house, where it was used for religious books and other Armenian ecclesiastical publications. The factory was established primarily as a dependable local supply for this publishing activity rather than as a broad consumer-paper business.

1. 1Etchmiadzin Paper Factoryen.wikipedia.org