War Diaries Talk

watermark

  • erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be by erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be

    A watermark I presume on top and just beneath "appendices"

    Posted

  • marie.eklidvirginmedia.com by marie.eklidvirginmedia.com

    Yes it appears to be an upside down watermark. Not sure what the O S is for either side of the crown but there were discussions
    re watermarks 4 months ago includes the following on this link

    https://talk.operationwardiary.org/#/boards/BWD0000009/discussions/DWD00019uv

    Some of the comments in the discussion:-

    “The Lion and the Unicorn are symbols of the United Kingdom. They are, properly speaking, heraldic supporters appearing in the full Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The lion stands for England and the unicorn for Scotland. The combination therefore dates back to the 1603 accession of James I of England who was already James VI of Scotland. By extension, they have also been used in the Coat of Arms of Canada since 1921”.

    “I believe the embossing on the paper is the British Coat of Arms as used by the Government and as the official coat of arms of the UK”.

    Posted

  • erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be by erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be

    It is a crown between a S and a O

    Posted

  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist

    I'm not sure what that stands for - it doesn't look like an official insignia.

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    Could it be the paper manufacturer's insignia?

    Posted

  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist

    I think that's probably the best bet - the 'S' could stand for Stationery or something similar.

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    You don't see watermarks much anymore, at least not in the US. Everyone just uses plain computer paper for everything these days. I remember, though, that trying to read a watermark was rather like trying to read something in a mirror; it always seemed backwards from both sides of the paper.

    Maybe it was something like Oliver & Sons.

    Posted

  • marie.eklidvirginmedia.com by marie.eklidvirginmedia.com

    Maybe Office Stationery. Also Watermark Article which also shows a US postal stationery envelope from 1883 showing a clear watermark on laid paper. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermark

    Posted

  • David_Underdown by David_Underdown moderator

    Ordnance Survey (national mapping agency) is what immediately springs to mind for me, don't know if they ever used that logo. They were certainly closely connected with the Royal Engineers and the production of trench maps during the war.

    Stationery be more likely to be HMSO (His/Her Majesty's Stationery Office - now part of The National Archives, and many of its former functions privatised, some still performed by The Stationery Office - TSO). Though I suppose the crown could represent the HM bit

    Posted