Robert C. Williams Paper Museum

The Robert C. Williams Paper Museum is a research institution dedicated to the preservation of the history of paper and paper technology. Located inside the Institute of Paper Science and Technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology the museum features the largest collection of paper and paper-related artifacts in the world. [ [http://www.ipst.gatech.edu/amp Robert C. Williams Paper Museum Website] ]

History

Originally called the "Dard Hunter Paper Museum", the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum began in 1939. The original museum was created by Dard Hunter and located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hunter filled the museum with various artifacts representing the art of papermaking. Few people visited the museum while it was at MIT and eventually it was moved to a smaller building on campus.

In 1954 the then Institute of Paper Chemistry of Appleton, Wisconsin offered the museum a prominent place on its campus. Hunter became the museum's curator, a job he held until his death in 1966.

In 1989 the Institute of Paper Chemistry was relocated to Atlanta, Georgia and renamed the Institute of Paper Science and Technology. The Dard Hunter Collection was packed and moved as well.

During the spring of 1993 the museum was re-opened inside of IPST and remaned the American Museum of Papermaking. During this time the museum continued to grow, a travelling exhibition program was instituted.

In 1996 the museum received a substantial donation from the James River Corporation. As a result the museum's name was again changed, this time to the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, in recognition of Robert C. Williams, the co-founder of the James River Corporation.

The museum experienced a milestone in 2005. Through a donation from the Mead-Witter Foundation an additional exhibition space was added to the museum. This new space was named the George W. Mead Education Center.

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