New Year's Greetings 2024
International Association of Paper Historians
Dear Council members, dear old members and dear numerous new members of IPH.

In 2024 we are finally back again after three confusing years to our normal procedure of IPH congresses every second year. In 2020 a postponement of the 35th IPH Congress in Washington, DC was unavoidable because of the Corona Pandemic. A whole reorganization was needed, managed and succeeded, thanks to the dedicated coordinators Sylvia Albo and Marian Dirda and their creative Planning Committee. The first virtual IPH Congress, entitled Investigating American Collections on Paper in Washington, DC June 7th – 11th 2021 was followed by the highest amount ever of IPH congress participants all around the world.

Volume 23 of this valuable Washington, DC IPH Congress Book 2021 was published at the end of 2023, simultaneously with the collection of paper proposals for the 37th Biennial IPH Congress, entitled Analysis of Paper in Oslo, September 9th – 14th 2024.

For me every New Year in Denmark begins December 22nd after the shortest day of the year, because the days now second for second gets longer and longer until Midsummer June 23rd with the wonderful bright nights in whole Scandinavia. It will still be "Summertime", when the 37th biennial IPH Congress takes place September 9th – 14th 2024 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. This very first IPH Congress in Norway is organized by Kari Greve from the National Museum in Oslo in coordination with the National Library and the Munch Museum MUNCH. We can all look forward to a rich program at this IPH congress in Oslo with numerous presentations of papers and visits to exhibitions and during the year to publications of articles in Paper History, Issue 1 and 2 of our peer reviewed periodical.

I send you my warmest and best wishes for a peaceful New Year, where we in 2024 can meet and be in touch with each other, work together on paper projects and contribute with new knowledge to the history of paper through studies of watermarks and technologies.

Anna-Grethe Rischel
President of IPH


Welcome to the IPH

The IPH integrates professionals of different branches and all friends of paper within the field of paper history. It coordinates all interests and activities in paper history as an international specialist association co-operating with international, regional and local organisations not only of paper historians but also of keepers of archives and libraries, conservators, arthistorians, specialists in books, printing and technology, associations of the paper industry, the publishing trade etc., including handicraft and artistic activities in connection with paper. To reach these goals, IPH provides the necessary means.

Die IPH vereinigt Fachleute der verschiedensten Richtungen und die Freunde des Papiers rund um das Thema Papiergeschichte. Sie koordiniert alle papiergeschichtlichen Interessen und Aktivitäten als internationale, wissenschaftliche Fachorganisation in Zusammenarbeit mit den entsprechenden nationalen und internationalen Fachverbänden nicht nur der Papierhistoriker, sondern auch der Archivare, Bibliothekare, Restauratoren, Kunst-, Buch- und Technikhistoriker, Papierindustrie, des Verlagswesens u.a.m., unter Einbezug der handwerklichen und künstlerischen Aktivitäten im Zusammenhang mit dem Werkstoff Papier.

L'Association IPH réunit les professionnels de toutes les spécialités et les amis du papier autour du thème de l'Histoire du papier. Elle coordonne tous les intérêts et toutes les activités dans le domaine de l'histoire du papier en tant qu'association scientifique internationale en collaboration avec les organisations internationales, régionales et locales non seulement des historiens du papier, mais aussi des archivistes, bibliothécaires, restaurateurs, historiens de l'art, du livre, de l'imprimerie, de la technique, les associations de l'industrie papetière, des éditeurs etc., y compris les activités artisanales et artistiques utilisant le papier.