John Dickinson (inventor) - Biography

Biography

Dickinson was the eldest son of Captain Thomas Dickinson RN and his wife Frances. Thomas Dickinson was the superintendent of the Ordnance Transports at Woolwich and Frances Dickinson was the daughter of a French silk-weaver in Spitalfields.

At the age of fifteen, Dickinson started a seven-year apprenticeship as a stationer with Messrs Harrison and Richardson in London. He was admitted to the Livery of the Stationers' Company in 1804 and began to trade, in stationery, in the City of London.

He demonstrated his resourceful nature by inventing a new kind of paper for cannon cartridges. This type of paper did not smoulder after the cannon had fired, which had been the cause of constant accidental explosions in the artillery. Until his time, paper was produced using rag and esparto, instead of the conventional wood pulp Dickinson patented his invention, and it was taken up by the army. It was said to have been of great value in the battles against Napoleon, increasing the British firing rate while simultaneously reducing premature firing accidents.

In an age of technical innovation, attempts had already been made to build a machine capable of the continuous manufacture of paper to replace the handmade techniques then used, notably by the Frenchman Henry Fourdriner.

Dickinson patented his own design in 1809. In that same year he found financial backing from financier George Longman. He was then able to purchase a former flour mill at Apsley, Hertfordshire which had already been converted to manufacture paper by the previous owner. John Stafford, the seller, had been one of Dickinson's suppliers. Dickinson installed his own design of machinery at the mill.

Dickinson was also involved with producing a paper containing silk threads, which was produced for security purposes. This paper was known as the Penny Post. Another achievement that sprang from Dickinson's factory, was the invention of envelopes that had a gum like adhesive to keep them closed. This production started in 1850

In 1858, Dickinson passed along his thriving business to his nephew John Evans Over the years, the company has merged with several other stationary manufacturers. The most recent was with Hamelin Brands in 2008 From small beginnings, his company went on to become John Dickinson Stationery, one of the largest stationery manufacturers in the world.