Wrapper: Burbank Paper Mill, Sutton, Massachusetts

Wrapper: Burbank Paper Mill, Sutton, Massachusetts

Caleb Burbank

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This wrapper is a fascinating survival that records details of the history of the Burbank Paper Mill at Sutton, Massachusetts. The printed image of a native American was a company symbol that refers to the Nipmuc natives who sold the land to the first colonial settlers of the town. The printed and inscribed names refer to successive mill owners and paper makers.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wrapper: Burbank Paper Mill, Sutton, MassachusettsWrapper: Burbank Paper Mill, Sutton, MassachusettsWrapper: Burbank Paper Mill, Sutton, MassachusettsWrapper: Burbank Paper Mill, Sutton, MassachusettsWrapper: Burbank Paper Mill, Sutton, Massachusetts

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.