In a context of increased competition and power assertion, the major European nations developed unique papermaking traditions over the centuries, influenced by available materials, craft techniques, and cultural practices. 

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Driven by political, royal, feudal, or ecclesiastical reasons dating back to the end of the medieval era, large manufacturing plants and paper-making towns emerged. The most important ones still occupy the French, Italian, and Iberian landscapes. 

Perspective view of the garden of Mr. Réveillon, paper manufacturer, Fauxbourg St Antoine, at the former Hôtel de Titon, where experiments were conducted on the aerostatic machine of M.M. Montgolfier brothers, Desrais, Claude-Louis, illustrator of the reproduced work, 1783, Gallica, Bibliothèque Nationale de France