Nicolas Louis Robert (2 December 1761 – 8 August 1828) was a French soldier and mechanical engineer who invented a paper-making machine that became the foundation of the Fourdrinier machine.

In 1799, Robert received a patent for the first machine that made paper in a continuous sheet. After disputes and financial problems with Saint-Léger Didot, Robert lost control of his invention. The machine was then sent out of post-revolutionary France and improved upon in England. Robert’s invention became the basis for the Fourdrinier machine, which is the foundation of modern papermaking. Later in life, he became a schoolteacher and died in poverty.

Early and family life

Louis-Nicolas Robert was born to older parents on a street in Paris. As a child, he was physically weak and often felt shy, but he worked hard and wanted to succeed. He received a strong education in science and mathematics from a religious group called the Minimes. He felt sorry for making his parents spend money to support him. At 15, he tried to join the army to help the American Revolution, but he was not allowed to. He was accepted into the military four years later.

On April 23, 1780, he joined the First Battalion of the Grenoble Artillery and was sent to Calais. In 1781, he moved to the Metz Artillery regiment and was sent to Saint-Domingue, where he fought against the English. He served in the military for 14 years, until around 1794, and reached the rank of sergeant major. Another account says he left the army at age 28 in 1790.

Robert married Charlotte Routier on November 11, 1794, in a civil ceremony. This type of ceremony was required by a law after the Revolution, which made marriage a legal contract approved by a government official.

Paper manufacture machine

In 1790, after ending his military career, Robert began working as an apprentice clerk at one of the Didot family's famous Paris publishing houses. He first worked under Saint-Léger Didot as a clerk, and later became a manager of workers at Pierre-François Didot's paper-making factory in Corbeil-Essonnes. This respected factory had been in operation since 1355 and provided paper to the Ministry of Finance for making money. Both Robert and Didot became frustrated with the conflicts among workers, paper makers, and others, so Robert sought a way to replace manual labor with a machine.

In his book Papermaking: the History and Technique of an Ancient Craft, Dard Hunter wrote:

Although Didot believed Robert's first plans were "not very strong," they showed enough potential to continue research, and Didot funded a small model. This was completed by 1797 but was considered a failure. Robert became discouraged, so Didot gave him a new job as manager of grain grinding at a nearby flour mill. After a few months away from the paper factory, Didot encouraged Robert to return to his work and provided him with several mechanics to help. The next model improved slightly, so Didot asked Robert to build a full-size version, increasing the width to the popular 24-inch "Colombier" size. This machine was successful and produced two sheets of "well felted" paper.

Patent application

After Robert created a successful paper machine in 1798, Saint-Léger Didot encouraged him to apply for a patent. Before 1798, paper was made one sheet at a time. A rectangular frame with a screen bottom was dipped into a vat of pulp. The frame was lifted, and water was pressed out of the pulp. The remaining pulp dried, and the frame could not be reused until the previous sheet was removed. Robert’s machine used a moving screen belt that received a steady stream of pulp. It produced a continuous sheet of wet paper, which was sent to squeeze rolls. The wet paper strip was then hung over cables or bars to dry. With Didot’s help, Robert and Didot visited François de Neufchâteau, the Minister of the Interior, to apply for a patent. In 1799, the French Government granted the patent (brevet d’invention), and Robert paid 8,000 francs.

The patent details and application for the continuous paper-making machine are recorded in the second volume of Brevets d’Inventions Expirés.

On September 9, 1798 (23 Fructidor Year VI), Robert wrote a letter requesting a patent. De Neufchâteau ordered the Bureau of Arts and Trades (Bureau des Arts et Métiers) to send a draughtsman, Monsieur Beauvelot, to Essonnes. He was to document and build an improved model. A member of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers was also allowed to join him. The Bureau des Arts et Métiers then stated:

The Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers paid Robert 3,000 francs to build another model for display at the Musée des Arts et Métiers.

In 1785, Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf invented the first machine for printing dyes on square pieces of wallpaper. Robert’s invention was significant because it not only made a labor-intensive process easier but also allowed continuous lengths of patterned and colored paper to be produced. This enabled new designs and soft colors to be printed and displayed in drawing rooms across Europe.

Development in England

Robert and Didot had a disagreement about who owned the invention. Robert later sold both the patent and the prototype machine to Didot for 25,000 francs. However, Didot failed to make the payments to Robert, so Robert had to regain legal rights to the patent on 23 June 1801. Didot wanted to develop and patent the machine in England, away from the French Revolution, so he sent his English brother-in-law, John Gamble, to London.

In March 1801, after showing long rolls of paper made in Essonne, John Gamble agreed to share the London patent application with brothers Sealy and Henry Fourdrinier, who managed a major stationery business. Gamble was given British patent 2487 on 20 October 1801 for an improved version of Robert’s original machine. The next step was funded by the London stationers. Gamble and Didot sent the machine to London, and after 6 years and about £60,000 in development costs, the Fourdriniers received new patents. An example of the Fourdrinier machine was placed at Frogmore, Hertfordshire.

Death and commemoration

In 1812, Robert was in poor health and had sold and lost control of his invention and patent. Exploitation of his work was focused in England, so he retired from paper-making and left Corbeil-Essonnes. He moved to Vernouillet, Eure-et-Loir, and opened a small school called Faubourg St Thibault. The French economy was struggling after Napoleon’s defeats, and Robert earned very little money. He continued teaching until his death on August 8, 1828. A statue of him stands near the church in Vernouillet, and the "Collège de Louis-Nicolas Robert" in the quartier des Grandes Vauvettes is named in his honor.

In 1976, Leonard Schlosser found Robert’s original drawings at an auction and made copies for scholars and friends. The current location of the original drawings is unknown.