Nicolas Louis Robert was born in 1761, in Paris. A frail child born to older parents, he attended a school with a strong focus on science and mathematics. Robert first tried to enlist at the age of 15 to ease the burden on his parents, but was rejected. Four years later he was accepted and joined the First Battalion of the Grenoble Artillery, transferring in 1781 to the Metz Artillery regiment where he rose to the rank of Sergeant Major.

He married Charlotte Routier in 1794, by which time he had been indentured for four years as a clerk, in one of the Didot family’s publishing houses. He later switched to ‘inspector of personnel’ at the Didot paperworks at Essones. It was a well-respected mill, supplying paper to the Ministry of Finance for use in the production of French Assignats, the currency of the time. This was the time of the French Revolution and it is believed that the constant problems amongst the paper workers, of the Handmade Papermakers Guild, drove Robert to find a mechanical solution to paper production.

Robert’s early attempts at mechanisation were regarded as ‘feeble’ by Leger Didot and after the failure of the second design, Robert moved on to be superintendent of grain grinding at a nearby flour mill. After a few months, Didot persuaded him to reprise the project and the subsequent promising design was then scaled up. This 24″ wide machine produced 2 damp but well-formed sheets of paper. With a national award from the French government of 3000 francs, Robert was able to file for a patent on 19th January 1799. The remaining money was insufficient to develop the project and the shrewd Didot offered to purchase the patent. Payment was to be by instalment but after the initial sum, no further monies were forthcoming. Robert filed an injunction and the court decided in his favour. He was sole owner of both the patent and the machine but had to repay Didot’s expenses. To end the stalemate a further court sitting agreed a payment of 27,000 francs for the transfer of all patent drawings to Didot and the promise of a new machine to be produced by Robert, which was to be paid for in instalments by Didot. Robert fulfilled his part, Didot did not. The patent drawing and paper samples were on their way to England with Didot’s brother-in-law, John Gamble.

Having lost the patent and control of his invention, Nicolas-Louis Robert moved to Vernouillet where he became a teacher in a school he set up. The pay was poor due to the after-effects of the war, so he remained a teacher until his death on 8th August 1828.

Curiously, there seem to have been two men with the same name, Nicolas-Louis Robert 1761-1828 and a man of the same name 1760-1820. Both French, both inventors, both alive in corresponding years, but two very separate individuals. The firstborn Nicolas Louis Robert and his brother, together with Jacques Charles, invented the first passenger-less hydrogen balloon in 1783.

Please note: Variations of Robert’s name can be found in different sources. The Apsley Paper Trail has investigated this matter with the French authorities and it is correctly Nicolas-Louis Robert.