How to determine the age of old paper items?

[Koguryo9]

Sorry for asking this question: Is there a way to determine the age of some old paper items? Can some sort of a test be done to determine the age?

I was offered something and it comes with a piece of old wrapping paper and I wanted to know if it is really period (WWII) paper. Thanks!

[Waffe]

An interesting question. I am not aware of any test, but I can tell you that the quality of paper can vary greatly- from cheap, high-acid content paper, like newsprint or "pulp" that old magazines and books were printed on, all the way up to "archival" grade paper with no acid content that would not show its age after many years if stored properly. I have heard of newspapers being dug up in landfills that were the better part of 100 years old and were still readable. Unless there was something printed on the paper that could be dated (and that could be easily faked), I'd say it would be difficult to determine the age. Hope this helps.

Regards,
Kent G.