Concentrations of soluble sugars including glucose and xylose in papers produced over a range of 500 years were determined. Extraction of samples from the unprinted areas of the paper was followed by concentration, derivatisation, and analysis of the extracts by gas chromatography. The identification of the sugars was made by comparison of retention time to authentic samples and the sugars quantified against an internal standard. Initial data showed differences in the oldest (14th -17th century) specimens in comparison to later 18th, 19th and 20th century papers. Higher levels of simple sugars were found in newer papers, indicating a combination of larger amounts of easily hydrolyzed material and processes that yielded acidic papers in which the hydrolysis of these components is much more rapid.