parchment-msg – 1/16/08
Making and buying parchment. substitutes. Sources.
NOTE: See also the files: inks-msg, paper-msg, papermaking-msg, quills-msg, sealing-wax-msg, gold-leaf-msg, calligraphy-msg, callig-suppl-msg.
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Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: dmb at waynesworld.ucsd.EDU (Doug Brownell)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: parchment
Date: 16 Apr 1993 19:00:29 -0400
Greetings unto The Rialto and especially Milady Susan.
She hath written:
: I would like help finding information about parchment. I have the first
: R. Reed book, and would like to know if there is more information out there.
I have just received a full skin through a company called Pendragon
Calligraphy in Afton (?), Minnesota. It was terribly expensive, but
came fully prepared and ready to use. The lady who runs Pendragon
apparently works by herself and is a professional calligrapher.
Every time I've called she has been willing to spend as long as
necessary to answer my questions (on *my* dime, of course). I don't
have her phone number with me (of course), but will reply with it if
anyone wishes.
I would also recommend a book called The Calligrapher's Handbook
edited by Heather Childs. It has some good articles on parchment as
well as other subjects.
Does anyone know of other sources of parchment, vellum, whatever?
Good day unto you all.
Thomas Brownwell, Calligrapher, Herald, Et Al (whoever he is)...
dbrownell at ucsd.edu
From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Parchment Paper Books!
Date: 4 Jan 1995 17:18:51 GMT
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
In article <9501041005.aa07490 at mc.lcs.mit.edu>, AIGRAN00 at ukcc.uky.EDU (Alison Ingrid Grande) writes:
|> Over the holidays my mother and I journey down to St. Thomas in the U.S.
|> Virgin Islands. As we were walking through Charlotte Amalie, I so happened
|> to find a store called Mapes Monde that sells books and prints on parchment!
Are you sure it's real parchment? There is stuff called parchment *paper*,
which is the term you use in you title, which is vegetable fiber paper made
in such a way that it resembles real parchment which is made from animal skins.
Animal skin parchment is rather laborious to make (I've got the blisters,
calluses, and assorted aches to prove it), so it tends to be expensive.
While it is widely regarded as an incomparable medium for calligraphy and
illumination, it is not so well regarded for printing.
What I'm trying to say it that it would be unusual for stuff to be printed on
parchment. If these prints and books were made of parchment, they should be
very expensive (are prices generally low in the Virgin Islands?).
|> And to ask a question, how long does parchment last?
Assuming we're talking about real animal skin parchment, made the traditional
way:
As long as you don't get it wet, or subject it to attack by harsh chemicals,
the answer appears to be indefinitely. There are parchment manuscripts that
are more than 1000 years old that are still in good condition. Some inks and
pigments, when improperly prepared, will degrade the parchment over time, but
generally speaking parchment is extremely stable. This may not be the case
with some modern parchments if non-traditional chemicals are used in their
manufacture (only time will tell).
|> When did people begin making it?
Tough question. The line between parchment, rawhide, and leather can be somewhat
blurry. Some people regard the dead-sea scrolls as being parchment, others
regard them as being a type of leather. At what point does one distinguish
rawhide from parchment? Also, there have been a certain amount of refinement
(and in more recent times, debasement) in the process over the centuries, with
many regional variations in technique. For this reason, parchment made in one
time/place may have differed from parchments made in other times/places.
The story goes that parchment was 'invented' in Pergamon (sp?) in Asia Minor,
a century of two before the birth of Christ (sorry, references are at home).
Whether this is true, or if the process was merely refined and formalized there
is, as far as I know, uncertain.
|> I know it's more durable than wood pulp,
If by durability you mean stability, this is largely due to the chemicals used
in modern pulp manufacture. Linen rag paper made using medieval technology will
have a comparable durability.
If by durability you mean strength, well this is because parchment manufacture
consists of modifying the fibre structure of the pelt by stretching, shaving,
etc. Paper manufacture consists of breaking up the fibres and 'glueing' them
back together. Parchment, generally, is going to be stronger.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for parchment *paper*. The old way of
making parchment paper was to treat regular paper with sulphuric acid to give it
a yellow, translucent appearance. This stuff lasts about as long as birthday
cake. There are other vegetable based immitation parchments which, presumably,
have a durability that is similar to fine papers. Unfortunately, this is not
something I've investigated very much at all. Too busy with my goat skins.
|> but that's about all I
|> am currently aware of other than as a comfirmed bibliophile I pick up the
|> book quite frequently and gloat with joy. If any gentles on this good bridge
|> wish to regale me with information about parchment, you will find a willing
|> listener.
Sounds like you've got quite a find there! I'd be able to tell you if it's
real parchment pretty quickly, but I'd have to look at it/touch it. Since you
can't very well snip off a piece to mail it to me, I could send you some
samples of the various parchments I make, and you could compare them to see
if what you have looks like parchment. Contact me via email if you're interested.
Another easy way is to see if the price you paid makes sense. In the US,
parchment, even the cheap stuff, sells for at least $15 US per square foot
(untrimmed hides). You could add up the number of square feet in your
book and figure out if what you paid seems reasonable. Of course, if the
pages of your book are thin and uniform, you would expect to pay even more
for the parchment.
If you want to know more about parchment, ask away. I'll talk your 'ears' off.
Cheers, Rick C. email: cav at bnr.ca
From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Parchment Paper Books!
Date: 5 Jan 1995 16:20:12 GMT
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
In article <9501051025.aa11916 at MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU>, AIGRAN00 at ukcc.uky.EDU (Alison Ingrid Grande) writes:
|> Good Gentles,
|>
|> *sigh* I think you're right, Rick. The book cost about $20 and it has way too
|> many pages to be animal skins material. It probably would have cost much much
|> more.
|>
|> But! I still love it, and I guess by process of elimination it is well made
|> parchment *paper* It isn't transluscent, but of a nice thickness, creamy color,
|> with faint horizontal grain lines.
|>
Oh, no doubt it's a great book! I mean, realistically, even if someone were
prepared to deal with the technological hassles of printing on parchment
(no two hides are exactly alike), few of us would be able to afford the
product. I wasn't trying to denigrate your find!
Actually, the horizontal lines you describe pretty much establish
that it is paper. If they're regularly spaced, etc., they're probably from
the wires in the screens used in the papermaking process (I forget the
terminology). With parchment, the only lines one might expect to see would
be from the knives used in thinning the parchment, but these would be irregular,
and should be removed during final finishing.
The fibres in parchment go in every direction,
but the stretching causes them to line up in layers parallel to the surfaces.
Sort of like a stack of tissues where the fibres within each tissue are woven
in a random, web-like manner.
With parchment, the term 'grain' is used to describe the surface texture on
the 'hair' side caused by the hair follicles, etc. The grain is absent from
many parchments either due to having been shaved off, or the parchment having
been made from a 'split'. With calf parchment, the grain, even when present,
is often barely noticeable. With kid/goat parchment, the grain is very
pronounced when present.
|> Besides, I like aminals. I like to eat them, too, but due to some strange
|> logic I might feel guilty reading this book in the presence of my dog. I know,
|> they're probably made of leather scraps from animals that were eaten anyway.
|> I never said I was a rational individual! *grin*
Well, not leather scraps. When the animals you eat are slaughtered, the hides
are removed and preserved in some way (usually by salting) and eventually find
their way to a broker who sells them to tanneries (to be made into leather)
or to parchment makers. I like my hides fresh, so I usually go straight to the
slaughterhouses. Also, some parchments are made from the hides of animals that
die naturally. I'm not exactly sure what happens to the meat from such animals,
but I suspect it gets made into pet food and such, so again, no need to feel
guilty with your dog. I occasionally use the hides from
wild deer that were hunted, but they're not as nice to work with. The deer were
eaten in any case.
As long as you eat meat, and use leather, there's no reason to
feel guilty about using parchment either. For the animal, it's a better shot
at immortality than most of us will ever get ;).
Cheers, Rick
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Re: Parchment Paper B
From: david.razler at compudata.com (David Razler)
Date: Thu, 05 Jan 1995 21:58:00 -0500
Organization: Compu-Data BBS -=- Turnersville, NJ -=- 609-232-1245
RC>Actually, the horizontal lines you describe pretty much establish
RC>that it is paper. If they're regularly spaced, etc., they're probably f
RC>the wires in the screens used in the papermaking process (I forget the
RC>terminology). With parchment, the only lines one might expect to see wo
RC>be from the knives used in thinning the parchment, but these would be
RC>irregular,
RC>and should be removed during final finishing.
Or proof of a good reproduction. The first step in copying a manuscript is
laying down the lines, measuring equal spaces, left and right, then lightly
scoring a line connecting the two points. Place to find a description
without going out of town: Eco's Name of the Rose - descriptions of the
activities in the Scriptorium.
dmr
[david.razler at compudata.com]
From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Parchment Paper Books!
Date: 10 Jan 1995 14:22:20 GMT
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
In article <3es6j1$ioi at tadpole.fc.hp.com>, apr at fc.hp.com (Anne Reynolds) writes:
|> Rick Cavasin (cav at bnr.ca) wrote:
|>
|> : If you want to know more about parchment, ask away. I'll talk your 'ears' off.
|> : Cheers, Rick C. email: cav at bnr.ca
|>
|> Unto Rick, greetings this ninth day of January. I tried to contact
|> you by email, but the mail bounced, so I am trying this forum instead.
|> I am becoming interested in trying my hand at making either parchment
|> or vellum. I noticed from your posts you seem to have spent quite a lot of
|> time researching and making parchment. Can you direct me to some good
|> references? Right now, I am mostly interested in the practical, how-to
|> side of the subject. That way I can decide whether I will have time
|> to try my hand at it this year, next year, the year after that, or
|> not until next century :).
Anne,
I sent you a more lengthy response via email, but I thought I'd post the
references here since others may be interested (if you don't get the email,
post something to that effect and I'll follow up with the rest of my somewhat
lengthy response).
There aren't any good 'how-to' books on this subject. Most discussions of
parchment making are more scholarly, intended for the benefit of conservators
who will be working with it and are interested in knowing about the process,
but not the specifics of how to do it. Mr. de Groot, a parchment maker in
Holland, is supposed to be publishing a book in the near future on his research,
but that's all I know at this point. I'll be writing to him soon to inquire
further.
Here's some references:
Ancient Skins, Parchments, and Leathers, R.Reed, Seminar Press
London and New York, 1972 ISBN 0-12-903550-5
(this is basically the 'bible' on such matters)
Reed, Ronald. 1975. The Nature and Making of Parchment. Leeds,
England: The Elmete Press.
(much of what appears in this rare book is in the previous work)
Fulacher, Pascal. 1988. "Metier Parcheminier" Art et Metiers
du Livre. vol 149: 77-83.
(excellent description of the process used by a French parchment
maker - if you understand french)
Wildbrett, Edith and Von Manfred. 1991. "Hautpergament--Ein
Naturprodukt von erlesener Schonheit" Pergament:
Geschichte, Struktur, Restaurierung, Herstellung. Jan
Thorbecke Verlag Sigmaringen.
(pretty standard description of the process - the tome mentioned - Pergament:etc.
is a large tour de force on parchment, unfortunately much of it is in German)
Ryder, Michael L. 1964. "Parchment -- Its history, manufacture
and composition" Journal of the Society of Archivists. vol
2: 9, April, 1964.
Thompson, Daniel V. 1936. The Materials and Techniques of
Medieval Painting. NY: Constable, 1936.
(good short description of the process - but ignore what he
has to say about rabbit and squirrel skins masquerading as
uterine vellum)
Thompson, Daniel V. 1935. "Medieval Parchment-Making" The
Library. 4th series, vol. 16: 113-117.
Visscher, W.P. 1986. "Trends in Vellum and Parchment Making
Past and Present" The New Bookbinder: Journal of Designer
Bookbinders. vol. 6: 41-81.
(This is written by the owner of Cowley's in England - where
alot of parchment here in North America seems to come from)
Vorst, Benhamin. 1986. "Parchment Making--Ancient and Modern"
Fine Print. vol 12 (4): 209-221.
(another good description from a small producer)
On some practical matters, you can borrow from leather tanning
(the processes of soaking, unhairing , and fleshing are similar
in both processes).
Of all the do-it-yerself type home tanning books, these are my two
favourites:
Home Tanners' Handbook, June Vivian ISBN 0-589-013718
The Complete Book of Tanning Skins and Furs, J.Churchill
Stackpole Books, Harrisburg PA 1983
(sorry, just have a few pages photocopied and no ISBN. Tandy
Leather used to sell this book, and they may still do so)
Hope this helps. If you have other questions, please feel free to ask.
Cheers, Rick C.
From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: SCA Fallacies
Date: 7 Apr 1995 17:05:54 GMT
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
In article <MCNUTT.790.009C3B0E at gateway.ce.utk.edu>, MCNUTT at gateway.ce.utk.edu (Bill McNutt) writes:
|> In article <3lv47q$otu at bmerhc5e.bnr.ca> cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin) writes:
|> >Even *I've* succeeded in making very thin parchment from kid, lamb, and
|> >stillborn calf skins. That being the case, I see no reason why a real
|> >medieval parchment maker would have had any difficulty in doing the same
|> >without resorting to anything as ridiculous as rabbit skins.
|>
|> Query: As a parchmenteer, I make a great carpenter. I can't tell parchment
|> from vellum from Kimberly-Clark white bond. Well, maybe it's not that bad,
|> but accept that I am clueless in the "old paper" area.
Well, everyone seems to have a different definition of what vellum is versus
parchment. Authorities in the field shrug and say that even in period
references to the materials, the two terms appear to be used interchangeably,
or at least not in any way that points to a consistent distinction between the
two terms. Generally, you will find two views of what the two terms mean:
View #1
-------
Parchment is a generic term for all such products, regardless of what animal
skin was used as the raw material. Vellum is a subclass of parchment, refering
specifically to very fine parchment made from calfskin. Adherents claim that
'vellum' derives from the same root as 'veal', and that the etymology of the
term implies calfskin. Unfortunately, a case can also be made that the word
'vellum' derives from 'pellis', and therefore just means 'skin'.
View #2
-------
This is more of an industry jargon usage of recent times, where 'Vellum' means
high quality parchment, regardless of the animal skin used. 'parchment' is
a low grade product made from sheepskin splits. This is the usage seen most
often in supplier catalogues and craft (eg. bookbinding) journals.
I just use the generic term 'parchment' since I see little to be gained by
haggling over what have become ambigous terms (if they ever had distinct
meanings).
If you handled some real parchment (speaking generically), you
would quickly learn to recognize it as
different from paper. As a carpenter, I assume that you have an appreciation
for wood, and the different textures, grains, etc. If that's the case, then
you should have no problem distinguishing parchment from paper, if you were
given the opportunity to handle the two side by side. It's a visual/tactile
thing that can't be communicated very well via words/photos.
Some of the more subtle
differences, and those involving behaviour under different circumstances, might
not be obvious unless you work with both. If nothing else, you'll note a big
difference in strength. A good parchment is probably at least an order of
magnitude stronger than any paper of comparable thickness.
|> Why would rabbit/squirrel skins be any more ridiculous than stillborn calf
|> skins. As a carpenter, they both look odd to me.
The difference is one of practicality in a manufacturing process. The skin of a stillborn calf will be 4 to perhaps 6 square feet in area. A squirrel skin will
probably by less than 1. Kids and lambs are 3 to 5 square feet (depending on
age). Although you CAN make parchment from a squirrel skin,
and it might even make a very nice parchment, it's not a very practical source
of skin, and not viable on a production basis. I would not consider fooling
with rabbit and squirrel skins (except maybe once out of curiousity, or as
a joke), so I cannot imagine a medieval parchmenter, who would have much more
skill and experience, and have to produce at a much higher volume, being tempted to resort to them. That much is personal opinion, but a number of authorities seem to agree that there is no evidence that these skins were used for this
purpose in the middle ages. It just makes more sense that they would have used kid, lamb, and calf. This isn't obvious until you try making parchment on a
regular basis though, and note that even small kidskins start looking like
alot of trouble for the size, except that the quality of the product justifies
the extra labour/unit area. It's not so much the absolute size of the animal,
but the AGE of it. An adult rabbit might actually make an inferior parchment
compared to kid or calf, despite being much smaller.
|> Eager to learn, but too lazy to look it up for myself. (Besides, if EVERYONE
|> did that, what would we have to talk about?)
You might not find good answers in just any old reference, since many brief
descriptions of the craft parrot the same old fallacy. On a very regular basis
I get asked if I ever tried to use rabbit or squirrel 'because the really fine
vellum use in small bibles in the middle ages was made from them'. After
a while, it gets frustrating to have to try and correct the same fallacy over
and over again. All because way back when, somebody said that he thought that