parchment-msg – 5/16/17

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, P-Papermaking-art.

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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 
maybe, some of the fine parchment was made from squirrel or rabbit. Grrr....
 
Cheers, Rick/Balderik


From: Kyteler <c578168 at showme.missouri.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Mundane w/ questions
Date: 18 Aug 1995 20:37:41 GMT
Organization: University of Missouri - Columbia

japixley at netcom.com (Jonathan Pixley) wrote: 
> 
snip> 
>First, along the line of creating illuminated manuscripts, does anyone  
>know where a person could acquire parchment of a fairly good quality   
that  
>would last at least three quarters of a century or so?  I wish I could  
>say that money is not an issue, but unfortunately it is, so it has to be  
>priced reasonably (I'll leave it up to each of you to determine what  
>'reasonable' might be). 

snip> 
     And we can do most anything to rats.  --Bruce Sterling 
Many bookbinderies carry a nice selection of papers and parchment.    
Unfortunately real parchment is always quite expensive, however, you can   
often substitute high quality paper for animal skin parchment.  As a   
graduate student in medieval art history I have bought parchment on a few   
occasions, and while it is very expensive, in small amounts it's not too   
bad.  A knowledgeable bookbinder will probably be able to aid you in   
finding a suitable parchment or paper for the illumination.  Hope this   
helps. 
 
Kyteler-- 
appropriately enough, a mundane with an answer...


From: 3hgf at qlink.queensu.ca (Fraser Heather G)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: tools for scribes
Date: 30 Nov 1995 03:31:52 GMT
Organization: Queen's University, Kingston

In article <492l9u$qt4 at cs6.rmc.ca>, "2Lt Aryeh J.S. Nusbacher"
<nusbacher-a at rmc.ca> writes: 

|> 3hgf at qlink.queensu.ca (Fraser Heather G) wrote:
|> 
|> > Reasonable substitutes for [parchment], that aren't too expensive 
|> > and will give you a good result, are 100% rag, acid-free watercolour
|> > paper, in a 90 or 140 lb weight.  
|> 
|> I would suggest that rather than watercolour paper, you might consider
|> Strathmore Bristol 3-ply, or similar _very_ hard paper.  Watercolour
|> paper is very porous indeed, quite differently from parchment.

In fact, the real problem is that not all watercolour papers are created 
equal.  Papers with some wood pulp content, such as Strathmore 50/50 
(that's rag and pulp), are totally unsuitable for calligraphy, as I 
discovered to my sorrow when someone donated a large amount of this 
paper to the signet office several years ago.  However, 100% rag content 
papers, made of cotton or linen fibres and then hot pressed, have a very 
tight surface that doesn't bleed.  My favourite brand is Arches.

I also suspect, after Balderik's post which I haven't quoted from, that 
this variety of paper is the closest modern equivalent to the papers that 
were used for early printed books near the close of our period.  The 
major reason parchment is preferable to paper is that parchment is much 
more satisfactory for gilding (there are sanding processes in gilding 
that ruin paper but don't affect parchment at all).  So for scribes who 
aren't gilding, this paper is a reasonable substitute.  

    Sarra Graeham of Birnham                    |  Heather Fraser
    Canton Greyfells, Barony Skraeling Althing  |  Kingston, ON, CANADA
    Principality of Ealdormere, Midrealm        |  3hgf at qlink.queensu.ca


From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: PARCHMENT AND VELLUM WEBSITE
Date: 28 Jun 1996 18:46:03 GMT
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

For anyone interested in information about parchment & vellum,
I've put together a couple of articles and some images on a web
site:

   http://www.niagara.com/~acavasin/rick/rcav.html

Cheers, Rick/Balderik               email: cav at nortel.ca


From: cav at storm.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Leather & Ink?
Date: 13 Mar 1997 14:01:17 GMT
Organization: Bell Northern Research

Russell Gilman-Hunt <rgh at continue.uoregon.edu> writes:

|> Thanks for your kindly response.  I tried to find vellum somewhere 
|> local (to Portland Oregon), and was unable to.  The closest I could
|> find was "Vellum Paper" at Art Media.  Those folks there could give 
|> me a number to call "back east" for vellum-the-skin stuff.

Vellum/parchment is a specialty item.  To my knowledge, I'm the only person
in the US or Canada who makes it for sale (I've heard of a few others who've
dabbled in making it for their own use).  Most of the big producers (and even
they are VERY small compared to even a modest sized leather tannery) are in
Europe and Israel.  This means anyone in the US who wants to carry the stuff
has to import it from Europe, which can be a pain.  And since you're dealing
with skins, it's not as easy to provide a standardized product (ie. it's more
difficult to market).  This means that only a few specialty stores will go
through the bother of carrying the stuff.  The bookbinders' warehouse, bookmakers, john neal bookseller, the gabriel guild, pendragon, talus, 
there may be a few others who sell parchment/vellum.

I don't sell to any distributors at present, but I ship all over the world. 

|> Actually, what I was aiming at, since I couldn't find vellum, was 
|> a better presentation for a written poem than ballpoint on notepaper,
|> if you know what I mean.  You know, something different, yet attractive.

Er...how about quill pen or calligraphy pen, using a good ink  (Jack Thompson -
tcl at teleport.com - in Portland sells medieval style iron-gall ink), on a quality
laid paper?  Rather than trying to find a paper that simulates vellum (something
paper rarely succeeds in doing), why not find a paper that looks like the sort
of paper that would have been available in Europe in the middle ages?  Remember,
they were making paper at Fabriano in Italy in the 13th century (and they still
do).  Look for a high-rag content laid paper.  That would be even more authentic
than using a paper that's masquerading as vellum (unless you're shooting for
a pre-13th century effect).  Even if you are, you could enter it as  a
14th century copy of a poem written before paper was introduced to Europe. Nyah!

|> My entry is the poem, not the leather/ink stuff.  Anyway.

If that's the case, I'd just use a good, attractive paper.  No point in
hammering a square peg into a round hole.  Paper has it's own unique beauty
and charm.  No need to make it try to be something it's not.  There's also
a purely technical consideration.  *Some* immitation 'parchment' papers are
made by chemical processes that render them subject to rapid degradation.

|> I'll probably go to Art Media and see what they have there; the 
|> quoted price was $.20 a sheet for 8x10.

Real vellum would cost you between 100 and 200 times that much, depending on
where you got it.  If that doesn't daunt you, get in touch with me next time,
but give yourself a couple months time to work out the logistics of delivery.
(hint - it's always cheaper to buy whole or half hides than trimmed rectangular
pieces)

Cheers,Rick/Balderik


From: cav at storm.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Leather & Ink?
Date: 14 Mar 1997 13:18:36 GMT
Organization: Bell Northern Research

Greetings:

Elaine_Crittenden at dxpressway.com (Elaine Crittenden) writes:
> Given your short time span and your experience to calligraph the poem for your
> deadline, I would go with paper, too. Deer hides are too thick for good
> caliber late period pieces, anyway, and the thinner vellums need stretching
> to avoid buckling. 

But slight buckling (usually refered to as 'cockling') is perfectly natural
for a parchment/vellum that is pressed (ie. not inside a book with boards and
clasps).  Conservators who are experts in the treatment of vellum do not
recommend stretching of historical pieces (called 'drumming'), so one would
assume that this is not a good idea for a modern piece either.  The parchment
should be mounted in such a way that it is free to expand and contract with
the variations in ambient humidity.  Of course, care should be taken not to
subject the artwork to extremes of temperature/humidity.

The problem that I have with the idea of the parchment being drummed is that
I sell my parchment/vellum in a state that is pretty much read-for-use.  I take
a great deal of care in preparing the skins.  The dampening and stretching
involved in drumming a skin partially un-does the work I did, and may
necessitate some re-work by the scribe.  You also lose a significant margin
where you wrap the parchment over the edge of the frame, and the stuff is
expensive.  I don't think I've ever seen a single piece of my parchment that
had been drummed.  Admittedly, I don't often see the finished pieces (alas!).

|> The thinnest is "uterine vellum," made from the skin of
|> unborn calves. 

While it is possible to make vellum from the skin of an unborn or stillborn
calf, and I've done it a number of times, there is some controversy regarding
how often this would actually have been done in period.  Unless the carcass
is delt with promptly, some blood will remain in the finished vellum, giving it a slight reddish/brown tinge (sometimes greenish).  Animals that are duly
slaughtered provide the best skins, and from my own experience, it is difficult to distinguish a vellum made from a stillborn/unborn calf from than made from
a very young slaughtered calf (except for the bloodstaining). Recent literature
on the subject indicates that alot of the very fine vellum used in small 13th
century bibles for example, is most likely to be split lambskin.  From my
own work, I've made thinner vellum from split lamb than from unborn calf.
My suspicion is that the use of stillborn animals may have resulted in the
coining of the term 'uterine vellum ' (or rather, its latin equivalent), but
that the term was used in reference to any thin fine parchment.  Then there
are regional differences - in mediteranean areas kid and goat seem to have
been the predominant animals used.   
  
(at my web site -  http://www.niagara.com/~acavasin/rick/rcav.html, you will
find a couple of articles on parchment/vellum, with references - see Clarkson,
Reed, and Cains for more backround on what appears above)


|> In buying vellum offcuts, you can wind up with some really
|> thick pieces for practice or "parchment size" (glue) manufacture. you will
|> also have to specify what kind of "finish" you want and state the purpose,
|> since you wouldn't want to buy a bookbinder's thickness for a scribe's needs.

Why so?  Most scribes only work one side of the skin, and the finish work is
matted and framed.  How does the thickness matter in this type of application?
If the vellum is to be made into a book, then yes, the thickness must be chosen
carefully, according to the size of the book.  And yes, if you're drumming the
skin, a thicker skin would be harder to work with.  For most scribes, I would
think that the type of surface finish would be more important than the thickness.
 
|> If you do get to use true vellum, you will also need fine sandpaper.
|> (Careful! you don't want suede from too vigorous sanding--and do your sanding
|> outdoors. Trust me.) You will also need powdered sandarac (a Middle eastern
|> tree's dried sap) for the "flesh side," especially, since it's greasier than
|> the "hair side."

People should be careful about such blanket statements.  Though what you've 
said is often true, and may be a useful starting point, much will depend on
the source of the parchment/vellum.  What may be true of skins from one source
may not be true of skins from another.  Most of my skins are provided with a
finely napped surface, and unless the scribe prefers a coarser nap, no sanding
would be necessary.  While the flesh side of many skins *is* greasier than the
hair side, that's not always the case.  I doubt that there is a significant
difference for many of my skins, and in the case of the split lamb (something
I rarely make for assorted reasons), the hair side is definitely greasier.

For sanding, I would recommend nothing coarser than 400 grit.  An even better
solution is to obtain finely powdered pumice - wrap a scrap piece of parchment
around a wooden block, and use it like a sanding block with small amounts of
the powdered pumice.  Wrapping the block with parchment avoids contaminating
your parchment with anything other than more parchment dust, and the pumice
cuts less agressively than sandpaper, and tends to absorb any stray grease from
the surface.  This should be done on a smooth, cushioned surface.

Cheers, Rick/Balderik


From: Elaine_Crittenden at dxpressway.com (Elaine Crittenden)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Leather & Ink?
Date: 16 Mar 1997 01:01:13 GMT
Organization: Digital Xpressway - Dallas, TX

Rick/Balderic, 
I am terribly sorry to have intruded upon your "territory" about scribing on
parchments and vellums by giving advice in your field. I was only trying to
give gentle help (for now and for "down the road") to a fellow calligrapher
who had a time problem and was setting goals that could have only proved
discouraging and possibly caused him to miss his deadline. 

I was just sourcing on personal experience augmented by remembered workshops
and notes personally taken from from such "lowly" (read "mundane")
instructors as Donald Jackson, scribe to Queen Elizabeth II; his protege,
Thomas Ingmire (of San Francisco); Brody Neuanschwander, successor to Ann
Camp's chair at Digby in England; and Czech-born and European-trained Jan
Sobota, conservator for the rare books collection for Dallas's Southern
Methodist University and a consistent winner on world class levels of
competition on (as Pooh says "Oh, bother!" --that word again!) mundane
bookbinding. 

Other information on the need for stating finishes I gleaned from direct,
face-to-face conversation with the owner (my supplier) of The Bookbinder's
Warehouse (in New Jersey)--sad to say, another mundane contact of mine. (Oh,
fie on you, Elaine, vile female upstart! )
And readings in the field, such as the article "Skins, Papers, Pounces" by
Margaret L. Hodgson which is found in The Calligrapher's Handbook--the C. M.
Lamb edited one. My apologies for its being such an old copy, now that Ms.
Child has come out with another one, but it wasn't old when I bought it.  :-\

I also have another book, but it's so thorough that it's hard to get through
in one sitting, ya know?--Dr. Reed's Ancient Skins, Parchments, and Leathers, c1972 Seminar Press Ltd., London, most likely available in the rare books sections of a library, if it's there at all. Incidentally, Dr. Reed's book does mention conservators' flattening ancient skins by putting them under tension--and not by what I presume you mean by "drumming, " although the piece I did under Mr. Neunschwander's instruction was stretched flat on a solid board prior to a painting executed with our hand-made paints and accompanied by raised and
burnished gold work done on true gesso. 

Oh, dear, this is all so mundane!  ;-)  My sincerest apologies, again, Rick.

(The rest of you following this thread--and not having access to any websites
(like me), especially the fabulous, I presume, one of Rick's--may find some
seeds for interesting sources for your studies in this reply, but, as Lazarus
Long advises about writing--do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.)
;-)     
Elaine Crittenden (Dallas, Texas) aka Lete bithe Spring (Steppes, Ansteorra)


From: Sue Hallock <kendra at ziplink.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Leather & Ink?
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 17:41:33 -0500

Elaine Crittenden wrote:
> 
> Rick/Balderic,
> I am terribly sorry to have intruded upon your "territory" about scribing on
> parchments and vellums by giving advice in your field. 

<snip>

Whoa there! Elaine I think you're being a wee bit oversensitive and have
come down hard on Balderick without much provocation. Of course there
are differences in opinion amongst parchment experts and scholars --
there are similiar differences in most fields of acedemic research. Rick
was speaking out of his experience of researching, making, finishing, and
using fine parchments -- hands-on work does tend to lead to a different
type of knowledge than standard academic research knowledge -- many
experts may have the papers to 'prove' they're experts but have never
actually gotten their hands dirty researching something. I know. I used
to be in academia.

I can attest that Rick's parchment and tawed skins are beautiful works
of art. The need no extra finishing on them..they're as smooth as a
baby's bottom. His stuff puts my own parchment making efforts to shame
(and I've had Laurels oo and ahh over my stuff).

> ya know?--Dr. Reed's Ancient Skins, Parchments, and Leathers, c1972 Seminar
> Press Ltd., London, most likely available in the rare books sections of a
> library, if it's there at all. Incidentally, Dr. Reed's book does mention
> conservators' flattening ancient skins by putting them under tension--and not
> by what I presume you mean by "drumming, " 

<snip>

I've read all of Reed's book (so has Rick), that's where I got the
techniques for making parchment. I believe the part you're talking about
is under Parchment Restoration where he talks about conservators
flattening parchment that has been damaged by water or excess humidity.
The process involves dampening the parchment and then stretching it and
weighting it. Wet parchment is nothing more than rawhide, the wetting
and tensioning of the skin has to be done to restore the parchment. Such
flattening wouldn't need to be done to new parchment that has been
stored under the proper conditions.

> Oh, dear, this is all so mundane!  ;-)  My sincerest apologies, again, Rick.
> (The rest of you following this thread--and not having access to any websites
> (like me), especially the fabulous, I presume, one of Rick's--may find some
> seeds for interesting sources for your studies in this reply, but, as Lazarus
> Long advises about writing--do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.)

I find your sarcasm very heavy handed and unwarranted. You're reference
of Heinlein's work implies that people should not really trust
written-resources, but these are exactly the type of resources you refer
most to. Rick has done hands on research by applying the techniques
cited in books and has learned from trial and error. 

Rick is a gentleman who is truely skilled and knowledgable in his art.
He did nothing to attack you -- why do you take it so personally? 

--Kendra of Hollyoake
leatherworker and sometimes parchment-maker


From: cav at storm.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Leather & Ink?
Date: 17 Mar 1997 14:20:32 GMT
Organization: Bell Northern Research

Greetings,
Elaine_Crittenden at dxpressway.com (Elaine Crittenden) writes:

|> I am terribly sorry to have intruded upon your "territory" about scribing on
|> parchments and vellums by giving advice in your field. I was only trying to
|> give gentle help (for now and for "down the road") to a fellow calligrapher
|> who had a time problem and was setting goals that could have only proved
|> discouraging and possibly caused him to miss his deadline.

I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I've attacked you personally.  You
have much more experience in using vellum/parchment than I do, I'm sure, since
I'm not even a calligrapher.  I was simply expanding on a few points you made,
and offered additional information and references. 
 
|> I was just sourcing on personal experience augmented by remembered workshops
|> and notes personally taken from from such "lowly" (read "mundane")
|> instructors as Donald Jackson, scribe to Queen Elizabeth II; his protege,
|> Thomas Ingmire (of San Francisco); Brody Neuanschwander, successor to Ann
|> Camp's chair at Digby in England; and Czech-born and European-trained Jan
|> Sobota, conservator for the rare books collection for Dallas's Southern
|> Methodist University and a consistent winner on world class levels of
|> competition on (as Pooh says "Oh, bother!" --that word again!) mundane
|> bookbinding.

Normally, I would not mention this sort of thing, but except for Jan Sobota,
I've met all these folks, as well as some of the other big names in the
calligraphy world.  They were all very impressed with my skins.  It was Sheila
Waters who said 'I've been working with skins for 50 years and I've never seen
skins as good as these' (or something along those lines).  I say this not to
promote my own products, but rather to illustrate that these very people can
be taken by surprise.  Everyone should be careful about making blanket
generalizations, experts, authors, even ordinary folk like us.  There are 
always exceptions.

And while these people are all recognized artists, I don't think any of them
have devoted themselves specifically to the study of parchment/vellum, as
folks like Reed, Clarkson, et. al have.  Please note that when I refer to 
'experts' in the field, I do not include myself.  I'm just an *sshole who
makes things.
 
|> Other information on the need for stating finishes I gleaned from direct,
|> face-to-face conversation with the owner (my supplier) of The Bookbinder's
|> Warehouse (in New Jersey)--sad to say, another mundane contact of mine. (Oh,
|> fie on you, Elaine, vile female upstart! )

You keep harping on the word 'mundane'.  I consider myself only peripherally
involved in the SCA.  Most of my research and most of my customers are in
the mundane world.  

|> And readings in the field, such as the article "Skins, Papers, Pounces" by
|> Margaret L. Hodgson which is found in The Calligrapher's Handbook--the C. M.
|> Lamb edited one. 

Actually, in some ways, I like that article better than the one in the current
edition of the Calligrapher's handbook.  At the time Hodgson wrote her article,
there were still several parchment makers in England, and so her descriptions
of the different types of parchment available are not so heavily skewed by
exposure to the products of a single manufacturer.  Today, there is only
Cowley's.    If you were to base your ideas about parchment based solely on
the products of that one company, you might be surprised when confronted with
parchment from Australia, or Italy, or even Canada.  THAT'S the main problem.

Now, the calligrapher's handbook was written in the UK, presumably for scribes
in the UK.  It makes sense that discussions about parchment/vellum contained
therein should concentrate on those products the British scribe is most likely
to encounter (ie. those from British manufacturers).  However, some of the
things that are written there are written in very concrete terms.  I would
have prefered if some of the statements had been qualified to allow for the
fact that there might be exceptions to their 'rules'. 

To be specific, I get many customers who have little or no experience working
with parchment/vellum ask specifically for calfskin, because sources like
the calligrapher's handbook claim it is without exception the best type of
skin.  Now, if you compare it to sheep or goatskin, I might have to agree.
That is not a  fair comparison - immature vs mature animal.  Now, kid vs
calf is a more valid comparison.  However, as mentioned by Hodgson, kidskin
parchment is rare (at least in the UK), so you aren't going to see much 
written in the various handbooks about it.   I make it, and I think that for
some purposes, it might be superior to calf (there are an awful lot of Italian
manuscripts done on kidskin).  I make calf as well, but I sometimes find it
difficult to convince customers to even try the kidskin because of the 
widespread belief that calf is best, regardless of how it is processed.
I've seen calfskin that was badly made, and I've seen sheep and kid that was
very well made.  

It would dismay me greatly if someone were to invest a large sum of money in
a piece of finely made vellum, and then proceed to stretch it and scrape it
(and perhaps ruin it) when there was no need to, simply because they felt they
HAD to, based on what had been written in some handbook.  What is written in
a handbook may very well be true and useful in most circumstances, but 
everything should be taken with a grain of salt.  I was talking to Charles 
Pearce, and he described having worked on an enormous family tree that had been
executed on an enormous sheet of vellum.  They drummed the skin on a frame
(perhaps hard to avoid with something that big), and the work was subsequently
hung by the client over a heating vent.  The vellum contracted, and because
it was under tension the thing split up the middle.  Had it been mounted in
such a way that it was free to expand/contract, it may have cockled/buckled
somewhat, but at least it would not have torn.  Naturally, it should never
have been hung over the duct in the first place....

|> My apologies for its being such an old copy, now that Ms.
|> Child has come out with another one, but it wasn't old when I bought it.  :-\
|> I also have another book, but it's so thorough that it's hard to get through
|> in one sitting, 
|> ya know?--Dr. Reed's Ancient Skins, Parchments, and Leathers, c1972 Seminar
|> Press Ltd., London, most likely available in the rare books sections of a
|> library, if it's there at all. Incidentally, Dr. Reed's book does mention
|> conservators' flattening ancient skins by putting them under tension--

That's a temporary treatment to restore something that has been damaged.  Why
should such a treatment apply to a parchment that is brand new, fresh from
the manufacturer?  By drumming, I refer to the stretching of the
vellum over a board or frame, and leaving it mounted that way when framed -ie.
leaving the parchment/vellum under tension permanently.  I assumed (perhaps
incorrectly) that this is what you were talking about since it is a method
recommended in some calligraphy instruction manuals (including, I believe, the
current edition of the Calligrapher's Handbook).

|> and not
|> by what I presume you mean by "drumming, " although the piece I did under Mr.
|> Neunschwander's instruction was stretched flat on a solid board prior to a
|> painting executed with our hand-made paints and accompanied by raised and
|> burnished gold work done on true gesso.

Like I said, it is a controversial technique.  Some people swear by it, others
avoid it.
 
|> Oh, dear, this is all so mundane!  ;-)  My sincerest apologies, again, Rick.
|> (The rest of you following this thread--and not having access to any websites
|> (like me), especially the fabulous, I presume, one of Rick's--

No, it's not very fabulous.  The articles I have there have bibliographies, so
I thought it might be easier to simply refer people there than waste bandwidth
here.  Also, I don't want to be accused of promoting my products in a public
forum, so rather than get into the subject too deeply, I try to point those who
might be interested to the web site.  I have a link there to Sue Hallock's web
site, which has additional information, and a link to a literature survey thesis
on the subject by Nickolas Yeager which may help people with their research.
It's just too much information to post here.

I'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot here.  If you had sent me an email
saying that you can't access my web site, I would have cheerfully emailed you
any information you requested.  I do it all the time.  The offer is still open.

Cheers, Rick/Balderik


Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 14:27:34 -0500 (CDT)
From: "J. Patrick Hughes" <jphughes at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
To: SCA-ARTS list <sca-arts at listproc.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: Re- Mediaeval chickens and 

This is actually about the cattle in Ireland.  In O'Croinin' _Early
Medieval Ireland_ he comments that the parchment used in Ireland was calf
skin as opposed to the sheep skin more frequent on the mainland of Europe.
He also notes the tendency to have a greasy texture which indicates
overfeeding on grass.  He later goes on to cite a study made by Kathleen
Ryan, "Parchment as faunal record" in the University of Pennsylavania
Journal IV (1987) pp 124-138.She estimated that a theoretical book of 140
folios (70 skins) meant a figure of 438 adult cattle as the number of a
heard required to produce such a manuscript.  The estimate "assumes that
up to fifty percent of all male calves were culled in summer.  The rest
being slaughtered in their second autum and only the bulls and milch cows
being retained."  I though this might be of interest to people on the
list.

Charles O'Connor


Date: Tue, 8 Jul 1997 13:12:19 -0500 (CDT)
From: "J. Michael Shew" <jshewkc at pei.edu>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: manuscript materials (fwd)

	As I live in KC, I got it from Kieth Coldsnow's Artists Supply.  I
haven't tried getting it from a mail order, but you can contact them at
104 Westport Road, KC, MO 64111, or call (816) 931-6682.
	Call or write them to see if they have it available at the time.
	Mikal

	UPDATE:  They do mail orders.  However, the thicker, more period
stuff is not always available.  Call ahead.  They do a lot of buisness and
do credit card/phone orders.
	Mikal
____________________________________________________________________________
    Mikal the Ram; an annoying Bard of no redeeming qualities


Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 08:23:00 +22300454 (EST)
From: karen at addl.purdue.edu (Karen Stegmeier)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: manuscript stuff

There is a wonderful supplier of period manuscript goods including
kits for making period inks, or period inks, vellum etc.
It is The Gabriel Guild.  I believe they are out of New York and somewhat
affiliated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  They are likely to be
at Pennsic.  I picked up a catalog last year when I bought some gold leaf
They have an Oak Gall Ink Recipe/kit that I am thinking about getting

-Isabeau Pferdebandiger


Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 04:54:04 -0400
From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>
To: Merryrose <atlantia at atlantia.sca.org>, sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: parchment/vellum

Melanie Wilson wrote:
> Do you have maufacturers over there ?
> Mel

http://www.niagara.com/~acavasin/rick/rcav.htm
Rick Cavasin Handmade Parchment and Vellum.

http://www.icubed.com/users/jrose/jartindx.html
Master John the Artificer. Note the Portable Stave Church.

http://www.outlawpress.com/~outlaw/parch_cont.html
Analysis of parchment making literature.

http://www.teleport.com/~tcl/
Inks, How to books, translations of odd texts, other stuff.


Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 07:52:47 -0400
From: Melanie Wilson <MelanieWilson at compuserve.com>
To: LIST SCA arts <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Vellum, parchment etc Supplier

The Vellum Manufacturer I told you about in England has a US outlet it is:

Bookmakers International Ltd
6001 66th Avenue
Suiite 101
Riverdale 20737
MD20737

Tel: 301 459 3384

Mel


[Submitted by: "Alderton, Philippa" <phlip at morganco.net>]
From: R.L. Hunsucker (UvA/UBA) <hunsucker at uba.uva.nl>
To: BYZANS-L at lists.missouri.edu <BYZANS-L at lists.missouri.edu>
Date: Wednesday, November 10, 1999 5:53 AM
Subject: Re: Paper/Parchment

At 19:25 9-11-99 -0500, Diana Wright wrote:
>Can anyone direct me to books or articles on the economics of parchment
>and/or paper production in medieval/renaisance/byzantine times?

You might try:

  Pergament : Geschichte, Struktur, Restaurierung, Herstellung /
  hrsg. von Peter RŸck. - Sigmaringen : Thorbecke, 1991. -
  480 p. : ill. ; 31 cm. - (Historische Hilfswissenschaften ; Bd. 2).
  ISBN 3-7995-4202-7

which has among other things a bibliographical article by
Stefan Janzen and Angelika Manetzki, "Pergamentbibliographie",
on pp. 415-476 -- as well as RŸck's own "Zum Stand der
hilfswissenschaftlichen Pergamentforschung" on pp. 13-23.

and (just to mention some fairly recent stuff) such books as:

  Produzione e commercio della carta e del libro, secc. XIII-XVIII :
  atti della "Ventitreesima Settimana di Studi" 15-20 aprile 1991 /
  a cura di Simonetta Cavaciocchi. - [Firenze] : Le Monnier, 1992.
  - 1039 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. - (Istituto Internazionale di Storia Economica
  "F.Datini" Prato. Serie II, Atti delle "Settimane di Studi" e altri
  Covegni ; 23).
  ISBN 88-00-72223-7

  Papier : eine Kulturgeschichte / Wilhelm Sandermann. - 3.
  Aufl., ergaenzt und ueberarb. / von Klaus Hoffmann. - Berlin
  [etc.] : Springer Verlag, cop. 1997. - XII, 262 p. : ill. ; 21 cm
  ISBN 3-540-55313-4

  La saga du papier / Pierre-Marc de Biasi et Karine Douplitzky.
  - Paris : Adam Biro ; Issy-les-Moulineux : Arte Editions, 1999.
  - 256 p. : ill. ; 31 cm. - (Collection Textures).
  ISBN 2-87660-228-8

  L'histoire du papier / Christian Bouyer. - [Turnhout] : Brepols,
  cop. 1994. - 63 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.
  ISBN 2-503-50351-9

  Zum Stand der Papiergeschichtsforschung in Deutschland :
  Symposium mit Papierhistorikern und -wissenschaftlern
  anlaesslich des 600jaehrigen Jubilaeums der Papiermacherei
   in Deutschland / Guenter Bayerl, Wolfgang Schlieder, Rolf
  Stuempel (Hrsg.). - Frankfurt am Main [etc.] : Peter Lang,
  1993. - 128 p. ; 21 cm.
  ISBN 3-631-44539-3

  Making paper : a look into the history of an ancient craft
  / Bo Rudin ; [transl. from Swedish by Roger G. Tanner]. -
  Vaellingby : Rudins, 1990. - 278 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
  ISBN 91-970888-2-X

  Papermaking in Britain, 1488-1988 : a short history /
  Richard L. Hills. - London ; Atlantic Highlands, NJ : Athlone
  Press, 1988. - 249 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.
  ISBN 0-485-11346-5

and particularly such articles as:

  those by Nicolas Barker (pp. 213-219), Jean-Francois Bergier
  (pp. 27-43), Richard L. Hills (pp. 73-97), and Franz Irsigler
  (pp. 143-199) in Cavaciocchi (see above)

  Wolfgang von Stromer, "Innovations in Paper Manufacture in
   the Late Middle Ages and in the Early Modern Period",
  Technik-geschichte : Zeitschrift der Verein Deutscher
  Ingenieure, Vol. 60  (Issue 1), 1993, pp. 1-6

  Daniel V. Thompson, "Medieval Parchment-making", The
  library : a magazine of bibliography and literature, Vol. 16
   (Issue 1), jun-1935, pp. 113 ff.

  Roderick J. Lyall, "Materials: the paper revolution", Book
  Production and Publishing in Britain 1375-1475. Ed. Jeremy
  Griffiths and Derek Pearsall (Cambridge Studies in Publishing
  and Printing History), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
  1989, pp. 11-29

  Lore Sporhan-Krempel, "Papier als Handelsware - dargestellt am
  Beispiel der Reichsstadt Ravensburg zwischen 1400 und 1730",
  Exportgewerbe und Aussenhandel vor der Industriellen Revolution.
  Festschrift fuer Univ. Prof. Dr. Georg Zwanowetz anlaesslich der
  Vollendung des 65. Lebensjahres. Ed. Franz Mathis and Jozef
  Riedmann (Veroeffentlichungen der Universitaet Innsbruck, 142),
  Innsbruck: Universitaet Innsbruck, 1984, pp. 31-45

I hope that this might help some.     -  L. Hunsucker

                             ~~~~~~~~~
//|  dr. R. Laval Hunsucker
/#|  vakreferent Klassiek cultuurgebied
/#|  (subject specialist / bibliographer - for classical philology,
/#|    ancient history, archaeology, + postclassical Latin)
/#|  Bibliotheek (Humaniora / UB), Univ. v. Amsterdam


Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 23:48:11 EDTFrom: LrdRas at aol.comSubject: SC - Vellum and parchm,ent-differences-OT CBlackwill at aol.com writes:<< The difference between vellum and parchment >>vel*lum [1] (noun)[Middle English velim, from Middle French veelin, from veelin, adjective, of a calf, from veel calf -- more at VEAL]First appeared 15th Century 1 : a fine-grained unsplit lambskin, kidskin, or calfskin prepared esp. for writing on or for binding books 2 : a strong cream-colored paperparch*ment (noun)[Middle English parchemin, from Middle French, modification of Latin pergamena, from Greek pergamene, from feminine of Pergamenos of Pergamum, from Pergamon Pergamum]First appeared 14th Century 1 : the skin of a sheep or goat prepared for writing on 2 : strong, tough, and often somewhat translucent paper made to resemble parchment 3 : a parchment manuscript; also : an academic diplomaCourtesy of Meiriam-Webster. :-)Ras


Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 12:08:22 -0500
To: lkj at acc.umu.se, stefan at florilegium.org, cbbag at web.net, marc at harmatan.co.uk
From: oosullivan at scriptorium.org (Dr Orlaith O'Sullivan)
Subject: New Video on Parchment Making

The Scriptorium: Center for Christian Antiquities is proud to announce the
chronicling of an age-old process in a new video-

"The Parchment Makers: An Ancient Art in Present-Day Ethiopia"

This exciting new video follows the way in which books were created for
hundreds of years, before the development of the printing press and paper
revolutionized book-production methods.  It charts the process from start
to finish as contemporary Ethiopian artist and scribe Meregete Berhane
Abade works on a text for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. "The
Parchment-Makers" details the various stages involved in the production of
a manuscript, from the stretching of an animal hide on a frame through to
the binding of completed pages into a book.

The methods shown are much the same as those used by artisans worldwide for
hundreds of years, and have resulted in the creation of the illuminated
manuscripts that are today treasures of Western culture. Also featured in
this 19-minute video are examples of medieval codices, texts, illustration
and illumination, many of which are highlights from The Van Kampen
Collection, housed at The Scriptorium.

The video was written, directed, and filmed in Ethiopia by Dr. Neal Sobania
(Hope College) and Dr. Raymond A. Silverman (Michigan State University),
who have been working together to chronicle artistic traditions in Ethiopia
for over ten years.  The video was produced by The Scriptorium: Center for
Christian Antiquities in co-operation with Hope College and Michigan State
University.  It is available for purchase, in either VHS or PAL format, for
$10 (including tax).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Orlaith O'Sullivan
Curator
Van Kampen Foundation
PMB 770
101 Washington Street
Grand Haven, MI 49417
Phone: 616 847-7220 / 800 333-8373
Fax: 616 847-7230
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Subject: parchment source
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 12:26:39 -0400
From: "Karl r meyer" <remeyer at frontiernet.net>
To: <stefan at florilegium.org>

Dear Stefan,
    Greetings. My name is Jesse Meyer. I am a parchment maker currently
producing Goat, Calf and Deerskin parchment. I am located in the Hudson
Valley an hour and a half north of NY City. I have been making parchment
professionally for the last three years. I have exhibited at the Guild of
Bookworkers trade shows for the last three years as well as the most recent
Calligraphers show in California. I have also dealt with the Gabriel Guild.
Reading over your site, I noticed a few inquiries about a source in this
country. Other than Rick Cavasin in the Northwest, I am the only
professional parchment maker on the continent. If you're interested, I would
be happy to send you a brochure complete with samples. Thank you for your
consideration.

Sincerely,
    Jesse Meyer


Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 18:45:54 GMT
From: "Olwen the Odd" <olwentheodd at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: SC - parchment source (OT)

Staying off subject, I just wanted to let you all know I recieved this 
fellows brochure last evening.  The family has been in the hide business for 
450 years.  The samples are of very fine quality and we couldn't stop 
touching them.  Someone in our household is going to get a REALLY NICE 
Twelfth Night gift!

olwen

> > From: "Karl r meyer" <remeyer at frontiernet.net>
> >
> > Dear Stefan,
> >     Greetings. My name is Jesse Meyer. I am a parchment maker currently
> > producing Goat, Calf and Deerskin parchment. I am located in the Hudson
> > Valley an hour and a half north of NY City. I have been making parchment
> > professionally for the last three years.

> >     Jesse Meyer


From: renscribe at aol.com (Maitresse Yvianne)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Date: 27 Oct 2003 14:37:34 GMT
Subject: Re: Help - Dyeing Vellum (Calf and Sheep)

I haven't done it myself, but my husband, Aengus,  has become fairly adept at
it. He has been researching vellum for about 5 years and making it for the past
2. A 16th century treatise called _A Booke of Secrets_ yielded the best single
description of the process of vellum dying. Trial and error is proving to be
the best teacher.

Basically what he does is this:
The vellum is firmly attached to a frame or board. Failure to maintain adequate
tension on the piece as it is drying will result in what is essentially very
expensive colored rawhide   ;-(

Next, ink or dye is painted onto the surface of the vellum. It will begin to
cockle or wrinkle as it absorbs the moisture and look absolutely ruined. As the
piece dries, if the tension was maintained correctly, it will return to being a
flat piece of vellum.

Oak gall ink will give you a beautiful black, but be aware that the ink itself
is corrosive and will likely destroy the vellum over time. That's why so few
examples of black books of hours have survived.

Yvianne
AEthelmearc


From: "Yvianne" <yvianne at zoominternet.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: parchment makers
Date: 28 Aug 2006 06:40:00 -0700

In response to the growing amount of interest in parchment making, Sir
Aengus MacBain from AEthelmearc has started a yahoo group to provide a
forum for parchment and vellum makers to share ideas, thoughts,
processes, etc.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/parchmentmakers/

Anyone with an interest in the art is welcome to join.

Yvianne


From: Fields Family Farm <fields at texas.net>
Date: September 21, 2011 10:56:19 AM CDT
To: Barony of Bryn Gwlad <bryn-gwlad at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Bryn-gwlad] Questions regarding sewing and calligraphy

Parchment is the stretched and limed animal skins, such as calf, goat, or sheep.

Pergamena.net sells parchment (they're in the U.S).

11"x17" or longer will be quite expensive.  They don't have a pre-cut 11"x17", but their 12"x16" sheets cost $38 to $50 each, depending on if you want goat, sheep, deer, or calf.

I've heard that there are other sources for parchment that can be cheaper.

If, instead, you want 'parchment paper' - paper made to look/act like parchment, paperandmore.com has it in 11"x17" for $13 for 50 sheets.  http://www.paperandmore.com/products/themes/sizes/11x17_papers.html

And, if you order more than $15 at once, they'll cut shipping to $4.

There are likely cheaper sources for that as well.

Hrethric


From: Zebee Johnstone <zebeej at gmail.com>
Date: January 7, 2015 at 3:59:38 AM CST
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list" <lochac at lochac.sca.org>
Subject: [Lochac] Online course about medieval books

Khan Academy
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/medieval-book

The production of a manuscript was a long, complex and expensive process. It involved making parchment from animal skin, pricking and ruling hundreds of pages, and writing down long texts by hand, one letter at the time. When the binding was finally added, an object was born that weighed several kilos and could cost as much as a car today.

This tutorial discusses how books were used in medieval times. After a manuscript was produced it came into circulation in a monastery, became part of a private library, or ended up in the hands of a student. Readers' interactions with books left physical traces, such as wear-and-tear, bookmarks, corrections and marginal notes. They reflect how the book was handled, what was deemed important information, and how that information was used.

<the end>
Edited by Mark S. Harris	parchment-msg	Page 24 of 25