Paper Supports

Paper Characteristics

Fiber Type

Most paper fibers are composed of cellulose, the major structural component, and may contain associated materials such as hemicelluloses, lignins, etc. Fibers for papermaking are obtained directly from the plant or are derived from textile rags and cuttings. Sources include seed hairs (cotton), bast fibers (flax, hemp, jute, ramie, paper mulberry), wood (soft coniferous and hard broad-leaved trees), grasses (straw, bagasse, bamboo stalks), and leaf fibers (esparto, manila, sisal). (See Treatment Variations: Support Types: Fiber Type)

Color (See also Colored Papers )

Color of paper has two aspects: the original, intended color as produced and the actual color which results from aging, etc. There is a subjective element in estimating the original color which may be aided by clues. Protected edges or inner surfaces may preserve a color closer to its original. Artists' use of white media or white highlights on the bare paper may suggest that original paper color was not white. If the highlighting is an alkaline material such as calcium carbonate, this substance may protect and preserve the original color which has faded or decolorized in the reserve areas. Sometimes original support color is evident on the verso behind opaque black washes which have shielded the paper from light damage. (KN) Sometimes colored corrective media can provide a clue to the original color of the sheet. (AM) Other guides could also be used to determine the original color of the paper. Paper sample books which have naturally aged papers protected from light and atmospheric pollutants can provide comparative material. (Especially for the 20th century, many comparative examples will exist for artists' papers and for multiples like prints. [KDB])

Original color is determined by:

• Natural tone of the fibers. There are differences among the different types of fibers (e.g., cotton and esparto) and also among the various qualities of the same fiber in their original condition. Even wood pulp fibers, the most regular of all supplies when obtained from the same source, will vary in color (Clapperton 1929, 121). Hemp is generally a darker color than cotton or flax; this partly explains its use in coarser papers. Wood pulp fibers are also darker than cotton or flax.

• Processing. Natural tone may also result from the processing of the fibers. In the processing of uncolored rags, fermentation can result in the yellowing of fibers; a yellow cast (creamy tint) distinguishes the finished sheet. This color, nonetheless, is its original color. For some old papers, lime-water soakings of the rags used in papermaking gave them a calcium boost which made them white. (SRA)

• Water purity. Impurities, such as iron and copper in the water used in papermaking, can alter color, making paper yellow. A high calcium content in the water can also whiten paper.

• Deliberate whitening/lightening of pulp using chemical bleaches.

• Additives to pulp or formed sheet (sizing, fillers, optical brighteners, dyes and pigments). For example, a yellowish cast can be imparted by a gelatin sizing.

Actual color of the artifact may be a result of darkening or lightening, or tonal shift from chemical changes caused by aging, mishandling, mold, exposure to light, or conservation treatment. For example, discoloration of size can occur through degradation produced by sulfuric acid, a by-product of alum in the size.

Weight

Weight is determined by thickness and density of the sheet and additives present. Paper made by machine today has a definite basis weight (Browning 1977, 16).

Thickness

Thickness is determined by the depth of fibers applied to the mold or web screen, lamination of wet or dry sheets, and by pressing/burnishing of sheets. Paper made by machine today has a standardized range of thicknesses (or caliper).

Strength

The strength of a paper sheet is determined by the strength of the individual fibers (which depends on fiber type and quality), and on the strength of the interaction between the individual fibers (which depends on fiber type and quality and fiber treatment during manufacture). According to Browning (1977, 16) "The bonds between fibers arise from the hydrogen bonding that occurs between hydroxyl groups on the surfaces of fibers which are physically in contact."

Strength is determined by:

• The type and degree of beating during the preparation of the pulp helps to determine the nature of fiber interaction.

• The manufacturing method of a paper sheet will determine the direction of the fibers: unidirectional handmade and machine made papers tear easily in the grain direction.

• The presence and type of sizing agents, coatings and loadings, etc., also effect support strength. For example, beater sizing will increase the overall strength of a sheet, whereas surface sizing will allow the core of the sheet to remain flexible while its surface is made firm (e.g., a requirement for papers used in modern lithographic printing processes which need a surface resistant to tackyink pick-up). Loadings will contribute no strength of their own; in fact, they interfere with the interaction of the fiber network and may thus decrease the overall strength of the sheet. Coatings and other treatments will also modify the strength of the paper.

Absorbency

Absorbency is the degree of receptivity of a material to liquids or gasses. Paper responds to the relative humidity or wetness/dryness of its environment by absorbing or giving up moisture. This effect may or may not be uniform in all directions, depending in part upon the process by which the paper was manufactured (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 3).

Absorbency is influenced by the hygroscopic nature of cellulose, porosity of the paper structure, degree of maceration of the fibers, method of sheet formation, sheet thickness, sizing, sheet finishing, and the paper's state of preservation/deterioration.

Dimensional Stability

Dimensional stability is the property of paper which relates to the consistency of its dimensions (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 77).

Dimensional stability is a function of:

• The absorbency of the particular fiber type. This property derives mainly from the nature of the specific type of chain molecule forming the fiber structure. If the molecules are hydrophilic (e.g., cotton) then the fiber will absorb moisture; if hydrophobic (e.g., some synthetics), the fiber will not. Absorption also depends on the ease of accessibility of the water molecules to all parts of the fiber i.e., the presence of crystalline versus amorphous areas. The more highly crystalline the structure, the less penetrable it will be. The hygro-expansivity of fibers depends on their water content. Dimensional changes in fibers (for example, a 1% length and 20% diameter change) will lead to dimensional changes in paper. Thus, because of their different nature and proportions, linen fibers (and hence sheets made of linen fibers) will react differently than ground wood fibers. Japanese papers have a wide variety of characteristics that influence dimensional stability (see Lining: Materials and Equipment).

• Degree of hydration of the fibers. The degree of hydration is increased by extensive beating.

• Length of the individual fibers and orientation of the fibers in the paper sheet. Plant morphology is responsible for the fact that natural fibers generally swell more in their diameter than in their length. Fiber orientation in paper is determined by the method of sheet formation. In a machine made paper the majority of the fibers are aligned in one direction by mechanical vibration, whereas the fibers in a handmade paper are generally oriented in all directions during sheet formation. When the fibers lie mainly in one direction, the paper when exposed to moisture will noticeably move (expand/contract) perpendicular to the grain (i.e., fiber orientation). Degraded papers generally show less dramatic dimensional changes (Lining: Factors to Consider).

• Thickness and density of the sheet.

• Presence or absence of sizing. Waterleaf paper will expand significantly with moisture penetration. The presence of Aquapel sizing (alkyl ketene dimer) in some modern papers will limit water penetration and expansion or contraction characteristics.

• Method of drying during manufacture.

• Media application.

• Presence of previous attachments or their adhesive residues.

Pliability

Pliability is the degree to which paper can "give"; (its flexibility and extendibility) without fiber breakage when bent. Pliability allows paper to be compressed by and retain the shape of a printing plate, drawing point, embossing tool, etc.

Pliability is determined by each fiber type's unique arrangement of fibrils. (For example, the helical winding of sheets of fibrils around an axis gives the cotton fiber superior pliability (Cumberbirch 1974, 147.) Pliability is also the result of the treatment of the fiber during preparation and manufacture.

Surface Texture

Factors responsible for texture vary with the type, quality, date, and place of manufacture. Paper has a wide range of typical textures. For example, the typical texture of fifteenth and early sixteenth century German paper apparently resulted from the fact that the newly formed sheets received no further pressing after the initial pressing between felts, which left the texture of the felts visible (Robison 1977, 7). The paper texture of early woodcuts seems more evident because rougher, heavier papers tended to be used, etc. whereas intaglio prints are characterized by an embossed platemark and an enhanced smoothness, even silkiness, created within the plate area during printing (Robison 1977, 8). See also Treatment Variations: Support Types: Traditional Western Papers: Watercolor Papers.

Surface texture depends on fiber type, preparation, and finishing. Handmade papers' surface characteristics are determined by pulp preparation, mold design, and the texture of felts used during drying and pressing. Change in texture may be accomplished with further pressing, burnishing, glazing, etc. For machine made papers the nature of sheet formation, drying, pressing, or calendering determines surface texture. In general, the addition of sizes, fillers, and coatings increases smoothness by filling in the paper pores. With some modern machine made artists' papers, grain finishes are made by the application of special felts that impart a handmade look.

Transparency, Translucency, or Opacity

Transparency and translucency in paper depend on the comparative absence of light reflecting or absorbing facets or in the fibers, minerals, or other components in/of paper. Treatments which cause fibers to pack more closely together and which eliminate or fill up air spaces, may produce transparency or translucency by allowing light rays to pass through the sheet relatively unbroken or unreflected; such treatments include fiber treatment during manufacture (fibrillation – extensive beating gives a more translucent sheet), the addition of starches, sizes, etc., and finish. (A more transparent paper results from treatment with iron rolls than with the super-calender because the former causes greater compression and reduction in bulk which enhances transparency in comparison with those rolled with the latter.) Coatings such as waxes, resins, and/or varnishes may produce a more transparent sheet.

Opacity may be produced by limited beating and pressing of paper which gives it bulk and a rougher surface, and by the addition of starches, mineral fillers, and/or by colors and certain dyes (Clapperton 1929, 306).

Fiber Types

Cotton Fibers, Linters and Rags:

Cotton textiles, made from long cotton seed hair fibers, were generally used as a fiber source for historic fine papers from about 1800. “Occidental papers from before 1800 which are described as `rag' papers are mostly linen-based with hemp fibers” (Collings and Milner, 1984, 59). However, before 1800 cotton may occasionally be found in coarse papers such as brown wrapping paper. Paper made from cotton cuttings and rags was inherently strong and durable. The characteristic twisted corkscrew shape of the relatively thin-walled and wide-lumened cotton fibers produced bulk and opacity in paper as well as softness. Cotton fibers do not pack closely together in the formed sheet as flatter fibers do (Clapperton 1929, 3). In addition, the quality and previous history of cotton and other rags (their age, cleanliness, presence of other fibers, fillers, dyestuffs, etc.) directly influence the properties of the paper. For example, the cellulose in very degraded rags may have a low degree of polymerization and the resulting paper will be weaker and less permanent. When new, cotton fiber pulps are almost 100% pure cellulose; the papers produced from them can be of high strength and resistant to aging (Collings and Milner 1984, 61). The cotton fiber is difficult to fibrillate in the beating stage of papermaking because of its highly parallel fibril orientation. In general, the finished cotton fiber paper sheet will be less stiff and strong than a linen rag fiber sheet where fibrillation occurs readily (see Flax/Linen under Fiber Type ). Although the cotton fibers will not lie closely together because of their twisted configuration, in sheet formation on the mold or machine wire, they do become interlocked which adds strength, flexibility and bulk to the paper (Clapperton 1929, 3). Because textile rags are expensive and scarce, today, many fine rag papers are made from cotton linters, which have a shorter fiber length. Cotton linters are the fine, silty fibers which remain adhered to the cotton seed after ginning and are a mixture of long and short fibers. Papers made from cotton linters are characterized by softness, bulk, absorbency and, often, low strength.

Flax/Linen (Linum usitatissimum): Flax, a bast fiber, is essentially a textile fiber. For economic reasons flax fibers used in papermaking are generally in the processed form of linen rags and cuttings. Because flax is harvested for its fiber before extensive lignification develops, the lignin content is relatively low compared to other bast fibers. The fibers are separated from the woody matter by a selective biological method (fermentation), called retting. The relatively thick, straight walls and narrow lumen of flax makes it a stiffer and stronger fiber than cotton, which has a thinner cell wall and relatively wider lumen. When beaten during papermaking, the structure of the flax fiber allows it to splinter easily along its length, releasing the small fibrils. The fibrils interlock and impart great strength when the paper sheet is formed (Hills 1988, 54). The amount of fibrillation of the flax fibers is a function of the nature and amount of beating. The quality of the fibers and of the resulting sheet are subject to the same variables as cotton. Generally a linen fiber sheet will be stiffer and stronger than a sheet made from cotton which does not readily fibrillate. (See Cotton Fibers, Linters and Rags under Fiber Type )

After about 1800, supplies of cotton waste and rags increased, relative to linen, and rag papers from this period may contain both linen and cotton. Today linen fiber is seldom used alone for papermaking because of its relative scarcity and expense. Also its extreme ‘wetness’ in working renders it practically impossible to make strong, thick, or even medium-weight papers on a Fourdrinier machine (Clapperton 1929, 5). Its great value is in combination with cotton to stiffen and strengthen papers made with cotton fibers.

Hemp (cannabis sativa): Hemp is an Asiatic herb which yields a tough bast fiber when retted. Hemp fibers exhibit properties similar to those of linen and the two are difficult to distinguish by “ordinary” examination (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 131). For example, during stock preparation hemp fibers fibrillate well, though less readily than linen. Originally, the papermaker obtained hemp principally from rope, cordage, and textile sources. In Europe, hemp was used in papers to capitalize on fiber strength, pliability and durability; it was rarely bleached and almost never used alone. Hemp is generally of a lower grade than linen and is mainly used in coarser paper (Krill 1987, 13). The term “hemp” has also come to be used in a generic sense as fiber and is then proceeded by an adjective (e.g., Manila hemp, Sisal hemp are classified as leaf fibers, see Leaf Fibers under Fiber Type.

Jute: A bast fiber was an important raw material for papermaking, especially in the mid-nineteenth century. The use of jute fibers in European papermaking was first described at the end of the eighteenth century (Hunter 1978, 394, 522). Its use has declined in recent decades, though Hunter (1978, 223) notes the presence of jute fibers in modern Indian papers. Jute is a lignified fiber and is coarse, rough, stiff, and brown in color. It cannot be satisfactorily bleached. Jute ropes, strings, bagging and other cuttings were used to make brown wrapping papers; little chemical treatment of the fibers was required because these papers were intended to be cheap and their color and coarseness were unimportant. Because of its high lignin content, paper made from jute darkens if exposed to light and atmospheric pollution.

Ramie: A bast fiber, also called China Grass or Rhea, ramie is cultivated in tropical countries. The fiber is removed from the woody stalks by a process of decortication which may include peeling, soaking, and/or scraping. The long fiber strands are then dried and bleached. Ramie fiber is white, lustrous and strong; it is durable, stiff and coarse, lacking in flexibility and cohesion. Ramie absorbs water readily. The cells' fibers are very long and thick walled (Cook 1984, 22–24). Ramie has been used since ancient times but only in modern times on a commercial scale for textiles and in papermaking.

Straw: Straw, a bast fiber, was a source of fibrous raw material for papermaking in ancient China (Hunter 1978, 375). Straw was not used in the West until the eighteenth century (cereal straw was used by Koops in his experimental papers around 1800). The use of cereal straw (wheat, barley, rye, oats, rice, etc.) for Western papermaking was commercialized in the U.S. before wood - ca. 1829 (Hunter 1978, 395). It was used, in particular, for printing papers, wallpaper, wrapping paper, and binders' board. Straw remained a major source of fibers in Europe and North America until the 1920s when the wood pulp industry was firmly established. It is still an important source of fiber in countries where grain is grown in sufficient quantities, where pulpwood supplies are scarce, and imported wood pulp is too expensive. Although, some countries, such as in the Orient, import pulp rather than use grain.

Bast cells are the principal sources of the fibers; they derive mainly from the pith of the stem. The good paper formation characteristics of straw fibers result from their relatively high ratio of average length to diameter. Wheat and rye are preferred; they produce stronger and stiffer papers than other straws. “Straw, when digested with caustic soda under pressure yields, if bleached, a white pulp paper, almost pure cellulose” (Hunter 1978, 395). The resulting fibers are fine, brittle and shorter than those obtained from wood. The short fibered paper produced from straw pulps has low tear strength and is often strengthened with an admixture of longer fibered stock. Today, bleached straw pulp yields fine writing and printing papers while unbleached straw pulp is used for boards, corrugating medium and packaging paper (Casey 1980, 525).

Wood: Papermaking fibers obtained from wood differ in appearance and properties depending on their source.

Softwood and hardwood trees, treated in different ways, give wood fibers suitable for making almost any kind of paper. Cotton fibers blend extremely well with fibers of chemical wood and useful papers of all types are made from a mixture of the two (Clapperton 1929, 96).

Mechanical wood pulp is raw wood ground with water into “sawdust”; no chemical treatment is undertaken to remove impurities (lignins, etc.). The fibers are short and brittle and are often joined in clumps by medullary rays. Mechanical wood pulps are used in newsprint, cheap printing papers, cheap colored boards, etc.

Chemical wood pulp fibers are fairly long (length varies) although shorter than cotton or linen fibers. Chemical wood pulp fibers are wide relative to their length, flat, sometimes twisted, and their walls are usually “pitted” with small pores or holes.

Softwood fibers are longer and stronger than hardwood fibers. Softwood fibers made into pulp by the Kraft or sulfate process “stand hard beating and become very ‘wet’ and make wonderfully strong wrapping bag and (other) papers” (Clapperton 1929).

Hardwood fibers resemble esparto in that they are short and fine, but they are much flatter and do not give such good bulk for the same finish and substance. They can give good printing papers when treated by the soda process. Today chemi-mechanical and semi-mechanical processes are also used. The former was introduced in the 1950s and the latter in the 1920s. Their advantages include the ability to use hardwoods and to bleach mechanical wood. Processes include the gentle use of chemicals followed by harsh mechanical or vice-versa. Under the microscope, pulps by these two processes appear more like chemical processed pulps than ground wood pulps (Britt 1970, 197–208).

Wood pulps made by the soda or sulfate process have better bulking qualities than sulfite pulp.

Wood fibers do not have the structure or the stability to produce extensive fibrillation; the fibers are “brushed in beating so that they are roughened by the partial fibrillation of their surfaces. Beating also clears fiber clusters” (Clapperton 1929, 98).

Leaf Fibers

• Esparto: Leaf fibers from esparto, a coarse grass native to Southern Spain and North Africa, are short and fine, and are the smallest in diameter of the common papermaking fibers. Though very short, normally less than 3 mm in length with an average length of 1.5 mm, they have thick walls and can be beaten to give bulk and opacity to paper. For this reason they are found in “featherweight” printing papers characterized by a regular composition, close silky texture, and smooth uniform surface. Esparto paper is dimensionally stable; when esparto fibers are wetted they expand less than most other fibers. “This made (esparto) especially suitable for manufacturing high-quality printing papers....The short fiber length gave clarity to watermarks so it became popular for good writing papers too” (Hills 1988, 138). Esparto was also commonly used as a body paper for surface coating (Collings and Milner 1982/83, 26). It has a natural affinity for coating materials which gives it a superior surface for halftone reproductions (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 12). Because esparto fibers are so short, they impart no strength to papers. “For added strength esparto might be blended with a portion of longer, stronger fibers, such as rags or some wood pulps” (Hills 1988, 138). Esparto fibers were used primarily in Great Britain, where they were introduced in 1850 (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 93). They were first imported in quantity to the U.S. in the 1850s. Around 1900 imports of esparto diminished, in part because of the cost of transporting the grass or pulp but “largely due to the growing challenge of wood pulp...Today (it) has almost disappeared from the papermaking scene” (Hills 1988, 42). A number of pulp mills are in operation today in esparto growing areas. Because of the drastic chemical treatment required to separate esparto fibers from the non-fibrous plant elements and the severity of the bleaching process, the fiber, as prepared for papermaking, is severely degraded.

• Abaca or Manila hemp (Musa textilis): Abaca, a type of plantain or banana native to the Philippines and found in Central and South America, yields fibers suitable for direct use in papermaking, particularly for papers where strength is required. The outer part of the leaf sheath yields the best fibers for papermaking. “The fibers range in length from 3 to 12 mm, the average being 6 mm....They taper very gradually towards the ends; the central canal is large and the fine cross-hatchings are numerous” (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 3).

• Sisal or Sisal hemp (Agave sisalana or A. rigida): A West Indian plant whose leaves yield a fiber used in cord. Cord waste is used as a fiber source for some papers (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 237).

Wool: The use of woolen rags mixed with coarse linen for making brown paper in the 17th and mid-18th centuries is noted in Krill (1987, 14, 51).

Fibers from Waste Paper/Recycled Paper: Waste paper was used for several centuries for brown paper and board. “Matthias Koops tried to use it for making good quality paper around 1800” (Hills 1988, 208). Waste paper is an important “raw” material for paper mills today. As better ways developed for grading the waste, treating it to remove printing inks and colors, and cleaning it to remove dirt and waste, higher quality papers may be made.

Waste paper can vary widely in its characteristics (printed, filled, wood pulp, chemical pulp; wire staples, thread, glues, etc.). “Dry waste paper must be converted into a wet papermaking pulp, free from bundles of unseparated fibers and free from all impurities” (Hills 1988, 208). There are various ways to do this depending on the type of waste paper. Basically, the waste is churned up into a wet pulp mix, large impurities (plastic bags, paper clips) and sand are removed, and the waste disintegrated to separate the fibers. The fibers are subjected to further cleaning and, if necessary, de-inking operations and removal of fillers (such as clay). The pulp is pressed to extract dirty water and then stored. The fibers are combined later with clean water and virgin wood pulp to be made into paper in the usual way.

Japanese Papermaking Fibers: The three fibers generally used in Japan are kozo, mitsumata and gampi fibers; rice straw and bamboo are also traditional fibers in Japanese papermaking, their use, however, has been restricted. The term “rice paper” has been a misnomer for Japanese papers. (See Rice Paper Plant under Fiber Type)

Kozo, mitsumata and gampi are bast fibers obtained from the inner, white bark fibers of young mulberry trees. Despite their high price (Barrett 1979, 17), which is a result, in part, of the difficulties involved in getting the fiber from nature into a state of readiness for papermaking, these fibers have many advantages for papermaking. Even after beating, the fibers remain very long (3–12 mm) compared to 4 mm maximum for beaten wood pulp fibers. The fibers are very regular in thickness along their length; this regularity is responsible for the softness and sheen characteristic of Japanese papers. Strong, yet thin, papers can be produced because of the slender fiber shape, thin fiber walls and large amounts of attached, glue-like hemicelluloses.

• Kozo (commonly “paper mulberry”) fibers, used in Japan from the late eighth century, are the longest of the Japanese papermaking fibers – up to 12 mm in length. The finished paper sheet can be very strong and tough. Kozo is the most widely used of all the Japanese fibers and accounts for about 90% of the bast fiber produced in Japan for papermaking (Barrett 1979, 18). Traditionally kozo was the paper used for woodblock prints.

• Mitsumata fibers are shorter than kozo (approximately 3 mm) and produce a shinier, slightly denser and crisper paper. Mitsumata was not used for papermaking in Japan until the late sixteenth century.

• Gampi fibers average 4 mm in length. The plant, unlike kozo and mitsumata, grows too slowly for cultivation to be economical and the bark is harvested from the wild. Gampi was used in Japan beginning in the late eighth century. Gampi fibers are considered by some to produce the finest of the three papers in unmatched translucency, luster and character (Barrett 1979, 21). (See Japanese Papers)

Papyrus: Fiber quality is affected by the age of the plant when harvested, whether the plant is wild or cultivated, which portion of the stem is used, and the care taken in harvesting and manufacture (whether the prepared strips are sun bleached or not, the length of time fibers are soaked and the quality of the water used, amount of refinement of the fibers achieved by rolling them, whether or not strips used to make one sheet are cut from the same stem). (For more detail see Bell 1985, 29 and/or Papyrus)

Tapa: "Tapa at its most refined state was white, cream or reddish brown and thin and fine textured. Since the intended use for the tapa product varied greatly, properties considered desirable were equally variable"; (Bell 1985, 65).

Fiber quality (color, fineness/coarseness) is affected by climate, age and location within the plant from which fibers were taken, whether fibers are from a wild or cultivated source, care taken in cultivation, inherent fiber characteristics (length, width), and care taken in preparing the fibers (extent to which non-essential bark layers are removed, length of soaking before beating, whether lamination is by beating or pasting). (Bell 1985, 65 and Tapa)

Amate: Amate is the term used in Central America to describe contemporary paper made from various kinds of mulberry trees. “Amate” is also used to describe the trees in a very general way. The term is derived from the Nahuatl word “amatl” which described a pounded, bark “paper” made in the preconquest period in central America. Amatl “paper” has a very ancient tradition and is known to have been made at least as early as the first century. Conquest period literature describes this paper as well as “metl,” a paper made from the majirey cactus (an agave plant, like the century plant cactus) (Sahagun 1963). The amatl paper was made from the inner bark of various mulberry tree varieties. The bark was soaked and then pounded with stones to make sheets of paper. Solutions such as limewater have been suggested as possible ancient soaking processes for this paper (Lenz 1961).

Newly made amate is also a pounded “paper,” however, there are many different types produced and the quality varies. Some contemporary papermakers soak the fibers in alkaline solutions and/or bleaches before making the sheets. High quality papers are still made in the village of San Pablito, Mexico. (See Lenz 1961 or Bell 1985 for a description of the process.)

Rice Paper Plant (Tetrapanax papyriferus): The soft, spongy pith inside the larger branches or stems of the rice paper plant is used to make rice plant or pith “paper.” The pith is removed from the branches of this shrub and then cut like wood veneer from a log (Bell 1985, 105). Fiber and paper quality will be affected by the precise source of the pith (branch or stem), the age of the plant, and the care taken in cutting and drying the pith (Bell 1985, 114).

The pith sheet is white, translucent, rather fragile and velvety smooth; it is made only in small sheets. (See Pith/Rice "Paper")

Traditional Western Papers

Rag Papers

General Description

Rag papers were originally made from flax/linen rags and cuttings. From the late eighteenth century, cotton fibers were used or mixed with the flax fibers, also in the form of rags and processed cuttings. Rags were used because the value of the raw fibers for textiles put them beyond the means of papermakers. Raw fibers or new cloth made a paper that was too rigid and did not beat or fibrillate as well. Most rag papers today are made by adding cotton linters and using some fibers derived from fabric scraps. There are also “rag” cotton content papers which are as low as 25% cotton with mixtures of other fibers.

Only a few handmade paper mills use rag cuttings because there is no longer any collection of rags on a large-scale basis and the difficulty in obtaining pure cotton or linen rags. These mills use 100% natural-fiber fabric scraps obtained from textile mills and clothing factories and, more often, cotton linters. The increased brightness of paper produced during the latter years of the eighteenth century was a result, in part, of the increased use of “brighter” cotton fibers (Robison 1977, 49).

Mechanical Wood Pulp Papers

General Description

(Ground wood pulp, thermo-mechanical pulp, refined-mechanical pulp; for more details on these individual processes see, for example, Hills 1988, 146.)

The structure of the debarked log (usually softwood) is broken down by applying intense mechanical action with grinders or refiners in the presence of water. The attraction of this method for papermaking mills is the high yield, and for consumers the inexpensive paper produced. Physically and chemically this paper is inferior; its fibers are short (average length is 3–4 mm), inflexible, and the finished sheet lacks cohesion. In addition, most of the lignin as well as the tannins, metallic salts, etc., remain in the paper. Wood pulp papers can be bleached to various degrees of whiteness, but diminish in brightness and discolor with age. The product is generally opaque, has good bulk, and good printability; it is used for newsprint, magazine and other printing grades.

Chemi-Mechanical and Semi-Mechanical Pulp Papers

General Description

(For more details on all these processes see, for example, Hills 1988, 153.)

In chemi-mechanical pulps the chips are treated very rapidly with nearly neutral sodium sulfite liquor before refining in a modification of the mechanical refiner process (85–95% yield). In semi-chemical pulps the wood chips receive a mild chemical treatment before being defibered in refiners (60–85% yield). These pulping operations remove only part of the lignin in wood fibers. Also see Hills (1988, 208) for the use of waste or recycled paper with wood pulp.

Chemical Wood Pulp Papers

General Description

(Soda, sulfate/kraft, sulfite processes–for more details see Hills 1988, 149.)

Economically viable processes for chemically converting wood into pulp for papermaking were not developed until the 1850s. The earliest was the soda process developed by Burgess and Watt in England in 1851; an American patent was secured in 1854. Using chemical wood pulp, a white paper suitable for printing could be made from wood. The sulfite process was developed in 1857 by the American, Benjamin Tilghman. Commercial production of this pulp began in 1887 at Cornwall, Ontario.

The two main chemical pulping processes today are the sulfate and the sulfite methods. Today, the term “sulfate” designates all paper pulps made by a process which uses sodium sulfate as its main chemical constituent. Exceptionally strong grades of paper and board are produced from unbleached softwood sulfate pulp. Hardwood sulfate pulps are also produced (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 254). One such paper is commonly referred to as kraft paper.

Sulfite pulp is usually made from softwoods. The wood is digested with a calcium (or other) acid sulfite cooking liquor. “Sulfite pulping is superior in the amount of lignin removed, and produces papermaking fibers that are white in color and can be bleached to higher whiteness with (fewer) chemicals than required for the sulfate process” (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 254). The paper made from sulfite pulp is not as strong as that made from sulfate.

Wood chips are heated under pressure with solutions of chemicals which dissolve out the cementing lignin. Then the chips are broken down into a fibrous slurry using very little mechanical force. Fibers contain very little lignin and paper can be made with high color stability and permanence thus meeting the need for a more durable and lasting paper from wood. Bleaching normally removes the last traces of discoloring lignin so the purest pulps contain only polysaccharides. This is achieved with some reduction in the polymer length and introduction of new chemical groups (e.g., aldehydes). This does not necessarily mean that the resulting paper will be less permanent.

Alum-Rosin Sized Papers

General Description

Alum (K₂SO₄ · Al₂(SO₄)₃ · 24H₂O) (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 9) has been used since the seventeenth century, and possibly earlier, as a hardener for gelatin sizing; as traditionally used, alum is weakly acidic in solution. The term alum originally referred to potash alum KAl(SO₄)₃ · 12H₂O. A new process, patented in 1807 and in common use by 1870, used aluminum sulfate (also called alum or papermakers' alum), which was cheaper, combined with rosin sizing. In it, aluminum resinate was precipitated onto the paper fibers in the pulp stage, leaving a residue of sodium sulfate and free sulfuric acid that led ultimately to the sheet's deterioration, particularly since the papermaker tends to “overdose with alum” (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 9). Rosin or modified rosins are used for the internal sizing of paper; addition of aluminum sulfate is required to link the negatively charged rosin soap to the negatively charged surfaces of the paper fibers. Thus, the alum renders the rosin insoluble so that it can impart water resistance to the paper. For the papermaking industry the alum-rosin sizing system is a reliable and cost effective means of sizing.

Colored Papers

General Description

Paper may be given an integral color through the choice of raw material or by mixing coloring matter into the pulp. Color may be added to the surface of the sheet during sizing or by sponging or brushing it on or by giving the sheet a colored ground or coating after manufacture.

• Colored rags: Paper made from colored rags often has a mottled “color texture” since individual fibers or clumps of fibers from different rags are apparent. Old master drawings were frequently executed on blue paper because indigo was the only dye used for coloring rags, which would survive the fermentation, beating, etc. steps of the papermaking process (Long 1979, 68). Evidence for paper made from rags in a color other than blue, grey or brown is rare before 1796; rose colored papers are considered very rare.

• Vat-dyed: Dyes or pigments are added at the beater, the size press, or the calender stacks; the latter two are surface coloring procedures. Greater color penetration is achieved at the size press, since the paper web is looser, than at the calender stacks. By the eighteenth century blue colorants were known to have been added to the vat (Cornely 1956, 44–60 referenced by Krill 1987, 61).

• “Corrected white paper, a modern term, was paper which had a slight tint of blue, or occasionally red, added to it” (Krill 1987, 90). The whitener was added to correct the otherwise yellowish cast of the sheet. It became very popular in the eighteenth century (Krill 1987, 92) and continued in use (for example, charcoal drawing supports of Odilon Redon). Corrective whiteners include blue fibers and colorants such as indigo, smalt and Prussian blue. An advantage of indigo over smalt is that it spreads more evenly through the stock. The natural creamy tint of early modern rag paper was obtained by adding ultramarine blue. To obtain a creamier white, cochineal pink was added (Clapperton 1929, 122). The addition of red fibers has also been observed. Cheaper aniline dyes were also used but they may not be lightfast.

• Optically brightened: A colorless dye absorbs light in the UV region of the spectrum and re-emits it as fluorescence in the visible region. Most optical brighteners are stilbene derivatives. They are often added in papermaking to “brighten” paper: their blue fluorescence complements the yellow cast of natural fibers and the eye perceives whiteness. Pigments, fillers, etc. are often added to optically brightened papers to produce further modifications of the yellow tint. Toners or brighteners, fillers, etc. are very common in poster papers (19th century to modern).(SRA)

• Some pigments and dyes used to color paper include smalt (pieces of blue glass), ultramarine blue, logwood (produces black, blue, and gray), ochre and other earth pigments, cochineal, indigo, Prussian blue, turnsol, woad, etc. (see Labarre 1937 and Krill 1987 for further listings).

Calendered Papers

General Description

A paper (or cloth) that has been given a smooth surface by passing it one or more times through a calender. These are “horizontal cast iron rolls with hardened, chilled surfaces resting one on another in a vertical bank at the dry end of the papermaking machine” (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 44). Types of finish include: a) antique: a paper that receives a minimum of calendering; b) machine and English: a paper that receives increasingly more calendering; and c) super-calendered: a highly glazed paper (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 44).

Loaded Papers

General Description

The addition of mineral material to the paper stock before sheet formation is called filling or loading. Fillers are finely divided, relatively insoluble, white powders which are added into a papermaking stock either directly or by chemical processes (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 161). “Loading was first used in the 19th century, apparently surreptitiously, to save pulp and reduce the cost to the papermaker” (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 161). Such papers were considered inferior. Today fillers are considered to have many benefits and are required to achieve certain paper qualities. For example, in printing papers fillers increase opacity and brightness and improve printability (smoothness, ink absorption, and penetration) (Casey 1981, 1520). Softness and dimensional stability are also improved. Fillers are used especially where optical properties and printability are more important than strength. Typical fillers used today include clay and calcium carbonate. The fillers most widely used in magazine, book, and other printing papers are talc, titanium dioxide (its high opacifying effect reduces show-through after printing), zinc sulfide, calcium sulfate (gypsum), diatomaceous silica, and “blanc-fixe.” These are practical as fillers because of their whiteness, high refractive index, small particle size, chemical inertness, cheapness, etc. (Casey 1981, 1516).

Gypsum (calcium sulfate) was used for the first time as a “loading” material in 1823 according to Hunter (1978, 540) although Cohn (1982, 10) cites a 1797 report that the calcium sulfate compounds, alabaster and gypsum, were used to load engraving papers. Imitation art paper is a printing paper containing a high percentage of China clay, kaolin, etc. in the paper furnish (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 136). (For early use of China clay see Hunter 1978, 490. For fillers in Japanese papers see Lining: Materials and Equipment).

Artists' Coated (Prepared) Papers

General Description

• Metalpoint papers: White papers were traditionally coated with a liquid ground, usually white lead or powdered bone or shell, sometimes mixed with colored pigment. The binder was usually gum arabic or animal glue. The dried ground was burnished. More recent grounds have included barium sulfate, zinc oxide, titanium oxide and other modern white pigments.

• Dry-tinted papers: Dry pigment or pastel is rubbed into surface.

• Wet-tinted papers: Paper is dampened and sometimes stretched; it is then tinted with a thin glaze of watercolor, drawing ink or other aqueous colorant. M. W. Turner, for example, is known to have prepared his own papers. “One such paper is known...to have been stained with ‘tobacco juice and Indian ink” (Richmond 1990, 4).

Coated Papers

General Description

Coated papers are paper (or board) which has had its surface modified by the application of clay or other pigment and adhesive materials, etc., to improve the finish for its intended use (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 57). After the second half of the nineteenth century, a sustained technical effort led to the development of mechanical methods for coating paper on a commercial scale, either on the actual papermaking machine or on a separate machine. Coating of papers has been used widely during the twentieth century to give a smooth surface for printing, especially for the photomechanical printing of illustrations (e.g., the reproduction of fine half-tone blocks). One or both sides of the paper substrate may be coated to give a more uniform/more receptive surface on which to draw or print than is obtained with uncoated fibers. Coatings control ink absorption and ensure even transfer of printing ink. They enhance graphic reproduction, especially with multiple colors, and increase opacity and gloss of paper. A coated sheet may be calendered to impart a higher gloss. Coatings can also give the paper a different color.

• Pigment coating: A pigment-coated paper consists of a base paper covered by a layer of pigment particles (most common include clays – usually kaolin, a refined clay – titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate), and zinc oxide (for direct electrostatic copies [KN]); an adhesive binder (animal glues, pre-1895; casein, late nineteenth century; starch, early twentieth century; soy protein; synthetics, late 1940s) which holds the pigment particles together and to the surface of the paper; and some auxiliary agents (defoamers, lubricants, wax emulsions, preservatives, flow modifiers, insolubilizers, etc.) (see Casey 1983, 2013–2189).

• Functional coating: These coatings are designed for purposes other than printing enhancement, to produce surfaces with functional properties (barrier, etc.).

Western Tissue Papers

General Description

Western tissue papers are very lightweight paper made from any type of pulp and may be glazed or unglazed. Some tissues are relatively transparent (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 265).

• Glassine tissue: A translucent paper formerly produced by heavy beating in the pulp stage, followed by acid surface treatment. Currently neutral glassine is made translucent with glycol. Glassine is often used with works on paper as a “heavier-weight” interleaving or “slip-sheet” tissue when translucency and great smoothness is important. (See also Matting and Framing: Materials and Equipment: Cover Tissues)

• Soft tissue: The soft tissue industry developed in the United States during World War I. Soft tissue is absorbent and strong. It is often made of a combination of high-grade waste and wood pulp.

Tracing Papers

General Description

A thin paper with a hard, smooth surface characterized by excellent optical transmission properties. “Important properties include proper receptivity to drawing ink and transparency, so that prints from the tracings can be made” (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 267). Tracing papers before the late eighteenth century rarely survive due to their fragility.

• Prepared tracing paper: Linen—flax, hemp, or linen rag—(nineteenth century) and cotton (twentieth century) pulp papers are impregnated in a separate operation with gums, oil and/or resin to transparentize (Mills 1986, D62–3). Mills identified drying and non-drying oils, pine resin, etc. in GLC-MS analysis of some nineteenth century English tracings.

• Parchment paper (vegetable parchment), Pergamyn, Papyrine, etc: The already formed but unsized paper sheet is subjected to a brief sulfuric acid bath. This “attacks and dissolves the cellulose and changes its fibrous form... (so that it) is altered in character to resemble parchment” (Yates 1984, 21). Then the sheet is washed in water, given a dilute ammonia bath to neutralize the acid and, sometimes, a coating or bath of glycerine or glucose. “On drying the paper shrinks considerably but it is greaseproof and much stronger” (Yates 1984, 21). Early parchment papers were made from rag papers; modern “vegetable parchments” are made from sulfite pulp paper.

• Imitation parchment (vellum): Chemical wood pulp paper given a prolonged beating or sulfuric acid treatment to render it grease resistant and waterproof and partially transparent. This is “a type of relatively strong paper first produced by W.E. Gaine in 1857...(it) is called imitation parchment in order to distinguish it from parchment paper made in imitation of true (animal) parchment” (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 136).

• Natural tracing paper: “Natural tracing papers are manufactured from selected wood pulps to give an optimum balance of translucency and strength. The mechanical treatment of the fiber, or refining, is designed to maintain fiber length and change the structure of the fiber to increase its surface area. During the formation of the sheet of paper, it is this feature which contributes most to the construction of a dense sheet of cellulose. Further compression and compaction of the sheet produces a paper virtually void of interstices, thus free of internal light-scattering interfaces. Unlike prepared papers, natural tracing papers are substantially free of papermaking chemicals. The paper is made at pH conditions close to neutral and the temperature at which the paper formed is high enough to kill most of the microbiological organisms that could cause paper decay. It therefore follows that modern natural tracing papers do have good aging characteristics. Even the size which is applied to give a surface receptive to drafting inks is selected to minimize acid hydrolysis” (Rundle 1986, D64–65). Natural tracing paper of circa 1825 has been observed at the National Archives and Records Administration.(KN) As developed in U.K. in 1939, the process included the addition of starch, but by 1950 starch was no longer required to produce translucency. Scanning electron micrographs of modern natural tracing paper show general fiber damage and fibrillation, but no impregnating agent (Priest 1987, 76).

• Onion skin: “...Thin, highly glazed translucent paper” (Yates 1984, 21).

• Waxed paper: “Paper passed through a bath of melted wax” (Yates 1984, 21).

Cardboard/Artists' Board/Illustration Board

See Backing Removal.

General Description

A board 0.006" or more in thickness. It is stiffer than paper (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 47). The term “cardboard” was not generally used until the nineteenth century (Krill 1987, 55).

Pasteboard: In use for bookbinding boards in the late fifteenth century; found on aldine bindings and may have been introduced into Europe from the Islamic world via Venice, Italy. The papermaker can make pasteboards by couching a number of sheets together and pressing, or by laminating several sheets of paper, either of the same size or smaller sheets pieced together. White paper could be used throughout or only on the outer surfaces of the board. Uses include book boards, playing cards, primary supports for drawing and oil paintings, and secondary supports for vellum in miniature painting.

Bristol Board: Introduced in England by 1800 it was a glazed pasteboard made of a fine wove drawing paper. “Each board was embossed with a circle containing the Royal Crown and the words ‘Bristol Paper’” (Krill 1987, 139–141, figs. 121, 122). Used for making cardboard boxes, screens, and as a support for watercolors. Today the term refers to laminates thinner than “cardboard.” (CS)

London Board: A more expensive board made by the 1830s from Whatman's finest drawing paper (Krill 1987 140, fig. 123).

Ivory Paper: A support for drawing introduced in the mideighteenth century and not very popular. It is a pasteboard composed of six sheets of drawing paper with parchment size adhesive between the layers. When dry, the board was smoothed with abrasive papers, coated with plaster of Paris in gelatin, and smoothed again (Krill 1987, 141).

Pulp Paper Boards

• Millboard: Term first used in the very late seventeenth century. These boards were made of the same fibers as pasteboard, but were manufactured by casting on a mold in a single sheet and then milled or rolled under pressure (Krill 1987, 55).

• Strawboard: A very coarse board that contains particulate filler - often lumps of gritty material, like gravel. (AM)

• Rope Manila Board: A very durable pulp board.

• Illustration Board: This commercially available product typically consists of a good quality facing paper upon which the drawing, watercolor, etc. is made; the facing paper is mounted to a cast core board of lesser quality stock. The back of the board may also be faced with a layer of paper bearing a printed inscription identifying the manufacturer, brand name, and a company address that may help in dating the object. “The usual properties of drawing paper, such as finish and sizing, are essential, but hard sizing and good erasing quality are of greatest importance” (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 136).

• Coated Boards (See ([[Coated Papers|Coated Papers.)

Drawing Papers

General Description

“The term ‘drawing’ paper was rarely seen in artists' manuals before the end of the eighteenth century...it was not until the 1790s that artists regularly began to use it” (Krill 1987, 83). Gainsborough and other artists used writing paper, which was well-sized, despite its laid lines and glazing, for watercolor or ink (Krill 1987, 83). “For works requiring careful detail, a glazed paper was more suitable...Baskerville had been glazing [between two steel rollers] both printed...and unprinted paper, especially writing paper since the 1750s” (Krill 1987, 89). John Hassell, writing in 1809, recommended two drawing papers - Whatman's wove and Dutch Cartridge. The latter “had a ‘rough tooth’ and was ‘much in vogue’...was a large thick paper and of better quality than the coarser papers used by Girtin [cartridge]. Though it was usually white...it also could be made of mixed furnish.” Dutch Cartridge was still used around 1870 (Krill 1987, 85–86). Whatman's wove paper is also mentioned in Watercolor Papers; Cartridge paper is mentioned in Watercolor Papers and described more fully in Printing Papers.)

Oriental papers: Soft-sized or waterleaf papers were also used for drawing when an artist wanted a more diffuse, less detailed, less contrasting image that allowed the media to blend with the paper. (AD)

Watercolor Papers

General Description

A thickish and uniquely hard-sized wove paper; the ascent of the British watercolor school is attributed in part to the development of wove paper by James Whatman in the late eighteenth century. It was considered “the best and proper paper for all serious efforts” (Cohn 1977, 18). English papers used for watercolor before Whatman's development were more weakly sized which made manipulation of the medium difficult because the paper surface would abrade easily. Sizing instructions appeared in artists' manuals. The Art of Drawing and Painting in Watercolors (1778) gave a recipe for sizing paper which was a combination of alum and roch-alum (Krill 1987, 84). Whatman paper was sized to minimize dimensional change when wet and to provide a durable surface that could be manipulated by scraping, rubbing, sponging, wiping, rewashing, etc., without becoming abraded. Paper made from linen rags was thought to withstand these techniques better than paper made from cotton (Cohn 1977, 22).

An even surface was desired for painting. An acceptable range of surface textures, available by 1850, included hot-pressed – a smooth, relatively non-absorbent surface, the intermediate “NOT” (i.e., not hot-pressed), and cold-pressed – a softer, rougher and more absorbent surface. The tooth is particularly important for watercolor; its slight irregularity “...enhanced the reflection of light and added to the vibrancy and luminosity of the washes” (Krill 1987, 89). Manual writers stressed the importance of texture to produce effects peculiar to watercolor (Cohn 1977, 16).

Other desirable properties include consistent absorption properties – the paper should be only slightly absorptive in the short run or the colors will “sink” and become dull, washes do not run smoothly on unabsorptive papers but tend to coalesce into droplets; ideally the paper was white so that light would be reflected through the layers of color and provide the highlights of the design where there was no media. “These requirements were not fully met by paper available before the end of the eighteenth century” (Cohn 1977, 16).

Other papers offered artists qualities of color, texture and sizing that suited their needs: “Cox's” paper, “sugar paper,” Cartridge, Creswick, Harding, Griffin Antiquarian, etc. are some examples (Cohn 1977, 19). To eliminate the need for stretching by the artist in preparation for use, some commercial watercolor sheets are made of a high quality paper mounted on cardboard and often backed with another paper sheet (see Cardboard/Artists' Board/Illustration Board).

Addition of glass fibers and/or a blend of rag and synthetic fibers increase the dimensional stability of some modern papers.

Other supports for watercolor include Oriental papers, “unsized in the Western sense,” which were used in the West to obtain distinctive effects (Cohn 1977, 17); Japanese vellum papers (see Japanese Papers); silk and linen; and colored papers. Machine made papers may be manufactured in imitation of handmade watercolor papers (Cohn 1977, 22; see also Inherent Physical Characteristics of Paper: Surface Texture).

Artists' Printing Papers

General Description

• Rag paper: Artists used papers made of rag fibers from early times as supports for prints. These could be strong enough “to withstand dampening and printing under great pressure. (The) surface (was) receptive to ink, neither too rough nor too hard...(They) tended to change color very little with age, mellowing only from white to warm creamy tones” (Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1969, 178). The finest qualities of rag paper could give brilliant impressions with fine detail that was very legible. By the later nineteenth century Lalanne (1880, 72) noted the preference of “most people” for heavy Dutch handmade papers for etchings; charcoal paper and other good drawing papers also sufficed. The laid texture of paper broke up the line, giving highlights within it (Lalanne 1880, 59). Old papers with “brown and dingy edges” were sometimes prized by later nineteenth century printmakers (Lalanne 1880, 59). Because the “sizing has decayed in old papers and the fiber, in consequence, regained its pliability...these take an impression so much more sympathetically” (Lumsden 1924, 139). Lumsden also remarks on the “subtle color” of old paper (Lumsden 1924, 139). For him, soft-sized paper makes the best etching paper; waterleaf paper is “entirely undersized.” Most drawing and etching papers are heavily sized (Lumsden 1924, 139). For mezzotint paper English printers in the nineteenth century preferred the French laid paper that was of hammer beaten linen fiber. (AD)

• Plate paper/copper-plate paper: Used for printing from copper plates, it was relatively soft, even surfaced (a result of the use of the wove mold, available late 18th century), free of flaws and absorbent, with little or no sizing (eighteenth century: generally soft-sized; nineteenth century: often unsized). Softness was obtained by reducing sizing and by adding more pliable cotton fibers to the linen furnish. This became common in the early nineteenth century as cotton became more abundant. A thickish paper is required for printing from copper plates; it is too easy to damage the sheet in printing if it is both thin and soft (Krill 1987, 68, 77). During the early nineteenth century “the English vatmen would form each sheet with two layers of pulp - one of ordinary consistency and then, on the side of the sheet destined to take the impression, a second extremely thin layer of especially fine pulp, completely free of foreign matter” (Dyson 1984, 166). Nineteenth century etchers used plate paper to assess the appearance of a plate as it developed; the artist would then usually select a finer paper to print an edition. Artists' manuals described “plain white plate paper” as the worst support for etchings “because (it is the) most inartistic” (Lalanne 1880, 72). Degas, however, frequently printed his etchings on plate paper possibly because of “its effectiveness in rendering the tonal qualities he sought” (Perkinson 1984, 255). Plate paper was often used as a support for nineteenth century chine collé prints published in large editions. (KN)

• Oatmeal or Cartridge paper: A cheap, rough, grayish-brown European paper with small flecks in it, made from the leavings of the vat. Oatmeal paper contained a high proportion of unmacerated and varicolored fibers, bits of string, fiber clumps and chips of wood or straw (Robison 1977, 9). Oatmeal seems to be a general descriptive name used by curators to describe a thick coarse paper flecked with dark fibers. (KN) This paper was not made as an art, writing or printing paper, though artists appreciated its texture and appearance. It was used by Rembrandt, for example, on several occasions (Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1969, 180). Oatmeal paper offers a middle range of values; impressions “have a softer, more delicate tonal effect...with a far less stark contrast than...impressions on white (rag) paper” (White 1969, 14). It appears to be a type of utilitarian paper, commonly called cartridge paper, and used to make paper wrappings for rifle cartridges, hence the name. (KN) Today “cartridge paper” refers to a tough, closely formed paper, usually produced from chemical wood pulps and/or esparto. Sizing and surface characteristics depend on intended use (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 47).

• Vellum: Etchings and engravings printed on vellum were a rare occurrence in seventeenth century Holland except for Rembrandt's work (Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1969, 180); however, earlier Dutch prints on vellum do exist. In seventeenth century France, portraits were occasionally printed on vellum. With the revival of interest in unusual support materials in the mid-nineteenth century, vellum was again used (e.g., Félix Buhot). Vellum is an unabsorbent material; ink is held on the “almost glassy” surface and does not penetrate at all. Ink tends to “bleed outward over the surface, thus fusing neighboring lines” (Robison 1977, 15).

Imitation vellum was manufactured in the late 19th century since interest in vellum exceeded supply. It was used for “appropriate tonal impressions (and) reproduced the color and transparency and even the slick, slightly ‘glassy’ surface texture of the real skins” (Robison 1977, 15). For a general description of vellum as a support material see Parchment/Vellum.

• India paper (so-called; also known as India, India proof, India transfer paper): According to Labarre (1937, 160) this is really China paper. The name is an English term that may be a misnomer derived from its having been imported by the Dutch East India Company. (KN) The name is sometimes loosely given to other papers of Asian origin, but also to papers of European and American manufacture (Labarre 1937, 160).

An off-white paper, varying in tone, without prominent laid lines but with yellow fibers throughout. This soft, unsized paper “adapts itself to the surface of the steel plate or wood, and soaks up a large quantity of ink without afterwards smearing” (R. Perkinson, A Treatise on Paper, London 1894 as quoted by Labarre 1937, 160). Thought to have been used by Rembrandt for several impressions, this paper is very absorbent and gives rich soft effects, particularly suited to the qualities of drypoint (Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1969, 180). Mentioned by Lalanne (1880, 59) as promoting “purity of line.” India paper has been a thin, opaque paper made from chemically processed hemp and rags since 1875 (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 138). The British successfully imitated this paper with “Oxford India,” a very white paper which somewhat resembled Western cigarette paper (also called “Cambridge” and “Bible”) (Dwan 1989).

• Japanese papers: First imported into Europe in quantity in the seventeenth century. When printed, this smooth paper “receives the ink very well from the plate, but instead of absorbing the ink into the substance of the paper like European sheets, Rembrandt's Japanese paper holds the ink on the surface, keeping it all there and fully visible” (Robison 1977, 13 referring to Rembrandt's use of Japanese paper). The polished, soft surface “receives ink readily under minimum pressure and so does not wear down fine drypoint lines and burr as quickly as rougher paper surfaces tend to do” (Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1969, 180). It was also capable of taking very rich impressions. Lalanne notes the excellent qualities of Japanese paper which is “...of a warm yellowish tint, silky and transparent, is excellent, especially for plates which need more of mystery than of brilliancy, for heavy and deep tones, for concentration of effect...”(Lalanne 1880, 60). Lumsden (1924, 139) also noted its beauty of color. In the nineteenth century, Whistler made abundant use of a variety of Japanese papers. Gampi was preferred by 19th century European wood engravers because it allowed them to achieve the finest detail (e.g., A. Lepère). For a general description of Japanese papers as support materials see Japanese Papers.

===Asian Papers===

Japanese Papers

General Description

Traditional handmade papers from Japanese bast fibers (kozo, mitsumata, and gampi) are long-fibered or short-fibered, relatively unidirectional, strong, thin or thick, flexible or stiff, absorbent, white, cream or brown, translucent or opaque, soft or crisp. If the fiber has not been over processed, there is always a characteristic luster to the fiber. The variety of handmade papers from Japan is related to the number of papermakers and the end use. There were thousands of hand papermakers before the machine made papers put them out of business. There are several hundred papermakers today, however, only a handful of paper mills operate using the traditional handmade paper methods. (YN)

Traditional Japanese papers are made from bast fibers which make up the inner white bark of specific, young trees. The bark is stripped from the inner core of the tree after steaming. Most of the outer black bark is removed by scraping. The inner white bark is cooked in an alkali solution to remove most of the non-cellulosic materials, loosen the remaining black bark, and begin to separate the fiber bundles. Traditionally, the cooking alkali was potassium hydroxide which came from wood ashes. This is a very gentle process of fiber preparation. Since approximately 1890 soda ash (sodium carbonate), a stronger alkali and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), a strong, harsh alkali, have been used to cook the fibers. Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) has also been used as the alkali, but is now used in only a few places. Caustic soda produces quick results and is often the chemical of choice to be used in combination with bleaches to produce white paper. This paper has a soft, pulpy feel and less luster. Papers made from fiber cooked in caustic soda will initially be quite bright and white, but weak. Color reversion due to the over processing with harsh chemicals is likely. After cooking, the fibers are rinsed well, otherwise residual chemicals can cause discoloration or spotting. The fibers are beaten almost to the point of fiber separation rather than cutting them in order to obtain a long fibered paper. One distinguishing factor between Western and Japanese papermaking is the use by the Japanese of a viscous agent (neri) derived from the Hibiscus root (tororo-aoi). The secretion is not a size or a gum; it merely thickens the water in the pulp vat for a while to suspend the fibers while the sheet is formed. This allows the long fibers to become intertwined and permits multiple dips. This substance can allow the sheets to delaminate during treatment. The secretion is not detectable in the dried sheet. The sheets are couched directly on top of each other, pressed lightly, then individually brushed onto wooden boards to dry. This will often leave an impression of the wood grain. The brush can also leave detectable marks on the sheet. The brushed side will have more tooth and is usually the side pasted in lining treatments. Modern methods now include steam heated dryers which are made of stainless steel or cast iron. Foxing has been noted on one side of some lesser quality papers.

The first papermaking company to produce machine made papers in Japan was founded in 1873. Cotton rag papers were made for the burgeoning publishing industry. Machine made bast fiber papers were not available until sometime after. Problems with foxing and over processing of fibers resulting in color reversion and loss of strength can be associated with some of the early machine made papers. Recently, technology has made it possible to produce machine made Japanese papers which are useful for conservation due to their purity and large size.

Each of the fibers has its own characteristics.

Kozo

• Kozo fibers are generally tough, and tend to be naturally whiter than other fibers. Kozo papers can be very thin and somewhat transparent (used for lacquer filtering) or thick and opaque (used for wood block printing). Scroll and screen mounting in Japan is done mostly with kozo fiber papers (such as usumino, misu, uda and sekishu). (YN)

• Kozo papers sometimes contain a clay filler which increases opacity, dimensional stability, and smoothness.

• When moistened for printing (Ukiyo-e) certain kozo papers remain relatively stable in dimension. This is important to ensure exact color registration.

• Hosho is the traditional wood block printing paper produced from kozo fibers; it is available in various weights and is contains a talc filler which makes the paper very smooth, absorbent, dimensionally stable, and white in tone. The paper mold is dipped several times during sheet formation (Dwan 1989).

Gampi

• Gampi fibers are shorter than kozo and browner, due to the non-cellulosic components. Gampi paper is particulary known for its luster and silkiness. Gampi papers can be thin and transparent, giving the impression of membrane. They also can also be quite thick like the coveted Torinoko paper or “Japanese vellum.” Gampi is quite tough and is used as interleaving for beating gold to make gold leaf. The fibers are so fine, that a special waterproofed silk cloth called a “sha” is used to cover the papermaking screen. This covers the chain and laid lines resulting in woven look for most gampi papers. Gampi was used extensively for mimeograph both in the West and Japan. It was one of the first products exported from Japan to the West. (YN)

• Gampi fibers are used in thick, opaque, yellowish Japanese vellum papers (torinoko). The thickness is the result of many dippings. Often this characteristic may be identified when the edges are inspected; these layers can be delaminated with a spatula. The main purpose of this paper is for painting because of the smooth and beautiful surface. It comes in different grades based on the purity of the gampi fibers. (YN) Texture is an important characteristic: these papers are calendered or filled to make them smooth. The color of the paper shifts when supplementary kozo or mitsumata fibers are added. “An imitation, made by treating ordinary paper with sulfuric acid, is sometimes called ‘Japon’” (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 143).

Mitsumata

• Mitsumata fibers make a naturally browner paper due to the higher non-cellulosic components in the fiber itself. The fibers are shorter, hence the papers are generally more opaque.

• Kyokushi (Japanese vellum paper) was developed in 1874 by the Meiji government as a security paper. It was considered excellent for this purpose since alterations were easily detected. This quality makes conservation treatments difficult. It was made “Western-style,” couched between fabric, and looked very much like a Western wove paper. It may or may not be calendered on one or both sides. Its unique color and receptivity led to its use and popularity with nineteenth century European printmakers who knew it as “Japon” (kyokushi) (Dwan 1989).

• Gasenshi, a thin, very white paper, more commonly called China paper or India paper, is made with a combination of bamboo and mitsumata fibers (see Collé Paper). A rice starch powder (wara) is added as a filler. (AD) The name means “imitation calligraphy paper.” It was also made in China and by the Japanese from an early date in imitation of the Chinese paper. The imitation mold gave prominent regular chain and laid lines with approximately half the spacing of other Japanese papers (1.5 to 3.0 cm).

• Japan “simili” papers: By the twentieth century European mills produced paper in imitation of these Japanese papers (Dwan 1989).

Chinese Papers

General Description

Chinese was developed initially for writing in ink. It is very absorbent and comes in sheets made of single, double, or multiple layers. (YN) The earliest paper was made from hemp and paper mulberry; eventually a wider range of materials was introduced including rice straw, bamboo, various barks, etc. Hundreds of types of paper are mentioned in early Chinese literature. The best, then and now, is made from bast fibers. Traditionally, because of slightly different fiber preparation and addition of stem fibers (bamboo, rice straw), Chinese paper does not have the strength, suppleness, and thinness of Japanese papers from the same plants.

Near Eastern and Indian Paper

General Description

There are few historical sources for the manufacture of Near Eastern and Indian papers available to English speaking paper historians. Historically, papermaking came to the West through trade routes from China via the Near East and India, so many of the traditional techniques and fibers used are similar to those used in Western papermaking.

Near Eastern and Indian papers use a great variety of fibers including linen, hemp, bamboo, jute, cotton, other bast and leaf fibers, and sometimes silk. Both Near Eastern and Indian paper often contain quite a number of small, colored inclusions such as hair and colored threads.

Historically, Near Eastern paper is composed of bast fibers from flax. The few technical studies which have been made of Near Eastern paper have found mostly flax and hemp fibers. The flax comes from both rags and raw fibers, including bits of bark. Rags appear to have been the preferred fiber source. The hemp is probably recycled cordage (Snyder 1988, 425–440). “Each fiber type might be used exclusively as a raw material or they might be mixed together” (Bosch and Petherbridge 1981, 28).

The fibers were washed, subjected to alkaline solutions and other treatments to remove impurities and to reduce them to a workable state mechanically or by fermentation (Bosch and Petherbridge 1981, 28). They are beaten to produce the pulp or stock from which the paper is actually made.

The paper is often tinted a light brown or sometimes blue, green, red, or yellow. It is often sized, the most common size being starch or a mixture of chalk and starch. Other sizing materials mentioned in contemporary accounts are gum arabic, gum tragacanth, starch dissolved in the soaking water of old straw, egg white diluted with vitriol, white fish glue dissolved in water, the clarified mucus of fleawort seeds, sweet melon juice, the liquid of cucumber and muskmelon seeds, molasses of seedless grapes, and non-oily rice paste. After sizing, the paper is polished with burnishers made of glass, shell, mother-of-pearl, or stone to make a smooth surface for calligraphy and painting.

There is some evidence that papermaking was practiced in Himalayan India by the sixth century A.D. Manufacture may have been localized because suitable plant sources for papermaking fibers grew mostly in the Himalayas (Losty 1982, 11).

Papermaking was introduced into the Islamic world in the eighth century A.D. (704, 712, 751 are suggested dates) (Bosch and Petherbridge 1981, 26). The Arabs knew of paper via trade before this time. “The new writing material soon gained prestige and popularity and quite rapidly became preferred to papyrus and parchment...” (Bosch and Petherbridge 1981, 26).

Papermaking was practiced in Nepal from at least the twelfth century. Nepalese papers all used the bark of the local daphne as the raw vegetable material (Losty 1982, 11).

From the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries Near Eastern paper was exported to the Byzantine Empire and Europe. In the fifteenth century, however, the tide turned and the Ottoman empire began to import paper from Europe.

From early times, India has also used cotton fabric in various formats (e.g., accordion folded, laminated into boards, and scrolls) as supports for letters and manuscripts. The fabric was coated with a flour paste, dried, and smoothed. “Sometimes cotton was treated so ingeniously that it created the impression of an entirely different material” (Gaur 1979, 27).

Composite Structures

Collé Paper

General Information

The image-bearing layer, a fine delicate paper trimmed smaller than the plate to be printed, was adhered to a thicker soft-sized plate paper during the printing process. The two layers were adhered by a sprinkle of dry starch on the verso of the damp tissue (19th century), by starch paste (20th century), and most recently, by commercial pastes (1940s?). Apparently, the prepasted and dried paper was placed on the inked metal plate, paste side up. Damp, relaxed plate paper was then placed on top and the three layers (printing plate and plate paper) were pressed together through the press.

A variety of papers were used in the collé process. From the 1750s to the 1830s paper was made from bamboo and mitsumata fibers by the Japanese in imitation of Chinese calligraphy paper (this paper is now more correctly called China paper); it was introduced to Europe as wrapping/packing paper and adapted for use in line engraving, particularly for steel engravings. European or “Mock India” papers were introduced in the 1830s and Bible paper in the mid-nineteenth century (see Japanese Papers, especially Gasenshi and Artists' Printing Papers: India Paper). Collé or laid Western papers are also encountered in 19th and 20th century prints (e.g., French artists, nineteenth century American historical prints, and prints by Kuniyoshi).(KN) The collé paper sometimes was chosen to blend with the color of the plate paper, sometimes to contrast with it.(CS)

Papier Marouflage

General Description

Historically, oversize posters, maps, and embrittled works of art were mounted to cloth linings during manufacture or subsequently by framers and restorers. This was often done to emulate paintings on canvas and increase the cost of drawings or as a solution for handling large works. Canvas-lined drawings are sometimes attached to stretchers and exhibited unglazed. Historically, some drawing papers were mounted onto cloth before execution of the artwork. For example, pastels by Mary Cassatt exhibit her stamp on the canvas.(LP) Posters were often routinely lined to make them easier to handle.(KDB)

Architectural presentation drawings were sometimes executed on watercolor or drawing papers which were mounted to fabric in the studio or purchased already mounted. The latter may have been available as early as 1885/1890. Visual evidence, in the form of regular striations caused by the pasting machine, may be helpful in identifying premounted sheets (Sugarman 1986, 45).

Contemporary artists often choose canvas mounting as a desirable way to present oversize drawings and exhibit without glazing. For some, mounting represents a conscious aesthetic choice. Works are usually mounted to linen after execution by professional mounters, often using glue-paste, starch adhesives, or synthetic adhesives.

Compound Drawings

General Description

These drawings are usually mounted by the artist or collector to a “secondary” support which conveys both aesthetic and/or historical information. Thus, the secondary support is an integral part of the work with historic significance and should be retained.

For example, Paul Klee systematically mounted his drawings on paper to stiff cardstock; his secondary supports are important aesthetically, as informational devices, the official presentation format, and as examples of the artist's thrift (for more information see Schulte, Ellis, and King 1986, 20–23). For Klee's drawings there were generally two methods of attachment: spot attachment by random or regularly spaced adhesive daubs; and overall mounting with adhesive.

Degas employed several systems for mounting. (See Chandler 1984, 443–448.)

Old master European drawings were often mounted on decorated mounts which complement the drawing and form an aesthetic whole. They may bear collector's marks or inscriptions which help establish provenance. For example, Vasari had a mount designed for his personal collection and Glomy in the 18th century decorated mounts which bear his name or “G” blind-stamped at a corner.(KN)

Collage

General Description

Collage can be composed of various paper and non-paper materials and of adhesives of varying quality and stability. As with other composite structures, decisions must be made as to when intervention is appropriate. Often the artist, particularly the 20th century artist, may have consciously chosen (or chosen to ignore the problems of) materials which are not stable.(NA)

Restrained Papers

General Description

Papers attached to strainers, rigid backings or false margins “inlaid.” Mounting may occur before or after execution of the work, either by the artist, a framer, or by some other person. Papers may be mounted to facilitate handling and display; provide support for weak or especially large papers; mimic the presentation of paintings; and, among contemporary artists, for aesthetic reasons.

• Strainers: Usually the primary support is not attached directly to the strainer but is first mounted to a secondary support of paper or cloth, or to a false margin. The edges of the secondary support may be directly adhered to the face of the strainer. More often, however, the secondary support extends beyond the primary support and is folded around the outside edges of the strainer where it is attached with an adhesive and/or mechanical fasteners (tacks, staples, nails). Sometimes the edges of the work of art itself are folded around the strainer. If the secondary and primary support have been dampened before being attached to the strainer they will have shrunk upon drying and may be under tension.

• Rigid backings: The primary support is adhered overall, along its edges or by random or regularly spaced spots of adhesive to a rigid secondary support. This rigid backing may be of wood, masonite, cardboard, glass, plastic, or sheet metal or it may be a panel constructed of one or more materials (e.g., aluminum honeycomb panel with wooden spacers at edges).

• False margin: The primary support is inlaid into a false margin of paper which slightly overlaps its edges. Ideally the join is achieved using the thinnest of pared margins (approximately 3–4 mm), but sometimes broad and/or unpaired margins occur. A false margin may be added to facilitate handling; control curl of a work that tends to roll up, usually after removal of a previous lining; and reestablish original format, for presentation.

Over-Sized/Three-Dimensional/Unusual Shapes

Over-Sized Papers

General Description

Large-sized and non-traditional materials and presentation of many contemporary drawings challenge traditional definitions of drawing. These objects now function as independent works of art whereas previously they more often served as preliminary steps in the evolution of more monumental works. Curatorial departments in museums frequently classify drawings exceeding 32 by 40 inches as over-sized (Volent 1989, 30–31). (See also Papier Marouflage).

• Single sheet: Wide rolls of paper have been commercially available since the early 1880s. Artists today may make use of over-sized rolls and sheets which are available in a variety of fiber qualities, surface textures, etc.

Western paper (machine made)

• Arches watercolor - 44 1/2 inches by 10 yards;

• 100% rag barrier - 80 inches by 20 yards;

• Rives BFK 100% rag - 41 inches by 100 yards;

• Tableau (Technical Papers, Boston), abaca fiber (For example, oversize Leonard Baskin woodblocks prints [Man of Peace, 1952] were made on Tableau paper.)

Western paper (handmade)

• Emperor Sheets - 72 inches by 48 inches (Volent 1989, 30–31).

Japanese paper (machine made)

• Machine made papers are available in rolls 100 cm x 6100 cm;

• Handmade paper 60–70 cm x 100 cm;

• Paper Nao sells several Japanese roll papers in varying weights.

The relative unavailability and expense of good quality, over-sized papers or ignorance of the quality of the papers may lead students and established artists to rely on poor quality materials such as acidic photographic backdrop paper (initial pH 4.5) and impermanent industrial packaging papers. However, a paper that is chemically of poor quality might still be aesthetically pleasing to an artist. The initial use of the paper (i.e., packing or industrial use) might have a significance to the artist which a “good quality” paper may not have. Artists may also make their own over-sized papers (Volent 1989, 31).

• Multi-sheet supports: Over-sized works may also be composite works, regularly or irregularly composed of smaller sheets of similar or varied paper types, variously joined (e.g., butt joins, overlapping joins).

Fans

General Description

Fans present special conservation problems because they are three-dimensional objects designed for use and made of a combination of materials. They may vary from simple screen fans (see below) to mechanically complex folding fans. A third type, the folding “brise” fan, has no paper leaf and will not be considered here. It is important to understand the structure in order to recognize causes of deterioration and to choose appropriate conservation methods.

Structure:

• Leaf: May be made of paper or skin. (Leaves of silk and other fabrics fall under the domain of the textile conservator and will not be considered here.) Folding fans were most often composed of two semi-circular leaves pasted together on either side of ribs. Single leaf paper fans are less common. Screen fans consisted of a rigid leaf (of jade, ivory, etc., which will not be considered here) or a flexible material stretched over a shaped wooden frame and then attached to a handle.

• Paper: Chinese fans were made from mulberry paper or shorter fibered papers. The leaves of Japanese fans were made of several sheets of laminated gampi. Western fans were made of antique or modern laid paper or wove paper; a paper imitation of skin, called “chicken skin” was also common.

• Skin: Range of types, qualities and finishes were used.

• Decoration: Painted or printed, with appliques of many materials.

• Sticks or Handle: In folding fans the visible, often decorated, parts of sticks terminate in the narrow and more fragile ribs which are inserted between the two leaves. Sticks are held together at the base by a rivet. Heavier guard sticks, to which two free ends of leaves are pasted, strengthen the fan when in use and protect it when closed. In stretched leaf or screen fans, a handle was fixed to the screen with a small nail or rivet. Handle or sticks could be made of many materials, including ivory, tortoise shell (genuine and imitation), bone or wood.

Screens (LP)

General Description

Japanese - Wooden grid covered with multiple layers of paper (see Toishi and Washizuka 1987; Koyano 1979). Western - see van der Reyden 1988.

Papier-mâché

General Description

Many examples of papier-mâché are found dating from ancient China to modern time. The term papier-mâché is used to refer to two different materials. (See van der Reyden and Williams 1986.)

• Literal definition: Paper macerated back into pulp and then cast or molded into a form. Popularized in Europe in the mid-eighteenth century for ornamenting architecture and furniture. (See Cast or Molded Paper).

• Popular definition: Strips of paper laminated with an adhesive. In Western culture, laminated papier-mâché became popular in mid-eighteenth century as a base for Japanware (imitation Oriental lacquer). Pieces of paper adhered together with flour paste or a mixture of paste and glue were pressed between boards or metal plates, drenched in linseed oil for waterproofing, and dried in a hot stove. The finished product could be treated like wood (sawing, dovetailing, and screwing was possible). In the mid-nineteenth century the paper panels were softened with steam and forced into metal molds in order to form the paper into a variety of objects (e.g., trays, architectural moldings, chairs). They were sometimes coated with a gesso ground and varnished after drying. The surface would later be smoothed with pumice and decorated with paint, gilding, or inlays. There are many contemporary patents for papier-mâché processes similar to nineteenth century techniques.

Other examples of laminated papier-mâché include objects for religious ceremonies found in many cultures (e.g., masks, Mexican piñata) and papier-mâché sculpture and reliefs made by contemporary artists. The latter may be adhered with any available modern adhesive and may have surface coatings of various paints, synthetic or natural resins, or waxes. Some contemporary artists combine the basic principle of laminated papier-mâché (strips of paper laminated with an adhesive) with folding, bending, and compressing the wet laminate or with peeling, scraping, or otherwise manipulating the dry surface. Some work with wet sheets of paper that they fuse using only pressure, with no additional adhesive. Under these conditions, long-fibered papers will fuse best.

Cast or Molded Paper

General Description

The recent revival of interest in hand papermaking accounts for the growth of interest in cast paper. Paper sculpture or relief is formed by pouring a thick, liquid pulp into a mold or over a low-relief shape, by dipping a substrate, such as string or strips of paper into the pulp or by applying paper pulp by hand to a mold or to a substrate that will remain part of the work.

Embossed Papers

General Description

Relief is formed when paper, under pressure, is made to conform to a depression in a printing plate. Usually achieved through an intaglio process, though occasionally by relief or planographic processes. Can be done with or without printing inks (i.e., blind embossing). Embossing effects are incidental to some printing techniques (e.g., platemarks; light embossing of most woodcuts due to pressure used to print the block).

History: Earliest known deliberate embossings are fifteenth century paper-covered wax seals and rare “sealprints” made by pressing dampened paper over a wooden relief. Mid-eighteenth century Japanese Ukiyo-e prints were embossed by burnishing areas of the paper over an inked or uninked concave block. At the same time in Europe embossed chiaroscuro woodcuts and wall papers were produced. In the early nineteenth century various commercial items, such as book covers and hats, were made by embossing paper. In the 1830s uninked areas of lithographic stones were scratched out to create embossed highlights. In the late nineteenth century, after learning of the embossed ukiyo-e prints, Europeans first looked at embossing in its own right as a way to create an image. Among their innovations were color lithographs embossed by a second printing over an uninked intaglio plate, the first blind embossed print, and the “gypsographic,” made by printing on an inked or uninked molded plaster plate. Embossing was widely popularized among printmakers after World War II.

Popular contemporary embossing techniques:

• Embossed lithographs and serigraphs: The dampened proof is run through an etching press over a relief or intaglio plate, or over another proof to which objects have been attached to give it texture.

• Collagraph (which emerged in the late 1950s): The artist makes a collage of materials which serves as the plate. Color and texture are produced simultaneously, as the inked collage is run through an etching press.

Wallpaper (MH)

General Description

Early wallpapers were made from single sheets of handmade laid or wove paper which had been joined to create the desired length. Hand painting, stencilling and wood block printing were the most common early decorative methods. Later wallpapers were often created from machine made (continuous roll) paper with roll printing and silk screening as the common decorative methods. The paper pulp available for wallpaper varied in quality and could include remnants of rags (cotton and linen) as well as inclusions of colored fibers, silk, wool, and straw. With machine made paper the use of soft and hardwoods, processed in a variety of ways, became very common. Wallpapers originating in the East (like Chinese export wallpaper) may be of a plied construction and composed of a variety of Oriental fibers. For design media, one may encounter inks, watercolor, gouache, distemper, water- and oil-based mediums, organic and inorganic pigments, and natural and synthetic dyes. One may also encounter mica, metallic elements, embossing, flocking (chopped textile fibers adhered to paper) and glazes on wallpaper.

Globes

General Description

The heyday of terrestrial and celestial globes occurred from 1500 to 1850. During this time globes were usually constructed for use as scientific and mathematical instruments. Two graduated circles on the globe allowed it to be used as a practical working instrument — the meridian ring which runs through the poles and the horizon circle which passes around the Equator. Globes were constructed from a variety of materials such as gold, silver, glass, parchment, bond, and cloth. Generally, the globe sphere is hollow. Inside the shell there is often a single wooden rod connecting the North and South Poles; there is a metal pivot at each pole to which the shell is nailed. However, an x-radiograph of the sphere may reveal a complex internal structure of wooden ribs running from the Poles to a wooden ring at the Equator. Traditionally, shells were made of papier-mâché by pasting the paper scraps over a plaster form. Once the papier-mâché dried, the shell was cut around the Equator and the halves lifted away from the mold. The papier-mâché shell was covered with plaster and trimmed to the correct thickness using a semi-circular template. Shells were also formed of other materials, such as felted manilla fibers. To balance the globe, if necessary, a bag of lead shot was inserted inside the shell at the Equator before plastering.

This description deals with globes with paper gores on their outermost surface. The gores were sometimes cut and split to ease their application to the sphere. A circular section called a calotte was prepared to fit over each pole. The first printed maps appeared in the 1470s using copper and wood engraving techniques. A map was intaglio printed on the flat paper gores. The sections were then wetted and stretched down onto the globe. The number of paper gores used to cover the surface of a sphere ranged from 8 to 36, with 12 being the most common. Often the globe gores were given a protective coat of varnish.

The printed paper on the horizon circle was adhered to a thin layer of gesso and varnished. Usually, the gores and the horizon circle were sized before they were varnished.

Boxes (EW)

General Description

Paper based boxes have been used to house items such as hats, books, and games. The basic construction of a box and its lid consists of laminated boards stitched or glued together and covered in the interior and exterior with a variety of papers. Some boxes are made from thick, stiff paper that was scored, folded, and glued to form an enclosure, such as a box for a deck of cards.

Other Objects Made By Distortion of Planar Sheet

Scoring, folding, rolling, and curling are the basic methods by which the flat plane of a sheet of paper can be shaped into a three-dimensional form. Adhesives or fasteners may be used to keep the sheet in the distorted form.

General Description

Examples: Japanese origami; ritual paper facsimiles of clothing, household objects, etc., used in buddhist funeral rites; paper models for sculpture, engineering designs and architecture; foldouts in illustrations (e.g., books of hand-drawn landscape, theatre set and architectural designs containing fold-out elements to be considered as design options); puppets; lamp shades; contemporary works of art made by folding, bending, weaving, curling, and otherwise distorting paper; quilling.

Strength of the object is determined in part by the properties of the paper used. Paper folds and curls more easily along the grain. The density of fibers and how tightly they are compacted affects ease of compression for folding. Internal additives like fillers or sizes play a role in how paper responds to deformation, especially in bulky papers of low fiber density. Surface coatings can stiffen paper, making it resist folding or curling, and resulting in flaking of the coating. The tensile strength of the paper, an indication of how much the paper can stretch before it ruptures, is partially determined by fiber length. In general, longer fibered papers have greater tensile strength and fold endurance than short fibered papers because “...the wire side of the sheet inherently contains a slightly larger proportion of larger fibers to fine and a greater filler ratio than the felt side...less cracking at the fold is encountered when the stronger wire side of the sheet is kept to the outside fold area where more tension prevails” (Byers 1971, 104). Another factor is the stress to which the paper is subjected when curled or folded. In folding, the outer surface must cover a wider radius than the inner surface. It will be stretched under tension while the inner surface will be compressed. If the stress on the outer surface exceeds the elasticity of the paper, fibers will rupture and the paper will crack (Byers 1971, 104). Scoring reduces this problem by stretching or breaking fibers, thus reducing the number of fibers which must be bent. The strength of a folded paper object is also affected by the integral strength of the geometric form which has been constructed. When properly constructed, pyramid shapes like the cone and the equilateral triangle are the strongest geometric forms. The failure of adhesives and fasteners also contribute to the weakening of three-dimensional paper objects.

Traditional Non-Paper Supports

Papyrus

General Description

A writing support used primarily by the ancient Egyptians made of lengthwise strips cut from the soft, white inner pith of the Cyperus Papyrus L reed native to marshy areas of North Africa. Papyrus was used in the Mediterranean region from perhaps the fourth millennium B.C. to the twelfth century A.D. The fabrication technique was lost in the Middle Ages. Strips were probably soaked in water, rolled to soften, laid down to form an overlapping cross-laminated structure, then pressed to bond and dry. There are different theories about what bonds the strips together -added adhesive, natural sap, or physical adhesion. Formed sheets were pasted together to form long rolls. Ancient examples may be firm, smooth, flexible, and translucent and of a fine and even texture; modern products are often heavier and thicker.

Palm Leaf

General Description

A most ancient support for writing and miniature painting, according to Pliny, palm leaf can be archaeologically documented back to the second century A.D.. Palm leaf manuscripts preserve many unique sources of Indian, Nepalese, and Southeast Asian culture and religion. They continue to be used in the twentieth century. Preferred leaves are those from the Talipot and Palmyra palms which are plicate (i.e., having parallel folds) and segmented with a central rib. The hard, yet flexible flaps on either side of the rib yield the material that is prepared by drying and polishing for writing or painting or for incising characters using a metal stylus. Up to 400 leaves were, traditionally, laced together through pierced holes to form a “book.”

Parchment/Vellum

General Description (JM)

Known since ancient times and used as a support for writing, painting, drawing and printing, it is made from the skins of animals, especially goats, calves and sheep. The varieties differ in grain pattern, markings, fat content, thickness, color, and flexibility. Parchment is prepared from pelts (i.e., wet, unhaired and limed skins) simply by drying at ordinary temperatures under tension, most commonly on a wooden frame known as a stretching frame (Reed 1972, 119). The result is a stiff, flat, generally opaque sheet. The pelts are not irreversibly tanned with acids, the method used to make leather. Parchment is quite permanent and durable; capable of lasting thousands of years if kept in stable environmental conditions.

The terms vellum and parchment refer to skins which are prepared with lime in exactly the same way. They have had different specific meanings depending upon when and where they were made. The modern British definition of parchment refers to skins made from sheep; vellum to skins made from calf, goat or other animals. Vellum, in the past, has implied the fine, white skins used for the exquisite Books of Hours, but in modern times it is often used to imply bookbinding weight skins, leaving parchment to refer to the document weight skins. Yet, fine skins are still made from calf, and stiff, thick skins are made from sheep. Thus, the issue of precise terminology is somewhat confusing. Since it is so difficult to distinguish the animal used to make an early manuscript substrate, a prominent paleographer uses the term parchment for all animals when describing manuscript skins.

Hair and flesh sides are terms often used to describe parchment. The hair side (i.e., the outer or grain side of a skin) will often be gelatinous in look and smooth with a grain pattern or hair follicles occasionally visible. This is from the treatment of the skin and the shaving action of the knife. The flesh, or inner side, is usually much softer, more absorbent, with a loose, velvety appearance. When the hair side has been pumiced (pounced) in preparation for the ink, it is made velvety and thus it is difficult to distinguish hair from flesh sides. If the flesh side has been shaved with a knife and prepared to have a smooth finish, it is also difficult to tell hair and flesh sides apart. The flesh side is generally more receptive to humidity, so the skin will curl in the direction of the hair side.

Fabrication: One should become familiar with the preparation of parchment as a basis for understanding its working properties, sensitivities, and limitations. The basic methods used today are similar to those used in the Middle Ages, but the medieval techniques attained a perfection which has been progressively neglected since the sixteenth century. Parchment is made from dehaired, limed pelts which are dried at ordinary temperatures under tension and shaved with a semi-circular or lunar knife to desired finish. The wet, limed pelt is stretched on a frame to dry under tension which plays a critical part in the structure of parchment. The fiber network in any pelt is complex, with the fibers running in all directions, giving flexibility to leather. During the simultaneous stretching and drying process to make parchment, however, this fiber orientation is changed to be realigned into layers parallel to the flesh and grain surfaces of the pelt. This reorganization of fibers is set in this new and highly stretched form by drying the pelt fluid or ground substance (a mucous-type secretion) to a hard, glue-like condition. It is this realignment of fibers which produces a taut, stressed sheet which is relatively inelastic and has a stiff handle. It is also the distinguishing factor between parchment and leather, not merely the fact that leathers are tanned. Ancient pelts were sometimes processed into parchment and then also tanned (see Reed 1972 for more detail). In the West, the surface was sometimes prepared with chalk or similar material to increase opacity and absorbency. Some skins were also given a nappy surface for use with pastels, especially in the eighteenth century.(LP)

Pith/Rice "Paper"

General Description

Soft, velvety, translucent, ivory colored, spongy, paper-like substance not made from rice and not true paper; pith of the Asiatic shrub, Chinese cottonwood (Tetrapanax papyrifera Hook Koch), native to hills of South China and Taiwan. A popular support for Chinese export watercolors from the 1820s on.

Technique of manufacture is described by Bell (1985, 109–117). For preservation purposes it is important to know that the “paper” is formed by cutting a rod of pith into a spiraling ribbon; these lengths are then pressed flat and trimmed into sheets. The sheet's grain direction is visually obvious. Aged pith ranges in color from stark white to cream to pale gray.(CS) Under the microscope pith “paper” appears to have a cellular, non-fibrous structure. Pith, the tissue in the center of the plant stem, is made up of large food storing and conducting cells (parenchyma and collenchyma) which are very responsive to moisture. This accounts for pith “paper's” receptivity to watercolor which is readily absorbed by its surface causing swelling and a permanent relief effect.

Tapa

General Description

A paper-like fabric or bark cloth made from the inner bark of the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) and other plants. Produced and used extensively in the Pacific region as a painting and writing surface, for clothing, wall coverings, etc., since earliest times. Processing includes cutting, soaking, and softening the stalks in water and stripping off the bark. (Tapa differs from paper because the fibers retain their original structure and are not disintegrated.) The inner bark is sun-dried and stored; for processing into tapa it is soaked in water to soften and then repeatedly beaten and folded until it has increased to many times its original width. Large tapas are made by pasting, felting, or sewing pieces together. The many ways of decorating tapa are described in the literature. Tapa continues to be manufactured widely.

Drafting Cloth ("linen")

General Description

While "linen" as a primary support was required for all United States government contract work in the 1950s, it was widely used as a support for architectural and engineering drawings from circa 1850 to 1960 when it was replaced by cheaper, durable polyester films. Drafting cloth was manufactured in Lancashire, England and exported all over the world. The substrate was a linen or cotton fabric and could be bleached, then filled or coated with starch, gelatin or, more recently, synthetic compounds. Sometimes the completed drawing on drafting cloth was coated with lacquer-like coatings, including nitrocellulose, which resulted in a very brittle support.(KN) A glossy coating on one or both sides created a smooth surface that is translucent rather than fully transparent. Drafting cloth is seldom used today because of its high cost and limited availability. Also, it was formerly required for deposit with building inspection departments as a permanent copy, but is no longer (Lathrop 1980, 329).

Contemporary Non-Paper Drawing Supports

Polyester Drafting Films

General Description

Stiff but flexible, colorless plastic sheet with a fine, pebbly surface coating that makes it almost opaque and which readily accepts media. One type, Geofilm (made by Hughes-Owens, Ltd., analyzed at the Canadian Conservation Institute in 1987), was found to have a dimensionally and chemically stable polyester base (unaffected by heat, humidity, solvents) and a coating of quartz (also stable) in a solvent-resistant ester binder (Williams 1987). The binder will probably remain stable if the film is stored in conditions recommended for photographs on a polyester base. Any color change that occurred over the years in such a thin layer of binder would probably be imperceptible. A variety of other synthetic drafting films is available, however, many of which are not as stable as Geofilm. Most have not been chemically analyzed, but spot tests show that some have surface coatings that dissolve readily in many solvents. One such film is Transpagra. The bases of these drafting films may be any of a number of plastics of varying stabilities.

Mylar has also been used as a support for drawings as well as architectural renderings. Jasper Johns drew on Mylar and Andy Warhol has done drawings which contain layers of transparent plastic. Drawings for design items and other industrial products have been done on single sheets and composite pieces of Mylar. (KDB)

Bibliography

General

AIC-BPG. Paper Conservation Catalog - 19, Bleaching. Washington, DC: AIC-BPG, 1989.

AIC-BPG. Paper Conservation Catalog - 24, Backing Removal. Washington, DC: AIC-BPG, 1985.

AIC-BPG. Paper Conservation Catalog - 29, Lining: 40. Matting and Framing. Washington, DC: AIC-BPG, 1988.

Balston, Thomas. James Watman: Father & Son. London: Methuen & Co., Ltd., 1957.

Bachmann, K. “The Treatment of Transparent Papers: A Review.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 2, 1983, pp. 3–14. Extensive earlier bibliography.

Banks, Paul. “Environmental Conditions for the Storage of Paper-Based Records.” Proceedings of Conservation in Archives: International Symposium, Ottawa, Canada 1988. Paris: International Council on Archives, 1989, pp. 77–88.

Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Rembrandt: Experimental Etcher. Boston: Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 1969.

Britt, Kenneth W., ed. Handbook of Pulp and Paper Technology. 2nd edition. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1980.

Browning, B.L. Analysis of Paper. 2nd edition, revised and expanded. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1977.

Byers, W. “Cracking at the Fold Problems.” Graphic Arts Monthly 43, No. 5, May 1971, pp. 104–110.

Casey, James P., ed. Pulp and Paper: Chemistry and Chemical Technology. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1981, Vol. 3 “Loading and Filling,” pp. 1515–1546.

Clapperton, R.H. and William Henderson. Modern Papermaking. London: The Waverly Book Co. Ltd., 1929.

Cohn, Marjorie B. “A Hazard of Float Washing: Regeneration of Paper Sizing.” Book and Paper Group Postprints. Washington, DC: AIC, 1982, 13 pages plus 2 tables.

Collings, Thomas and Derek Milner “The Nature and Identification of Cotton Paper-Making Fibers in Paper.” The Paper Conservator 8, 1984, pp. 59–71.

Collings, Thomas and Derek Milner. “The Identification of Non-Wood Paper Making Fibers: Part 3.” The Paper Conservator 7, 1982/83, pp. 24–27. (Esparto and Manila Hemp.)

Cook, J.G. “Ramie.” Handbook of Textile Fibers Vol. 1 - Natural Fibers. Merrow: Durham, 1984, pp. 22–24.

Cumberbirch, R. “Why A Fiber Works.” The Shirley Link, 1974, pp. 147.

Daniels, Vincent. “The Discoloration of Paper on Aging.” The Paper Conservator, 12, 1988, pp. 93–100.

Daniels, Vincent and Lore E. Fleming. “Cockling of Paper in Museums.” Symposium 88: The Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works on Paper. Ottawa: Canadian Conservation Institute. (In press - Fall 1990.)

Dwan, Antoinette. “Examination and Conservation of Nineteenth Century Japanese Papers.” Typescript of a paper presented to the Book and Paper Group of the American Institute for Conservation 17th Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, 1989, 18 pp.

Ellis, Margaret Holben. “A Practical Approach to Drawings Storage.” Drawing 1, No. 6, 1980, pp. 132–134.

Ellis, Margaret Holben. The Care of Prints and Drawings. Nashville, TN: AASLH Press, 1987.

Feller, R. “The Deteriorating Effect of Light on Museum Objects.” Museum News 43, Technical Supply No. 3, 1964, pp. i–viii.

Hills, Richard L. Papermaking in Britain 1488–1988: A Short History. London: The Athlone Press, 1988.

Hunter, Dard. Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1978.

Keyes, K.M. “The Unique Qualities of Paper as an Artifact in Conservation Treatment.” The Paper Conservator 3, 1987, pp. 4–8.

Krill, John. English Artists Paper. London: Trefoil Publications Ltd., 1987.

Labarre, E.J. A Dictionary of Paper and Paper-Making Terms. Amsterdam: Swets and Zeitlinger, 1937.

Long, Paulette, ed. Paper - Art and Technology. San Francisco: World Print Council, 1979.

McAusland, Jane and Phillip Stevens. “Techniques of Lining for the Support of Fragile Works of Art on Paper.” The Paper Conservator 4, 1979, 33–44.

Meder, Joseph. The Mastery of Drawing. Translated and revised by Winslow Ames. New York: Abaris Books, Inc., 1978.

Miles, Catherine E. “Wood Coatings for Display and Storage Cases.” Studies in Conservation 31, 1986, pp. 114–124.

Padfield, Tim, David Erhardt and Walter Hopwood. “Trouble in Store.” Science and Technology in The Service of Conservation, Preprints of the ICC Washington Congress. London: IIC, 1982, pp. 24–27.

Priest, D.J. “Modern Paper.” Modern Art: The Restoration and Techniques of Modern Paper and Prints. London: UKIC, 1989, pp. 5–7.

Roberts, Matt T. and Don Etherington. Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books; A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1982.

Shahani, C.J. and F.H. Hengemihle. “The Influence of Copper and Iron on the Permanence of Paper.” Historic Textile and Paper Materials: Conservation and Characterization. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society, 1986, pp. 386–410.

van der Reyden, Dianne. “Technology and Treatment of a Folding Screen Comparison of Oriental and Western Techniques.” The Conservation of Far Eastern Art: Preprints of Contributions to the Kvoto Congress. London: IIC, 1988, pp. 64–68.

Weidner, Marilyn. “Damage and Deterioration of Art on Paper Due to Ignorance and the Use of Faulty Materials.” Studies in Conservation 12, No. 1, 1967, pp. 5–24.

Watrous, J. The Craft of Old Master Drawings. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1957.

Wehlte, Kurt. The Materials and Techniques of Painting. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.

Mechanical Wood Pulp Papers

(See also General References)

Hon, David N.S. “Discoloration and Deterioration of Modern Papers.” Science and Technology in the Service of Conservation, Preprints of Contributions to the IIC-Washington Congress. London: IIC, 1982.

Lyall, Jan. “A Preliminary Study of Chemical Methods for Stabilizing Lignin in Groundwood Paper.” Science and Technology in the Service of Conservation, Preprints of Contributions to the IIC-Washington Congress. London: IIC, 1982, pp. 79–84.

Shahani, D.J. “Options in Polyester Encapsulation.” Association of Canadian Archivist Bulletin 2, No. 1, 1986, 1 page.

Young, G.S. and Helen Burgess. “Lignin in a Paperboard Advertised as Lignin-free.” IIC-CG Bulletin 14, No. 4, 1989, pp. 14–16.

Colored Papers

(See also General References)

Perkinson, Roy. “Observations in the Drawings of Winslow Homer.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 5, 1986, pp. 1–8.

Samuels, Laurie. “Optical Brighteners in Paper.” Papers Presented at the 15th Annual Art Conservation Training Programs Conference. Harvard University Art Museums, 1989, in press.

van der Reyden, Dianne and Nancy McRaney. Identification of Colorants for Paper. Smithsonian Institution, Conservation Analytical Laboratory: Washington, D.C., 1990, unpublished.

Loaded Papers

(See also General References)

Daniels, Vincent. “A Study of the Crystallinity of Paper Before and After Conservation.” The Paper Conservator 10, 1986, pp. 70–72.

Artists' Coated (Prepared)

(See also General References)

Cennini, C. The Craftsman's Handbook. Translated by D. Thompson, Jr. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1954, pp. 6–7.

DaVinci, Leonardo. Treatise on Painting. Translated by P. McMahon. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1956, p. 105.

Ellis, Margaret Holben. “Metalpoint Drawings: Special Problems for Collectors.” Drawing 2, No. 3, 1980, pp. 59–61.

Richmond, Alison, “Turner's Use of Paper up to 1820' - A talk given by Peter Bowers.” Paper Conservation News, No. 54, 1990, p. 4.

Coated Papers

(See also General References)

Baker, M., D. van der Reyden, and N. Ravenal. “FTIR Analysis of Coated Papers.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 8, Washington, DC: AIC, 1989, pp. 1–12.

Casey, James P., ed. “Pigment Coating.” Pulp and Paper: Chemistry and Chemical Technology. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Vol. 4., 1983 “Pigment Coating,” pp. 2018–2189.

Parker, A.E. “The Freeze-Drying Process: Some Conclusions.” Library Conservation News, No. 23, 1989, pp. 4–6, 8.

Prosser, Ruth. “Pigment Coated Printing Papers.” Modern Art: The Restoration and Techniques of Modern Paper and Prints. London: UKIC, 1989, pp. 8–12.

Lattuati-Derieux, A., Egasse, C., Regert, M., Chung, Y., Lavédrine, B., 2009. “Characterization and degradation pathways of ancient Korean waxed papers”, Journal of Cultural Heritage, Vol 10, pp. 422–427.

A collection of Korean waxed papers from the 15th-16th centuries were chosen to be studied because they were starting to present signs of deterioration. These included: traces of mould, folds, cracks, embrittlement of the wax and white or purple deposits on the surface. The authors of this paper used Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectra and gas chromatographic and mass spectrometry investigations to identify the biomarkers and degradation markers of the Korean paper samples. Four different samples of waxed paper were taken. Comparing the samples to a modern sample of Korean beeswax showed that the chemical composition was very similar to the ancient Korean beeswax samples found on the papers. The main degradation compounds were found to be hydroxyethers.

Tissue/Tracing Papers

(See also General References)

Anderson, Priscilla. “Transparent Paper: An Examination of its Uses Through Two Centuries.” Senior essay, History of Art Department, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1990.

Bachmann, K. “Transparent Papers Before 1850: History and Conservation Problems.” New Directions in Paper Conservation. The Institute of Paper Conservation 10th Anniversary Conference, Conference Notes. Oxford, England: Institute of Paper Conservation, 1986, p. D61 (abstract).

Flamm, Verena, Christa Hofmann, Sebastian Dobrusskin, and Gerhard Banik. “Conservation of Tracing Papers.” 9th Triennial Meeting of the ICOM Committee for Conservation Preprints. Dresden, German Democratic Republic: ICOM, in press 1990.

Fletcher, Shelly and Judy Walsh. “The Treatment of Three Prints by Whistler on Fine Japanese Tissue.” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 18, No. 2, 1979, 118–126.

Futernick, Robert. “Methods and Makeshift: Stretch Drying Lined Artifacts.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 3, Washington DC: AIC, 1984, pp. 68–70.

Keyes, Keiko M. “The Use of Friction Mounting as an Aid to Pressing Works on Paper.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 3. Washington DC: AIC, 1984, pp. 101–104.

Mills, John S. “Analysis of Some 19th Century Tracing Paper Impregnates and 18th Century Globe Varnishes.” New Directions in Paper Conservation. Oxford, England: Institute of Paper Conservation, 1986.

Priest, Derek. “Paper Conservation Science at UMIST.” The Paper Conservator 11, 1987, pp. 73–80.

Rundle, C. “The Composition and Manufacture of Modern Tracing Papers.” New Directions in Paper Conservation. Oxford, England; Institute of Paper Conservation, 1986, D64–65 (abstract).

Wilson, Helen. “A decision framework for the preservation of transparent papers.” Journal of the Institute of Conservation. 38, No. 1, 2015, 118–126. Online here

Yates, Sally Ann. “The Conservation of 19th Century Tracing Paper.” The Paper Conservator 8, 1984, pp. 20–39, with short bibliography of publications containing useful information on tracing paper.

Cardboard/Artist's Board/Illustration Board

(See also General References)

Futernick, Robert. “Methods and Makeshift: Hinging Artifacts to Matboard.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 3, Washington DC: AIC, 1984, pp. 68–70.

Gould, Barbara. “The Removal of Secondary Supports from Works of Art on Paper.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 6, 1987.

Keyes, K. M. “A Method of Conserving a Work of Art on a Deteriorated Thin Surface Laminate.” The Paper Conservator 10, 1986, pp. 10–17.

Watercolor Papers

(See also General References)

Cohn, Marjorie. Wash and Gouache: A Study of the Development of the Materials of Watercolor. Cambridge, MA: The Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Fogg Art Museum, 1977.

Walsh, Judith. “Observations on the Watercolor Techniques of Homer and Sargent.” American Traditions in Watercolor: The Worcester Art Museum Collection. Susan E. Stickler, ed. New York: Abbeville Press, 1987, pp. 44–65.

Artists' Printing Papers

(See also General References)

Dyson, A. Pictures to Print: The 19th Century Engraving Trade. London: Farrand Press, 1984.

Lalanne, Maxime. A Treatise on Etching. London: Sampson Law, Marston, Searle and Rivington, London, 1880.

Lumsden, E.S. The Art of Etching. New York: Dover, 1924.

Perknson, Roy. “Degas's Printing Papers.” Edgar Degas: The Painter as Printmaker. Sue Walsh Reed and Barbara Stern Shaprio. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1984, pp. 255–261.

Robison, Andrew. Paper in Prints. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1977.

White, C. Rembrandt as an Etcher London: Zwemmer, 1969.

Asian Papers

(See also General References)

Bosch, Gulhar and Guy Petherbridge. “The Materials, Techniques and Structures of Islamic Bookmaking.” Islamic Bindings and Bookmaking. Gulhar Bosch, John Carswell and Guy Petherbridge. Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1981, pp. 23–84.

Gaur, Albertine. Writing Materials of the East. London: The British Library, 1979.

Losty, Jeremiah, P. The Art of the Book in India. London: The British Library, 1982.

Snyder, J.G. “Appendix 10: Study of the Paper of Selected Paintings from the Verer Collection.” G.D. Lowry and M.C. Beach. An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Verver Collection. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1988, pp. 425–440.

Zhou, Bao Zhong. “The Preservation of Ancient Chinese Paper.” The Conservation of Far Eastern Art, Preprints of the Contributions to the Kyoto Congress, 19–23 September 1988. London: IIC, 1988, pp. 19–21.

Japanese Papers

(See also General References)

Barrett, Timothy. Nagashizuki: The Japanese Craft of Hand Papermaking. North Hills, PA: Bird and Bull Press, 1979.

Fletcher, Shelley and Judy Walsh. “The Treatment of Three Prints by Whistler on Fine Japanese Tissue.” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 18, No. 2, 1979, pp. 118–127.

Inaba, M. and R. Sugisita. “Permanence of Washi (Japanese Paper). The Conservation of Far Eastern Art: Preprints of Contributions to the Kyoto Congress. London: IIC, 1988.

Keyes, Keiko. “Japanese Print Conservation - An Overview.” The Conservation of Far Eastern Art: Preprints of Contributions to the Kyoto Congress. London: IIC, 1988, pp. 30–36.

Keyes, Keiko. “The Use of Friction Mounting as an Aid to Pressing Works on Paper.” AIC Book and Paper Group Annual 3, 1984, pp. 101–104.

Nicholson, C. “The Conservation of Three Whistler Prints on Japanese Paper.” The Conservation of Far Eastern Art: Preprints of Contributions to the Kyoto Congress. London: IIC, 1988, pp. 39–43.

Smith, C. “The Use of Paper Suction Table in Flattening and Drying Moisture-Reactive Japanese Tissues.” AIC Poster Paper Text, 1982.

Composite Structures

(See also General References)

Chandler, David. “Edgar Degas in the Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago: An Examination of Selected Pastels.” Degas: Form and Space. Paris, Centre Culturel du Marais, 1984, pp. 443–448.

Gagnier, Richard and Anne Maheux. “The Mounting of Over-size Works on Paper at the National Gallery of Canada.” Handout Symposium 88, Ottawa, Canada, 1988, 6pp.

Jenkins, Penny. “India Laid Prints Meeting.” Paper Conservation News, No. 49, March 1989.

Jenkins, Penny. “Preparation of India Proof Prints.” Typescript of notes from an interview with Philip McQueen, Nov. 15, 1988, 3 pp.

King, Antoinette. “Changes of the Collage ‘Roses’ by Juan Gris.” Conservation and Restoration of Pictorial Art. Norman Brommelle et al., eds. IIC London: Butterworths, 1978, pp. 234–238.

McAusland, Jane and Phillip Stevens. “Techniques of Lining for the Support of Fragile Works of Art on Paper.” The Paper Conservator 4, 1979, pp. 33–44.

Schulte, Elizabeth Kaiser, Margaret Holben Ellis, and Antoinette King. “An Approach to the Conservation Treatment of Paul Klee Drawings.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 5, 1986, pp. 19–32.

Sugarman, Jane. “Observations on the Materials and Techniques Used in 19th Century American Architectural Presentation Drawings.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 4, 1986, pp. 39–60.

Volent, Paula. “Contemporary Techniques of Mounting Paper to Canvas.” The Paper Conservator 10, 1986, pp. 18–23.

Wallpaper

(See also General References)

“Conservation of Wallpaper.” Special issue of the Journal of the American Institute of Conservation. Spring, 1981.

Clise, D. & Draper, B. 2007. “Jean Zuber et Compagnie’s Le Paysage à Chasses at Willow Wall: Removal, Treatment, and Reinstallationof an Early Nineteenth-Century Scenic Wallpaper”. The Book and Paper Group Annual. Volume 26, pp. 9-20.

Entwisle, E.A. A Literary History of Wallpaper. London: B.T. Batsford, 1960.

Frangiamore, Catherine Lynn. Wallpapers in Historic Preservation. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1977.

Gilmore, A.M., 1981. “Wallpaper and Its Conservation: An Architectural Conservator's Perspective”, Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, Vol. 20, No. 2, Conservation of Historic Wallpaper, pp. 74-82.

Greysmith, Brenda. Wallpaper. New York: MacMillan, 1976.

Harroun, S.G., Bergman, J., Jablonski, E. and Brosseau, C.L., 2011. “Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Analysis of House Paint and Wallpaper Samples from an 18th Century Historic Property”. Analyst, Volume 136. Pp. 3453-3460.

Lynn, Catherine. Wallpaper in America from the 17th Century to World War I. New York: W.W. Norton, 1980.

Mapes, P. 2015. Historic Wallpaper Conservation. [Accessed 7th April 2015].

McClelland, Nancy V. Historic Wallpapers from Their Inception to the Introduction of Machinery. Philadelphia and London: J.B. Lippincott, 1924.

McClintock, T.M., 2002. “Case Studies on the Effect of Conservation on the Appearance of Historic Wallpapers”. Restaurator. Vol.23, pp. 165-186.

National Park Service. 2007. Wallpapers in Historic Preservation: History of Wallpaper Styles and their Use. Published: 26th April 2007. [Accessed 2nd April 2015].

Nylander, Richard. Wallpapers for Historic Buildings. Washington, D.C.: The Preservation Press, 1983.

Oman, Charles C. and Jean Hamilton. Wallpapers: An International History and Illustrated Survey from the Victoria and Albert Museum. New York: Abrams, 1982.

Shelley, M. 1981. “The Conservation of the Van Rensselaer Wallpaper”. Journal of the American Institute of Conservation. Volume 20, Number 2, pp. 126-138.

Teynac, Francoise, Pierre Nolot, and Jean-Denis Vivien. Wallpaper: A History. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1982.

Vitale, T. & Messier, P. 2004. “Historic Wallpaper Digitally Remastered: Early Twentieth-Century Block-Printed English Wallpaper in the Yin Yu Tang House at the Peabody Essex Museum”, The Book and Paper Group Annual, Volume 23, pp. 109-113.

V&A. 2015. Flock Wallpapers. [Accessed 1st April 2015].

Welsh, F.S. 2004. “Investigation, Analysis, and Authentication of Historic Wallpaper Fragments”. Journal of the American Institute of Conservation. Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 91-110.

Restrained Papers

(See also General References)

Harding, E.G. “The ‘Inlaying’ of Works of Art on Paper.” Letter to the editor and response from Jane McAusland, Paper Conservation News No. 40, Dec. 1986, pp. 2–3.

Over-Sized Papers

(See also General References)

Albright, Gary and T.K. McClintock. “The Treatment of Oversize Paper Objects.” Postprints of the AIC Book and Paper Group Meeting. Washington, DC: AIC, 1982, 6 pages.

Eckmann, Inge-Lise. “The Lining of a Super-Sized Contemporary Drawing.” AIC Preprints. Washington, DC: AIC, 1985, pp. 36–43.

Fairbrass, Sheila. “The Problems of Large Works of Art on Paper.” The Paper Conservator 10, 1986, pp. 3–9.

Hamm, P. Dacus. “Treatment of an Oversized, Hand-Drawn Shaker Map.” Book and Paper Group Annual 7, 1988, pp. 17–22.

Nicholson, C. and Susan Page. “Machine Made Oriental Papers in Western Paper Conservation.” Book and Paper Group Annual 7, 1988, pp. 44–51.

Owen, Antoinette. “Treatment and Mounting of a Poster ‘Angleterre’ by A.M. Cassandre.” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 24, No. 1, 1984, pp. 23–32.

Potje, Karen. “A Travelling Exhibition of Oversized Drawings.” Book and Paper Group Annual 7, 1988, pp. 52–57.

Volent, Paula. “Consideration in the Acquisition and Care of Oversized Contemporary Drawings.” Drawing 11, No. 2 (July/August) 1989, pp. 30–34.

Three-Dimensional Paper Objects

(See also General References)

Evetts, Debora E. “Treatment of Folded Paper Artifacts.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 6, 1987, pp. 35–39.

Florian Papp Gallery. Rolled, Scrolled, Crimpled, and Folded: The Lost Art of Filigree Paperwork. New York: Florian Papp Gallery, 1989.

Newman, Jerri, Margaret Leveque, and Leslie Smith. “An Interspeciality Approach to the Conservation of Multi-Media Objects.” Preprints of Papers Presented at the 15th Annual Meeting of the AIC. Vancouver, 1987, pp. 84–98.

Nichols, K., Elgar, J., Gausch, K. 2006. “Illuminating the Way: Conservation of Two Japanese Paper Lanterns” Journal American Institute of Conservation, Volume 46, pp. 123-136.

Two nineteenth-century Katsushika Hokusai paintings in the form of paper folding-lanterns were conserved for the exhibition "The Allure of Edo" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The paintings had been dismantled from their original mounts, and in doing so they were severely damaged. The article describes the conservation treatment and the process of determining the original shape of each lantern. Polyethylene foam mounts were made and the paintings, which were relined, were adhered to them. The treatment was successful and the article exemplifies a unique and complex treatment that returned the paintings to their intended three-dimensional format.

Tombs, Rebecca. “Three Dimensional Objects of Paper.” Unpublished paper Queen's University Art Conservation Program, Kingston, 1982.

Fans and Screens

(See also General References)

Armstrong, Nancy. The Book of Fans. Surrey: The Colour Library International Ltd, 1978.

Kakoauei, M., Kakouei Ezbarami, M., and Kumaran, S., 2014. “History, Technology, and Treatment of a Painted Silk Folding Screen Belonging to the Palace-Museum of Golestan in Iran”. Fibres & Textiles in Eastern Europe, Vol. 22, No. 2(104), pp. 69-75.

This article is a case study illustrating the treatment of a historical Chinese folding screen from the Palace-Museum of Golestan in Iran. The main aim of this study was to develop the conservation treatment using paper conservation techniques as a basis. To restore the folding screen, a method often used in paper conservation was adopted. Self-adhesive heat reactivated Japanese tissue paper was attached to support the silk, in order to avoid stitching through the painted surface. Tengujo Japanese tissue, with Lascaux 498 HV diluted with water (10%) were selected for the repairs. Lascaux 498 HV has a pH of 8 – 9, great flexibility, is reversible and soluble in acetone, toluene and xylene but insoluble in water once dry. The self-adhesive tissue paper was reactivated at 50 °C with a heated spatula.

Koyano, Masako. Japanese Scroll Paintings, a Handbook of Mounting Techniques. Washington, D.C: FAIC, 1979.

Maxson, Holly. “Design and Construction of a Support for a Folding Fan.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 4, 1986, pp. 33–38.

Nishio, Y. 2001. “Maintenance of Asian Paintings II: Minor Treatment of Scroll Paintings”, The Book and Paper Group Annual, Volume 20, pp. 15-26.

A well explained article describing how to repair tear, areas of loss, creases and damaged chords on Asian scroll paintings. The article is aided with images, diagrams and step-by-step explanations on how to carry out treatments.

Toishi, K. and H. Washizuka. Characteristics of Japanese Art That Condition Its Care. Japanese Association of Museums, 1987.

Webber, Pauline. “The Conservation of Fans.” The Paper Conservator 8, 1984, pp. 40–58.

Papier-Maché

(See also General References)

Moir, Gillian. “The Care of Papier-M&acaron;ché.” History News 35, No. 6, June 1980, pp. 57–58.

van der Reyden, Dianne and Don Williams. “The Technology and Conservation Treatment of a 19th Century Paper-Mache Chair.” AIC Preprints. Chicago Meeting. Washington, DC: AIC, 1986, pp. 125–142.

Globes

(See also General References)

Baynes-Cope, A.D. The Study and Conservation of Globes. Vienna: Internationale Coronelli-Gesellschaft, 1985.

Lewis, Gillian, Anne Leane, and Sylvia Sumira. “Globe Conservation at the National Maritime Museum, London.” The Paper Conservator 12, 1988, pp. 3–12.

Leyshon, Kim Elizabeth. “The Restoration of a Pair of Senex Globes.” The Paper Conservator 12, 1988, pp. 13–20.

McClintock, T.K., 2002. “Observations On The Conservation Of Globes”, Studies in Conservation, Volume 47. Special Issue: Contributions to the Baltimore Congress, 2-6 September 2002. Works of Art on Paper Books, Documents and Photographs: Techniques and Conservation. Pp. 135-138.

Globes are also often made from plaster, wood, metal, and have varnished and painted surfaces. A conservator of globes must also have conservation knowledge on these materials in order to make the treatment credible.The article gives reasons to why the conservation of globes falls under the role of the paper conservator rather than an objects or decorative arts conservator, even though the object is not solely made out of paper. McClintock writes that it is on the globe’s paper surface that the design and function of the globe is found, and it is the paper which is the most susceptible to damage. The author also explains the structure of a globe, describing the way the paper is prepared in order to paint and varnish it, without damaging the paper, as well as the wooden and metallic components that make up its structure.

McClintock, T.K., Bigrigg, Lorraine & LaCamera, Deborah. 2015. “Case study: conservation and restoration of a pair of large diameter English globes”, Journal of the Institute of Conservation, 38:1, 77-91, DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2015.1007072

The globes illustrated in these case studies were in very poor condition and hard to read. This article not only looks at the conservation treatment of the globes but also at the development of filling losses using digital photography and archival printing, which helped maintain the integrity of the globes as works of cartography. It was possible to use digital photography to recreate the losses because the same globe gores were printed in an Atlas, and could be used as models to reproduce the scans.

Sumira, Sylvia. “Conservation Treatment of Globe Surfaces.” IIC Preprints, Brussels Congress: Cleaning, Retouching and Coatings. John S. Mills and Perry Smith, eds. IIC, 1990, pp. 56–58.

Stevenson, E.L. Terrestrial and Celestial Globes: Volumes I and II. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1921.

van Der Reyden, Dianne. “The Technology and Treatment of a Nineteenth Century American Time-Globe.” The Paper Conservator 12, 1988, pp. 21–30.

Traditional Non-Paper Supports

(See also General References)

Bell, Lilian. Papyrus, Tape, Amatl, and Rice Paper; Paperrmaking in Africa, the Pacific, Latin America and Southeast Asia. 2nd edition. McMinnville, Oregon: Liliacea Press, 1985.

Lenz, Hans. El Papel Indigena Mexicano, Historia y Supervivencia. English translation by H. Murray Cambell 1961. Mexico D.F.: Rafael Loeray Chaven, Editorial cultura, 1948. (amate)

Shagun, Fray Bernardino de. Florentine Codex, General History of the Things of New Spain. Translated by Charles Dibble and Arthur, J.O. Anderson, in thirteen parts. Santa Fe: School of American Research and the Museum of Mexico, 1963. (amate)

Papyrus

(See also General References)

Elliott, Frances and Eric Harding. “A Modern Approach to Papyrus Conservation: Materials and Techniques as Applied at the British Museum.” The Paper Conservator 11, 1987, pp. 63–68.

Evans, Debra, D. Hamburg, and M. Mickelson. “A Papyrus Treatment: Bringing the Book of the Dead to Life.” Papers Presented at the Art Conservation Programs Training Conference. Newark, DE: University of Delaware, 1983, pp. 109–126.

Grasselli, Jeanette. “Papyrus: The Paper of Ancient Egypt.” Analytical Chemistry. 55 1220A, 1983, 7 pp.

Noack, Gisela. “Conservation of Yale's Papyrus Collection.” The Book and Paper Group Annual 4, 1986, pp. 61–73.

Sturman, Shelly. “Investigations into the Manufacture and Identification of Papyrus.” Recent Advances in the Conservation and Analysis of Artifacts. London: University of London, Summer Schools Press, 1987, pp. 263–265. Includes extensive bibliography.

Palm Leaf

(See also General References)

Lawson, Peter. “Conservation of Palm Leaf Books.” Conservation News 36, 1983, pp. 14–19.

Van Dyke, Y. 2009. “Sacred Leaves: The Conservation and Exhibition of Early Buddhist Manuscripts on Palm Leaves”. The Book and Paper Annual, Vol. 28, pp. 83-97.

The article describes the material composition and preparation of a collection of Indian paintings on palm leaf and paper, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The author describes in detail the different types of palm leaves and their physical properties as well as the methods used to process the leaves to make them suitable to paint on. These methods include: smoking, soaking, being boiled in water, hung over a charcoal fire and dried by the sun or kiln.

The pigments were identified, though the method of identification was not mentioned, and due to the brittle nature of the palm leaf these pigments had to be consolidated. The choice of consolidant was made based on the desired working properties, which included strength, ageing, flexibility, viscosity, aesthetic and penetration. Gelatines and methyl cellulose were tested on the manuscript but they were not strong enough, left tidelines and dried glossy. Isinglass was chosen and used as a warm solution at 1%, this adhesive proved to be the best consolidant for both the flaking paint and the actual palm leaf. The leaves were humidified to rehydrate them and reduce the planar distortion, once humidified the leaves were less brittle so they could be more easily repaired using acrylic-dyed Japanese tengujo papers. The article also described the ethical consideration made when treating these objects, the storage solutions adopted to safely house the manuscript, and the exhibition conditions including mounting and display.

The paper is a very detailed and comprehensive conservation case study, which included the historical context of the object, material analysis, ethical considerations and future storage recommendations. Though the paper was aimed at professionals in conservation, the article appeals to a wider audience, providing useful information to researchers, historians and curators; this added importance to the content as it promoted interdisciplinary collaboration and awareness.

Parchment

(See also General References)

Abt, Jeffrey and Margaret Fusco. “A Byzantine Scholar's Letter on the Preparation of Manuscript Vellum.” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 28, No. 2., 1989, pp. 61–66.

Cains, Anthony. “Repair Treatments for Vellum Manuscripts.” The Paper Conservator 7, 1982/83, pp. 15–23.

Chahine, Claire. “Le Parchemin.” Proceedings of the International Symposium: Conservation in Archives, Ottawa, May 10–12, 1988 International Council on Archives, 1989, pp. 11–24.

Clarkson, Christopher. “Preservation and Display of Single Parchment Leaves and Fragments.” Conservation of Library and Archive Materials and The Graphic Arts. Guy Petherbridge, ed. London: Butterworths, 1987.

Forstmeyer, K., 2012. “Parchment Leafcasting Revisited”, Journal of the Institute of Conservation, 35:2, pp.219-229.

The repair of a difficult area of loss on a piece of parchment can achieved by using a vacuum table and making a suspension of animal collagen fibres to create ‘reconstituted parchment’. The technique of wet-casting pulp dispersions on an object is discussed, as well as the application of reconstituted parchment with different adhesives, and methods of dyeing the fill to achieve the most appropriate colour.

Munn, Jesse. “Treatment Techniques for the Vellum Covered Furniture of Carlo Bugatti” The Book and Paper Group Annual 8, Washington, DC: AIC, 1989, pp. 27–38.

Reed, R. Ancient Skins, Parchments and Leathers. London: Seminar Press, 1972.

Pith Paper

(See also General References)

Lee, Mary Wood. “Conservation Treatment of Structural Damage to Pith Paintings.” Paper presented at the AIC 18th Annual Meeting, Richmond, Virginia, May 29-June 3, 1990.

Perdue, Robert E., Jr. and Charles. J. Kraebel. “The Rice-Paper Plant - Tetrapanax Papyriferum (Hook) Koch.” Economic Botany 15, No. 2, April-June, 1961, 165–179.

Rickman, Catherine. “Conservation of Chinese Export Works of Art on Paper: Watercolors and Wallpaper.” The Conservation of Far Eastern Art: Preprints of Contributions to the Kyoto Congress. London: IIC 1988, pp. 44–51.

Tapa

(See also General References)

Green, Sara Wolf. “Conservation of Tapa Cloth: Filling Voids.” The Paper Conservator 11, 1987, pp. 58–62.

Green, Sara Wolf. “Conservation of Tapa Cloth from the Pacific.” Preprints of Papers Presented at the 14th Annual Meeting of the AIC. Chicago, IL: 1986, pp. 17–31, with earlier bibliography.

Drafting Cloth

(See also General References)

Douglas, Robyn. Architectural Drawings on Drafting Cloth. Unpublished report, Kingston: Queen's University Art Conservation Program, 1989.

Lathrop, Alan. “The Provenance and Preservation of Architectural Records. The American Archivist 43, No. 3, Summer 1980, pp. 325–380.

Contemporary Non-Paper Drawing Supports

(See also General References)

Hodges, E., ed. The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1988.

Williams, R. Scott. CCT Analytical Report, ARS Analytical Report No. 2631, Geofilm, CCI Registry File No. 7034 18–11, Ottawa, Canada: CCI, Sept. 25, 1987.

History of This Chapter

BPG Wiki
In 2009, the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) launched the AIC Wiki with funding assistance from the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), a division of the National Parks Service. Along with catalogs from other specialty groups, the published Paper Conservation Catalog and the unpublished Book Conservation Catalog were transcribed into a Wiki environment. In 2017, Jennifer Evers reformatted this chapter by removing the legacy numbered outline format and improving internal links.

Paper Conservation Catalog (print edition 1984-1994)
Prior to the creation of the AIC Conservation Wiki, this chapter was created in 1990 as Chapter 4: Support Problems of the 7^th edition of the Paper Conservation Catalog, (print edition 1984-1994) by the following:

Compilers: Thea Burns (Jirat-Wasiutynski) and Karen Potje.

Contributors: Nancy E. Ash, Konstanze Bachmann, Cynthia Ball, Karl D. Buchberg, Robyn Douglas, Katherine G. Eirk, Theresa Fairbanks, Lynn Gilliland, Michele Hamill, Penny Jenkins, Anne Maheux, Jesse Munn, Yoshiyuki Nishio, Susan Page, Lois Olcott Price, Catherine Rickman, Christine Smith, Martha Smith, Rebecca Tombs, Elizabeth C. Wendelin.

Editorial Board Liaison: Antoinette Dwan, Kimberly Schenck.

Editorial Board: Sylvia R. Albro, Sarah Bertalan, Antoinette Dwan, Meredith Mickelson, Catherine I. Maynor, Kitty Nicholson, Kimberly Schenck, Ann Seibert, Dianne van der Reyden, Terry Boone Wallis.