Contemporary Hand Papermaking in North America and Europe

Contemporary Hand Papermaking in North America and Europe The practice of making paper by hand draws forth past centuries in a single sheet of tangled fibers. At the same time, the advances of both contemporary hand papermakers and modern technology have merged this tradition with innovation to create paper of unsurpassed beauty and quality. Despite the speed and economic advantages of machine-made paper, traditional handmade paper grasps its hold on the modern world, and mills across North America and Western Europe have re-emerged to produce fine handmade papers for artists, bookmakers, and conservators who seek the highest level of durability, permanence, and aesthetics. Hand papermaking in the Western world fell into decline with the invention and rapid expansion of papermaking machines in the nineteenth century. By 1828, machines were capable of producing paper thirty inches wide at a rate of sixty feet per minute (Hunter 355). By comparison, a typical handmade paper mill could produce only two to five reams per day (Turner 43). In addition to the increase in speed and volume, papermaking machines promised the advantage of larger sheets with better, more consistent formation (Turner 114). Although papermaking machines offered the potential for a better paper, many tangential factors of industrial papermaking led to an overall inferior product. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, demand for papermaking materials like rags already outpaced supplies as a result of the steady increase of printing following the invention of movable type and a rise in literacy rates and leisure (Turner and Skià ¶ld 97). The speed and efficiency of the papermaking machine only served to accentuate this shortage of materials... ...oup Annual 12 (1993): 61-65. New York Central. Fine Art Papers. Catalog. New York, 2003. Ruscombe Paper Mill Home Page. 1 Oct. 2004 . Turner, Silvie. The Book of Fine Paper: A Worldwide Guide to Contemporary Papers for Art, Design and Decoration. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998. Turner, Silvie, and Birgit Skià ¶ld. Handmade Paper Today: A Worldwide Survey of Mill, Papers, Techniques and Uses. London: Lund Humphries, 1983. Twinrocker Handmade Paper Home Page. 1 Oct. 2004 . Vander Weele, Linda Sholund. The Revitalization of Handmade Paper in North America. Madison, 1975. Wootton, Mary, Jesse Munn, and Terry Wallis. â€Å"Observations Concerning the Characteristics of Handmade Paper: The Library of Congress Endpaper Project.† The Book and Paper Group Annual 15 (1996): 179-197. Contemporary Hand Papermaking in North America and Europe Contemporary Hand Papermaking in North America and Europe The practice of making paper by hand draws forth past centuries in a single sheet of tangled fibers. At the same time, the advances of both contemporary hand papermakers and modern technology have merged this tradition with innovation to create paper of unsurpassed beauty and quality. Despite the speed and economic advantages of machine-made paper, traditional handmade paper grasps its hold on the modern world, and mills across North America and Western Europe have re-emerged to produce fine handmade papers for artists, bookmakers, and conservators who seek the highest level of durability, permanence, and aesthetics. Hand papermaking in the Western world fell into decline with the invention and rapid expansion of papermaking machines in the nineteenth century. By 1828, machines were capable of producing paper thirty inches wide at a rate of sixty feet per minute (Hunter 355). By comparison, a typical handmade paper mill could produce only two to five reams per day (Turner 43). In addition to the increase in speed and volume, papermaking machines promised the advantage of larger sheets with better, more consistent formation (Turner 114). Although papermaking machines offered the potential for a better paper, many tangential factors of industrial papermaking led to an overall inferior product. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, demand for papermaking materials like rags already outpaced supplies as a result of the steady increase of printing following the invention of movable type and a rise in literacy rates and leisure (Turner and Skià ¶ld 97). The speed and efficiency of the papermaking machine only served to accentuate this shortage of materials... ...oup Annual 12 (1993): 61-65. New York Central. Fine Art Papers. Catalog. New York, 2003. Ruscombe Paper Mill Home Page. 1 Oct. 2004 . Turner, Silvie. The Book of Fine Paper: A Worldwide Guide to Contemporary Papers for Art, Design and Decoration. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998. Turner, Silvie, and Birgit Skià ¶ld. Handmade Paper Today: A Worldwide Survey of Mill, Papers, Techniques and Uses. London: Lund Humphries, 1983. Twinrocker Handmade Paper Home Page. 1 Oct. 2004 . Vander Weele, Linda Sholund. The Revitalization of Handmade Paper in North America. Madison, 1975. Wootton, Mary, Jesse Munn, and Terry Wallis. â€Å"Observations Concerning the Characteristics of Handmade Paper: The Library of Congress Endpaper Project.† The Book and Paper Group Annual 15 (1996): 179-197.