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Show PAPERMAKIN IN SIA 2 the last of the handmade papermakers of Southern Siam In my quest for information and appliances relative t handmade paper I have visited remote primitive mills i China, Korea, Japan, Indo-China Java, Mexico, Centra America, Africa, and the islands of the Southern Seas but seldom have I been so thoroughly captivated by th quaintness ofa papermaking establishmentas I was whe we entered the premises of the Niltongkum family i Bangsom, Siam. Their thatched abode was raised som cight feet above the ground upon stout teakwood posts like a huge bamboo bird-cage perched upon stilts, wit steep steps leading to the living apartment. Under th house proper, upon the well-packed carthen floor, man of the various stages of papermaking were performed and here were stored numerous newly-constructed, a well as worn, moulds, and other tools of the papermaking craft. The house,surrounded by dense tropical trees low vegetation and thick climbing vines, made a have for swarms of mosquitoes and gnats, for the canals sur rounding Bangkok are infested with insects which thriv in the warm moist atmosphere The Niltongkum family consists of Tym the father Piung the mother, and two daughters, Luolin and Pyn to say nothing of numerous chubby little grandchildren and innumerable dogs. In Siam no road or habitatio is complete without its scores of discased and cripple _&_ Digitalimag © 2004 Marriott Library, University of Utah. All ights reserved |
