OCR Text |
Show OLD APPLIANCES AND METHOD 13 The paper was taken from the pile, afier the last pressing, i "spurs" of four or five sheets, as the paper in this moist state adhered together. Had the sheets been dried scparately they woul haye wrinkled, but when taken in spurs the paper dried smoothl and without excessive curling. The drying-lofts of the old pape mills were situated in the top stories of the buildings where th air was pure and free from particles of dirt and soot. The walls o these lofts were fitted with sliding shutters which could be shifie t0 permit o exclude the air. The spurs of paper were hung ove ropes that had been woven from cow- or horsehair, coated wit beeswax. These heavy ropes supported by horizontal woode frames called "tribbles" were stretched throughout the loft, an the entrance of the air arranged so that it came in contact with th full breadth of the sheets and not against the edges of the paper Ropes are still used in European mills for the drying of handmad paper, but the paper mills of America in the days of loft dryin employed wooden poles for this purpose In the fificenth and sixteenth century mills the drying was car tied on in the most primitive manner, and it is not unusual i paper from this period to find stains through the middle of th sheets caused by the hair ropes upon which they had been hung t dry. During the development of papermaking in America som of the mills transported their paper to the printers before it ha dried thoroughly, as the makers were not able to supply the demand with sufficient rapidity. In many folio volumes, particularl from the seventeenth century, the pages are bulged in the centres causing the leaves to lie in ridges, somewhat in the shape of a diamond. While this defect is more noticeable in folios it may b found in smaller books also, and was caused by the paper not haying been exchanged or pressed sufficiently; during the drying th weight of the paper stretched the sheets, causing them to bulge i the centres. The Oriental papers were dried flat against boards o ital Imag © 2004 University of Utah. All rights reserved |