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Show PARIE THE ECCENTRICITIES OF THE OLD PAPERMAKERS AND THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PAPER THEY FABRICATE HE paper fabricated in the fifteenth and sixteenth centur mills did not vary in size to the same extent as paper made i later years, owing to the limited demand for sheets of divers diions and the expense of producing them. For every size o paper, two moulds and one deckle were required, appliances fashioned only with difficulty and considerable outlay of money. In th carly years of printing, the paper was not cut and the sheets wer printed upon in almost the original sizes foxmcd in the moulds though as a rule the deckle edges were trimmed aw antique paper there is considerable variation in & \h.dnm and finish and even in single books the leaves will vary in weight to marked degree. Usually, the early paper was well formed in th ‘moulds, with very little variation in thickness throughout cach individual sheet, which testifies to the skill and adeptness of the vatman. The tone of the old paper was never entirely uniform, an owing to the absence of chemicals in the manufacture the grade of paper differed strikingly in colour; the best paper was of creamy tint, while the poorer grades, made from old and discoloured materials, were a light coffec tone, and at times cven a dar grey. The bleaching of linen and cotton cloth for use in papermaking was not in general use until the late eighteenth century and all paper made before that time assumed the same tone of th material from which it was made. It is interesting to note that i England very little paper except that of a coarse brown tint wa produced until the late seventeenth century, about the time whe papermaking was introduced into the American colonics Digital Imag © 2004 University of Utah. All rights reserved |