By Jessica Hovey, Collections Manager at the Osher Map Library. 

The end of summer is in sight, and with it comes the inevitable reflection of “Where did the time go…and what did I do with it?” Managing the collections at OML is a year-round gig, and during the break from our busy teaching schedule, much of my summer in the office was mostly spent catching up on a backlog of collections processing and budget planning. Don’t you worry, I know that this isn’t the sort of thing that makes for good storytelling, so instead I would love to share a fun (and nerdy) highlight from earlier in the season. In June I had the pleasure of attending the Rare Book School course Paper as Bibliographic Evidence at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Within our collections, one can find a richly curated selection of maps, globes, atlases, and rare books dating from the 15th century to the present. Many of the items in our collections are paper-based, and this course presented a wonderful opportunity to better understand the elements of paper and its composition, which directly informs our assessments for the long-term care and preservation of the materials in our collections.

The course structure at RBS is a rigorous, week-long exploration into the composition of the book and book history through lectures, hands-on analysis of rare books, and sometimes workshops that explore the processes of making. The program has been lovingly described as “summer camp for book nerds,” and RBS has cultivated a unique community experience that attracts a variety of folks from different bookish backgrounds like conservation and collections care professionals, curators, dealers, educators, library professionals, and students. What each person often has in common is an interest in and love for the book. Rare Book School is based in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia, but hosts courses at a small selection of institutional partners in the U.S. and abroad. Paper as Bibliographic Evidence was the first RBS course to be held in Ann Arbor, and there is potential for the program to grow there. 

The course was taught by Cathleen Baker, whose expertise from over 50 years in paper conservation, publishing, and research are indelible gifts to share with anyone who is willing to learn. She is an engaging person who has dedicated much of her lifetime to understanding the materiality of paper and how it is made through her own experimentation and research. Most of the week was spent with my 13 classmates learning about paper structure, reviewing the historic processes of papermaking in Europe and North America (handmade and machine-made), and looking closely at a variety of papers to identify their structure and means of production. We were provided with several selections of rare books from the Hatcher Library Special Collections to analyze during class sessions. Notably, the 1820 Lavoisne atlas caught my attention because we have one in our collections, and it is one of the first books in the United States to advertise that it was printed on machine made paper.

During the week, we also had the opportunity to make our own paper at Out of Hand Papermaking Studio (OOHPS), where artist and papermaker Karen O’Neal (purple shirt) generously shared her time and her studio space with us. Paper is still made by hand today, though not at the volume that it was prior to the popularization of the fourdrinier and cylinder machines in the 19th century (the last industrial handmade paper mill in the U.S. closed in the early 20th century). The quality of handmade paper is best exhibited through its tactility, and depending on the makeup of the pulp and the sizing agent used, the resulting leaves can be sumptuously soft and pliable even centuries after its making. Today, handmade papers are typically used for artists’ papers or for a limited run of specialized publications at press. In Karen’s studio, each of us made at least three sheets of handmade paper. Cathy and Karen prepared the pulp for us from unsized cotton fiber and cotton linters, and we were able to successfully dip, pull, couch, press, and dry small leaves on our own. Going through the actions of papermaking really hit home not only the logical steps of making papers by hand, but also the skill needed to do so at a high production rate.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how paper is made, handmade papers are created using a handmould, which is a form composed of a mould with a screen (base) and deckle (frame) that fits over the screen to catch the pulp. Cathy presented the class with a helpful example of a custom handmould constructed by papermaker and fine craftsman Timothy Moore to show the development of the weave of the handmould screen from antique laid, to modern laid, to wove–each screen capable of producing a more refined paper consistency than the last.

Paper is formed on the screen by dipping the mould into a slurry of pulp and is lifted to let the excess water drain out of the screen. The pulp is then transferred to felt (couched) to set, and is air or heat dried after the excess moisture is pressed out.

What can you see within the page? Patterns form where the pulp settles, which can be made more visible by viewing the leaf or page with a light source, either with transmitted light shone through the verso or raking light shone over the surface. Distinctive rib shadows can be seen running perpendicular to the laid lines. These are created by the capillary action or suction of water leaving the frame and depositing a concentration of fiber on top of the screen where it intersects with the rib supports on the bottom of the mould. You often see the chain lines running up the center of the rib shadows parallel to the short side of the frame, and these are impressions from the wires that tie the individual laid wires. Sometimes you can also see what are called “papermakers tears,” which are circular depressions in the pulp made by errant drips from the handmould.

Identifying papers by analyzing their physical features is a nuanced practice, and not without its complications. Some of the features of handmade papers can appear in machine made papers, such as chain lines, watermarks, and laid lines. Imitation handmade papers can be particularly difficult to identify, and were in high demand during the Arts and Crafts movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other factors can make it difficult to discern how a paper was made, like how it was sized and finished, as sizing can affect the texture and longevity of the paper and the finishing process can smooth the surface of the paper and remove a lot of its surface structure. These considerations (and others) aside, the ability to identify certain characteristics that present themselves in the structure of hand and machine made papers is a skill worth learning in that it can provide more insight into the overall constitution of archival materials.

This is the second RBS course I have taken, and at the end of the week I found myself enchanted by that old book school magic. Leaving behind such a wonderful gathering of intelligent, kind, and curious people who live and breathe these subjects is bittersweet. We take with us a greater understanding and appreciation for the secrets that are hidden within the page, and the power to share that knowledge with others who are interested in learning. Let me end by saying that if you ever want to talk paper, my door is open.