Writing on parchment
Writing on goat or sheep skin is not only a special writing experience, but you will also produce something that is durable and eccentric – decorative, rustic and impressionable – but also suitable for the day to day use like to protect books.
In the old Roman times this writing material was made of animal skin, also known as “membrana”. The actual name “parchment” was found later in late antique times in sources by Edict of Diocletian (VII38).
- real goat parchment
- about Din A4
- Measurements: approx. 20 cm x 30 cm
The first books
Parchment started competing with Papyrus from around 400 A.D. and eventually took over papyrus.
This happened especially because parchment was easier to produce since it was available nearly everywhere due to the simple raw materials needed. Papyrus was a lot more difficult to produce and production availability was limited to plants that only grew in a few regions such as North Africa and Syria.
This was the beginning of the use of parchment in the literary world also because writing errors can easily be erased and fixed in parchment, unlike with papyrus which was harder to fix.
Parchment production
The production of parchment happens in several steps. The animal skin is put in lime lye where the hair detaches. Adjacent is the skin stretched into a wooden frame and still in wet condition scraped with a knife.
When all hair residues are removed, the surface can be smoothened to become a writable surface. This costly process hasn’t changed for thousands of years and is still today traditionally exercised.
All animal skin offered here are traditionally tanned and have a great writing quality. Each parchment sheet is unique from one another. This is a natural product that shows differences through their quality characteristics.
Parchment has been used to bind book for thousands of years. Try it yourself! You will also receive a small book containing information about parchment.
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