The Armour Archive

I'm going to be making a manuscript book, but I'm not sure what the best paper would be, where to get it. When it's bound I want it to be about 8x11 (so a paper size around 8x22 or so, it doesn't have to be exactly that size). The lettering will be done in india ink, with gauche for color. Any ideas?

Nick,
Are you trying to recreate a period manuscript? If so, what period? I see you are not insistant on using completely period materials so I assume paper is okay insead of vullum. A good place to start is water color paper, like Arches Aquarelle ( http://www.misterart.com/store/view/001 ... -Block.htm for example) but as it's going to be a book I'd recommend 90lb paper or less. I suggest water color paper as it is designed to handle wet media (india ink) without bleeding as well as hold pigments quite well.

Good luck to you,

Garth

There are a number of choices of papers depending on the level of authenticity you want (and what time period with that!), the amount of money you want to spend and ease of obtaining and using the materials. A quick run down of choices:

Watercolor paper - you can get a good handmade laid watercolor paper (Fabrino watercolor paper, for example) which is created in a very historic method; however the fiber content in just about all the papers I've found commercially is mostly cotton instead of linen (which is what they would have been made out of in most of the middle ages/rennaisance)

Other handmade papers are available (Twinrocker press has some lovely laid papers of various fiber contents and will do custom orders if you've the pocket book for it)

Animal skin parchment is very authentic and will run you between $10 - $20 a square foot depending on your source (I get mine from Jesse Meyer; http://pergamena.net/ )

Animal skin velum (Be careful! Don't get modern drafting velum!) is the most authentic material for most of the middle ages/rennaisance but costs an arm and a leg. Paper and Ink arts sells it in thier cataloge, last I checked.

Pergamenta vegitable parchment has a good look and feel very similar to fine animal skin parchment, it is however a modern paper but, on the plus side, is a -lot- cheaper than the real thing. Available at some larger art supply stores (Multicraft carries it, or at least the one near me did) and can be ordered through Paper and Ink Arts.

As I continue to ramble on A very brief and general summary of paper usage;

The Middle East used paper primarily for its manuscripts from the early middle ages on. (notibly China was producing fine papers in the Han dynasty, was that 200AD? I'm so bad with dates!)

The rest of Europe started producing paper fairly early (12th Century? I've got the notes at home I swear.) though it was not used in the production of manuscripts until the late rennaissance (with the advent of the printing press). A lot of drawings and studies for larger works were done on paper in the 14th and 15th centuries. Prints were usually done on paper. I get the feeling Paper was considered an inferior medium; perhaps because it was mostly made from rags from thrown-away linen garments. (Would you pen a sonnet on someone's old underware?)

Oh! and if you go with watercolor paper, make sure to get hot pressed; it's smoother than cold pressed and better for calligraphy.

I'll shut up now
-Mi

As someone who uses archive paper a lot, may I respectfully suggest:

not to use water colour paper, it bears little resemblance to the right stuff mainly due to the following:

make up of materials. it is usually cotton not linen and hemp, it is also often machine made and even the hand made stuff is not quite.

Ink: indian ink is not suitable either:
It is a suspension made with carbon and shellac and screws up your quills.
I suggest making oak gall ink, many many recipes abound on line, it is cheap and easy to make.

The vast majority of medieval ink was of the iron gall variety, either oak galls or hawthorn with coperas (ferrous sulphate).

The ink is a dyestuff, the word ink comes from encaustum, to burn, it effectively burns its way into the paper or parchment, the other suspension sort relies on gum to adhere the carbon particles to it.

The oak gall ink often goes brown due to varying acidity in the paper and or the ink recipe itself, they did not write in brown ink, they wrote in black ink that sometimes went brown.

Ok suppliers of paper, I am not sure who the US suppliers are but I do know the griffen mill supplies to the States
http://www.griffenmill.com/

for some reason theire web site is down.

They supply paper that is used to conserve and repair paper manuscripts, it really looks like nothing most people will have experienced. It is a real joy to write on and is very strong due to its long fibre length.

It is alkaline buffered, ie wont go brown.

The paper is also suprisingly not very bright white as it doesn't have the optical whiteners etc.


I humbly attach two visuals of close ups on this paper, which incidentally goes under the brand name of Old Cleeve, or falkiner Age compatible.


paper production in Europe is from the late 13th century, at Fabriano apparently, but paper was making its way from the Arab world, Griffen also supply a paper for this, called Akbar, a very resilient long fibre, however it is not to be assumed that it was used if anywhere outside of Italy, it came over on finished items, however Theophilus mentions this as Byzantine parchement, used in gold beating, and he is twelfth century, so a good guess is needed.

Just for info, the above close-ups are for a medical note book, all written in informal cursive, ie hand writing, so it does not have the calligraphic feel of formal hands.

It is oak gall ink on the archive paper.

basically it is a very visually unassuming paper, it looks rather bland, but looks nothing at all like water colour paper, it is finer and feels 'right'.

For added info paper came in all sorts of finishes and ranges:
coloured, ie black or brown
painted: either printed or with devices otherwise applied, also meant paper with images on them
wrapping paper
writing paper
paste board - heavy paper made of waste used to strenghten book jackets, make playing cards etc

And was imported to England from France, Flanders and Germany mainly but also from Italy.

England's first paper mill made its way onto the Island round about 1480 in Hertford.

Best of luck and personal message me for more info re suppliers, I can call Griffen mill to ask who they recommend stateside.

In meantime you could spend a smal amount of cash on a little printed devotional from Historic Enterprises and have a sample and a print at the same time, a small plug ;-)
www.guildofsayntluke.co.uk

Earliest printed items pre-date Gutenberg's moveable type by some decades, late 14ht century has been suggested. However early 15th block books (where all the text was cut from the same block of wood, a right royal pain and single cut prints from this era survive) But in general for important work, ie documentation beyond that of informal letters, parchment was used, but as paper got cheaper and more available in part due to the pritning industry increasing supply of pritned matter then paper became the norm for writing on and even writing chronicles, the Schilling Chronicles for eexample are on paper, you can see the lines of the mould on some pictures. Even some books of hours were later produced on paper.

Okay Grimstone Bar, I'll bite: what the heck is that drawing at the bottom of the second image?

-Tasha

Okay, I think my question was just partially answered... I am, however, still curious to know what particular procedure has been illustrated.

-Tasha

Well he is having an enema.

The instructions tell to make a pewter tube and attach a bladder, tube up fundament, bladder for adminstering medication, a cleister to you US guys I think.

This is not my note book, but for a friend, she didn't ask for badly rendered sketch, but I thought it would add flavour, as note books often had little memos in them.

She was pleasantly surprised.

Griffen Mill's stateside distributor is Harcourt Bindry:
http://www.harcourtbindery.com/supplies/sup6.htm

Unfortunately, I never did get an answer either from Griffen Mill or Harcourt Bindry on the specific fiber content of the papers they manufacture, which is one of the reasons I recommend Twinrocker:
http://www.twinrocker.com/index.html

(Their website is a bit confusing and hard to navigate, but they do list the fiber content for their papers) Twinrocker, by the way is located in Indiana.

Hi Milsent,

yes as long as people are using conservation grade 'medieval' paper then they will get the right result.

There is more than one 'credible' picture source showing wobbly thick water colour paper as 'authentic' writing paper, I wont name names but if you have the same book as I do....

You see people at UK events using all kinds of stuff, and the proper paper is the same price usually but doesn't seem to conform to what they beleive is medieval paper.

I own two pieces of ealry paper, one fifteenth, the other early 16th and to say they are at first glance boring is about right, but interesting in their own particular way.

regards

What do you knowledgeable historical-book-folks think about the following books? Can you rate them for accuracy/usefulness?

The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding, J. A. Szirmai, Ashgate, Brookfield, Vermont, 1999

The Medieval Book, Barbara A. Shailor, Medieval Academy of America, Toronto, 1991.

A Millenium of the Book, Robin Myers & Michael Harris, eds. St. Paul’s Bibliographies, Winchester, 1994.

-Tasha

Never heard of them as I am not into bookbinding, I can ask if you like?

Awesome work Grimstone! Thanks for the great information. It is indeed less expensive in the long run to use the correct materials. Geese molt in the fall, as well as pidgeons and crows moult. You can normally get alot of feathers from along beaches and parks with ponds. When using real feathers, there is NO reason to try and split them like you see the metal pens have. Metal needs a way to draw the ink to the tip, once living feathers are naturally like a straw and will draw the ink down for you. Just take a small sharp knife and cut them like the metal pens, less the slit.

Cheers woodcrafter, I am currently working on a large German Crucifix, a single block print from about 1470, looking forward to pressing in a few weeks when the day job subsides a bit.

I agree, in the long using the right materials is cheaper, and nowadays the knowledge base and materials are more readily available, people are just unaware rather than unwilling in many cases. I tried to explain to someone that to produce a notebook of the soft cover variety is realitvely cheap, looks right and can grow as money becomes available, which is how their note books evolved, you start with a few sections then add more as you go.

re pens, again a few varieties and personal methods exist, Cennini talks about using a stick to create the split, I use a penknife, just visible in the top pic.

A guy I know doesn't use a split, but the two bronze/brass metal pens circa 1450 that the Museum of London has have splits in their nibs. I will be making a pilgrimage there in winter to see them first hand.

The good things about the split, if you have one is the flourish, it gives a little more flex to the tip.

The key is to write with as little pressure as possible.

At the Twinrocker site, what would be considered "conservation grade 'medieval' paper" for writing? And paste board? Also, thanks for the info all. Done a bit of watercolor (non-historical) and always wondered if the paper would pass for historical when used in other contexts.

My two pence:

I get all of my vellum from http://www.talasonline.com/ - a great source for damn near anything, from paper to printing presses.

First, according to my research, "India" type inks are perfectly defensible as Medieval inks. As you've pointed out, "India" ink is merely a suspension of particulate matter in some sort of fluid with a binding agent included. It is not as permanent as iron/oak gall ink, as it merely sits atop the surface instead of biting in with a chemical reaction. But it's authentic from Gawd-knows when to today, and I use it all the time.

I prefer iron/oak gall ink, though. I've made my own, and also made a plausible substitute with walnut hulls.

Iron gall ink is available from:

http://www.blotspens.co.uk/acatalog/Cal ... Ink_8.html

and

http://www.heatoncooper.co.uk/ - use the Site Search feature for "Iron gall ink."

Brewer sorry to differ but Indian ink is not only carbon but shellac, shellac comes into use in Europe in the 16th century.

The shellac is waterproof and builds up and clogs the quill, it makes an excellent drawing ink because of its density.

Chinese carbon inks would be nearer the mark as they only have gum as their binders.

Carbon ink was used, but that is not the same as Indian ink for the above mentioned reason.

By far the majority ink type was iron gallate, the lamp blacks were used as individual inks and also to augment gall inks.

Writing 'period' with Indian ink is a different experience than writing with the gallates, mainly because the gall inks are thinner in consistency, even with gum.

Besides anyone can get hold of carbin inks, making your own ink is so much more fulfilling, and the smell...

Wow! Thanks for all the information and the sources. I plan to do a good bit of practice in more modern materials, to start out at least, but as I gain experiance and, I hope, some skill, I'd like to move on to better and more authentic materials.

I'd like to, initially at least, make a copy of a book, and use that to practice the hand I'm using (which is not a medieval hand, but fits in very well with a more ambitious project I have in mind down the line.) At the moment I'm planning, as I said, India ink, and I'm particularly fond of the Speedball Hunt bowl point nib and their Imperial nib. The Imperial in particular gives a very nice line and flourish, but has the habit, until I learn to correct it, of leaving a blot at the end of my lowercase Ds and Ws. I can also use this more modern copy to practice binding and the limited illumination I'd like to do.

After this, I hope to move on to better materials, as I said. I have many plans in mind, as I enjoy writing and the art of it. Perhaps I can use my first attempt to practice with a quill pen or reed pen as well to replace the steel point pens.

Hi Nick,

to be honest you may as well start with feather quills and the proper ink for two main reasons:
1) they write very differently from each other, so in effect you would have to relearn some of the techniques. For instance a metal nib is much more forgiving of weight, whereas a quill is not, so you get used to barely touching the surface of the paper

2) you get to start with the right materials and even the practice pieces can be props, all the scraps of paper can all be gathered up in bundles, cleverly made to look like letters, all useful. The gall inks have the right character as they age.

But if gall ink is too much of a challenge then instead of Indian ink you would be advised to use a calligraphy ink, not being a suspension it is lighter, ie thinner and the black is nearer the mark than indian ink. Quink is a good substitute for the gall ink in feel and character.

I can recommend the following site for getting a good handle on hand writing

http://www.medievalwriting.50megs.com/

Also
Ann Rycraft Medieval english handwriting, York University press, availabel in Amazon but you need to wait a few weeks, but well worth it, especially as it is only £1.50 or about three dollars.

Don't forget to post up to let us see how you are doing.

Thanks, grimstone bear. I hadn't thought about using failed pages as props and other uses, that would work great. If I can find a source for appropriate feathers around here, I'll give quills a go. There are wild turkeys around here, but I've never found a turkey feather lying around. About the only feathers I'm likely to find are seagull feathers, and I don't know if those will work. I may be able to find turkey feathers, I'll have to look around. How much preperation is required for a quill? I've found some tutorials on-line, some involve simply cutting, others involve gutting the feather and hardening with hot sand or somesuch, it's enough to make a guy stop and say "Huh?"

As I get the materials and begin I will certainly post updates of my progress (be advised, though, that this may take a bit ).

Hi Nick,

well a little secret for you, most quills in the UK are turkey, ideally they should be goose but goose is scarcer than turkey and the white feathers much the same.

There are no rules on what is the right feather save that it should be thick enough to use, ie thick enough and strong enough to trim down, rather than a small one.

As for drying well if you wish, but air dried seems to be ok too, there is a late 14th century image of a stationer's shop and there are bunches of un-trimmed feathers hanging up. You can put the tips in sand, or salt, not heated at least you don't have to worry about over heating and making them brittle.

As for cutting a quill, easy in principle but a little practice is required.

Also you don't cut an angle like there is in metal calligraphy nibs, you write perpendicualr to the paper.

This guy
http://www.flick.com/~liralen/quills/quills.html

has good instructions, although personally I find a proper penknife does all the jobs he describes for scissors etc.

The penknife, as seen in one of my pics has a very pronounced curve that does the job of rocking the split and also cutting the waste off.

Just and aesthetic note, pens in the middle ages were stripped of all their feather and trimmed down to about four or five inches, all the fancy feather bits came much later, they are impractical as the long feather tends to tickle your face, imagie being short sighted and writing in th edark and you get the picture.

Also a quick note re sealing wax, again we use the modern version ,ie it contains limestone and shellac, giving it a very shiny and brittle character, medeival sealing wax was made of beeswax and turpentine (the resin not the liquid solvent) it is much more matte and less brittle, i have made a batch and it is almost there.

regards

Paper (made from linen or whatnot) and Velum or Parchment (made from animal skin) have a different feel under the pen as well. My main reason for recommending the Pergementa vegitable parchment is that it has a smooth 'waxy' surface more like animal skin parchment or velum and therefore is good for practice. Training weels for the real thing.

I've seen many a calligrapher skilled with more absorbant modern papers emit many colorful new words when they first tried a real parchment. Also note if you do use parchment (as opposed to paper) you will need to prep the surface before writing on it (de-grease it, you can use pumice dust or a pink pearl eraser in a pinch).

Geez...I've long had an interest in taking up calligraphy and illumination, but after reading this thread it all sounds so...COMPLICATED!

Anybody got any suggestions for a basic "beginners kit?" I'm not afraid of spending money, and I'm not an "authenticity nazi," but I want my end results to be reasonably-period.

It does, doesn't it? From my (admittedly limited) experiance, though, it's not exactly complicated, it just requires a lot more work than most people put into writing. Kind of like learning to shave with a striaght razor after years of shaving with a cartridge razor: getting the right angle and getting used to putting no pressure on the blade takes getting used to, and is a lot more work, but the results are more satisfying once you get the hang of it.

If you're interested in calligraphy, Schaeffer makes a really nice calligraphy fountain pen set with three different nib sizes. If you prefer dip pens, Speedball makes good nibs and holders, and are fairly priced, though a bit more over all than the fountain pen after nibs, holder, and ink. I like the Calli calligraphy ink, personally. Those'll get you started and make god practice and experimentation tools, and they can be used for more modern applications.

Gwydion, it is far from complicated, the only 'complications' are if you want to do medieval writing with the right kit, ie pen, ink and paper, that is still three ingredients.

if you want to practice at least cut a quill and then use shop bought calligraphy ink and use a smooth polished paper.

And there are many calligraphy kits, however they are no good for any re-enactment as they are modern despite the use of black letter or Lombardic caps on the packaging.

But the actual complication is the calligraphy, no matter how good your pens or ink they wont make you a calligrapher.


Cost analysis:

Shop bought kit - anything from a few dollars upwards
Paper - price depends on type, so say a dollar for a good sheet to more for superior quality.
Ink say a couple of dollars or more.

'period'

quills - free if you ask people or make a few phone calls
Penkife, ok so at home practice with a scalpel
Paper - top end paper seven dollars or more a sheet
ink - almost free, find a source of tannin, oak galls, hawthorn bark and some ferrous sulphate.

The two key items cost next to nothing, so ok don't use museum paper use something else, but point is the bits that will be seen are not the most expensive items and it compares favourably to buying a kit.

As for ink, once you make a big enough batch, it lasts and lasts and guess what you could even sell small bottles of it for a coupe of dollars to recoup your costs, hey presto a self-financing project.

The complication is being bothered or not bothered to learn what is required, as the hard work has been done for you, ie the source, the ideas and options, the easy bit is going out there and sorting it out.

Enjoy.

Hell, I get goose quills 'round here simply by following the legions of Canadian geese that infest the local area. Hit it at the right time of year, and I have a plastic grocery bag full of quills. More than I could possibly use, asa matter of fact; they're starting to get hopelessly brittle.

Grimstone, that idea about making a whole bucket of ink and selling it is wonderful. (I spy, with my little eye, my next project...)

Brewer, my pleasure mate.

Seeing as it is impossible not to make a small amount of said ink and that it doesn't get used up that quickly well why not?

I know of only one commercial maker in the UK, his stuff is the top end of oak gall ink, very blue black and stable ie it doesn't brown and smells nice.

I buy some from him and make my own so that I have a variety of ink batches for the various written works I produce.

But it is not rcoket science and as long as a stainless steel or iron pot is used (not Aluminium) it is just a case of watching a pot boil or simmer for a few hours, and it is thirsty work, so a couple of beers also come in handy for the wait. ;-)

Sounds an awful lot like making homebrew....

Gee, another reason to drink beer. You're making this sound better and better, dude.

I've made ink before, both iron gall and walnut-hull, so I probably have the process fairly worked out. And since I've got about seven dozen recipes for ink, it's just a process of elimination!

Well as beer was a staple of the medieval diet it is our duty to act accordingly to get into the spirit of things and pot watching is dull, so a cool tin or two helps.

Not sure what natural sources of tannin you get in the US, do you have European hawthorn or even oak galls (I think you do have yor varieties of gall). Walnut makes an effective dyestuf, but I guess you have discovered that already.

You could try a solution of tannic acid and ferrous sulphate I am prettysure that it would do the job eminently well, although a slight cheat.

Tannic acid makes too brown a colour.

If one wishes to have a chemistry project, one can make a solution of anhydrous ferrous sulfate and a liquid with a Ph lower than 5. At the same time, make a solution of gallic acid in a like acidic fluid. Suspend gum arabic in solution in a like acidic fluid.

Mix, then add a slight coloration for ease of use (since the gallic acid/ferrous sulfate solution will be essentially colourless). Most C16 recipes call for indigo, as indigo possesses preservative qualities as well as colouration properties.

Gallic acid and anhydrous ferrous sulfate are available from various suppliers, though you need a license to acquire them.

[FX: "She Blinded Me With Science," by Thomas Dolby]

mmm I think I will stick with the oak galls as they are free, the ferrous sulphate we can get over the counter at chemists or in garden centres.
Best thing about oak gall hunting it gets you out in the autumn and winter, wife is always rollingher eyes as I scramble about and fill my pockets with galls, ahhh.


I do 15th cen so will pass on the indigo lovely though it is, but will bank that neat snippet of info Brewer, thanks.

Round here, getting the correct galls is impossible, so I have to order them. (The perils of the New World, after all!) Goose quills I can pick up, though, commonly a gallon-sized plastic bag full on a nice walk along the canal. Canadian geese are pests around here, and have beautiful feathers for quills; I just pick up what they drop naturally, as much as I would like to rip them from the foul creatures' bodies.

Gwydion,

Catch me at meeting and I'll give you the full spiel on options. You can actually get started in illumination and calligraphy with very little. I recommend any beginner -not- scrimp on their materials (you end up fighting the paint, which just makes learning harder and more frustrating.) Fortunately, you only need a few colours to start. There's a large chunk of the middle ages where blue, red, black and white were all the colours you needed. Of materials I'd spend the most on your white (a good white paint is your bestest friend) and on your brush. One very nice natural sable watercolor brush will do you better service than many cheaper brushes.
If period pigments are your goal; that's easier than it sounds too. And we have some good supplies localy

oops... I wasn't going to yatter on. Catch me later
-Mi