User:Sblais/BPG Western Papers

From Paper Supports:

Types of Western Paper Supports

Rag Papers

Rag papers were originally made from flax/linen rags and cuttings. From the late eighteenth century, cotton fibers were used or mixed with the flax fibers, also in the form of rags and processed cuttings. Rags were used because the value of the raw fibers for textiles put them beyond the means of papermakers. Raw fibers or new cloth made a paper that was too rigid and did not beat or fibrillate as well. Most rag papers today are made by adding cotton linters and using some fibers derived from fabric scraps. There are also "rag" cotton content papers which are as low as 25% cotton with mixtures of other fibers.

Only a few handmade paper mills use rag cuttings because there is no longer any collection of rags on a large-scale basis and the difficulty in obtaining pure cotton or linen rags. These mills use 100% natural-fiber fabric scraps obtained from textile mills and clothing factories and, more often, cotton linters. The increased brightness of paper produced during the latter years of the eighteenth century was a result, in part, of the increased use of "brighter" cotton fibers (Robison 1977, 49).

Mechanical Wood Pulp Papers

(Ground wood pulp, thermo-mechanical pulp, refined-mechanical pulp; for more details on these individual processes see, for example, Hills 1988, 146.)

The structure of the debarked log (usually softwood) is broken down by applying intense mechanical action with grinders or refiners in the presence of water. The attraction of this method for papermaking mills is the high yield, and for consumers the inexpensive paper produced. Physically and chemically this paper is inferior; its fibers are short (average length is 3-4 mm), inflexible, and the finished sheet lacks cohesion. In addition, most of the lignin as well as the tannins, metallic salts, etc., remain in the paper. Wood pulp papers can be bleached to various degrees of whiteness, but diminish in brightness and discolor with age. The product is generally opaque, has good bulk, and good printability; it is used for newsprint, magazine and other printing grades.

Chemi-Mechanical and Semi-Mechanical Pulp Papers

(For more details on all these processes see, for example, Hills 1988, 153.)

In chemi-mechanical pulps the chips are treated very rapidly with nearly neutral sodium sulfite liquor before refining in a modification of the mechanical refiner process (85-95% yield). In semi-chemical pulps the wood chips receive a mild chemical treatment before being defibered in refiners (60-85% yield). These pulping operations remove only part of the lignin in wood fibers. Also see Hills (1988, 208) for the use of waste or recycled paper with wood pulp.

Chemical Wood Pulp Papers

(Soda, sulfate/kraft, sulfite processes--for more details see Hills 1988, 149.)

Economically viable processes for chemically converting wood into pulp for papermaking were not developed until the 1850s. The earliest was the soda process developed by Burgess and Watt in England in 1851; an American patent was secured in 1854. Using chemical wood pulp, a white paper suitable for printing could be made from wood. The sulfite process was developed in 1857 by the American, Benjamin Tilghman. Commercial production of this pulp began in 1887 at Cornwall, Ontario.

The two main chemical pulping processes today are the sulfate and the sulfite methods. Today, the term "sulfate" designates all paper pulps made by a process which uses sodium sulfate as its main chemical constituent. Exceptionally strong grades of paper and board are produced from unbleached softwood sulfate pulp. Hardwood sulfate pulps are also produced (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 254). One such paper is commonly referred to as kraft paper.

Sulfite pulp is usually made from softwoods. The wood is digested with a calcium (or other) acid sulfite cooking liquor. "Sulfite pulping is superior in the amount of lignin removed, and produces papermaking fibers that are white in color and can be bleached to higher whiteness with (fewer) chemicals than required for the sulfate process" (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 254). The paper made from sulfite pulp is not as strong as that made from sulfate.

Wood chips are heated under pressure with solutions of chemicals which dissolve out the cementing lignin. Then the chips are broken down into a fibrous slurry using very little mechanical force. Fibers contain very little lignin and paper can be made with high color stability and permanence thus meeting the need for a more durable and lasting paper from wood. Bleaching normally removes the last traces of discoloring lignin so the purest pulps contain only polysaccharides. This is achieved with some reduction in the polymer length and introduction of new chemical groups (e.g., aldehydes). This does not necessarily mean that the resulting paper will be less permanent.

Alum-Rosin Sized Papers

Alum (K₂SO₄ · Al₂(SO₄)₃ · 24H₂O) (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 9) has been used since the seventeenth century, and possibly earlier, as a hardener for gelatin sizing; as traditionally used, alum is weakly acidic in solution. The term alum originally referred to potash alum KAl(SO₄)₃ · 12H₂O. A new process, patented in 1807 and in common use by 1870, used aluminum sulfate (also called alum or papermakers' alum), which was cheaper, combined with rosin sizing. In it, aluminum resinate was precipitated onto the paper fibers in the pulp stage, leaving a residue of sodium sulfate and free sulfuric acid that led ultimately to the sheet's deterioration, particularly since the papermaker tends to "overdose with alum" (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 9). Rosin or modified rosins are used for the internal sizing of paper; addition of aluminum sulfate is required to link the negatively charged rosin soap to the negatively charged surfaces of the paper fibers. Thus, the alum renders the rosin insoluble so that it can impart water resistance to the paper. For the papermaking industry the alum-rosin sizing system is a reliable and cost effective means of sizing.

Colored Papers

Paper may be given an integral color through the choice of raw material or by mixing coloring matter into the pulp. Color may be added to the surface of the sheet during sizing or by sponging or brushing it on or by giving the sheet a colored ground or coating after manufacture.

• Colored rags: Paper made from colored rags often has a mottled "color texture" since individual fibers or clumps of fibers from different rags are apparent. Old master drawings were frequently executed on blue paper because indigo was the only dye used for coloring rags, which would survive the fermentation, beating, etc. steps of the papermaking process (Long 1979, 68). Evidence for paper made from rags in a color other than blue, grey or brown is rare before 1796; rose colored papers are considered very rare.

• Vat-dyed: Dyes or pigments are added at the beater, the size press, or the calender stacks; the latter two are surface coloring procedures. Greater color penetration is achieved at the size press, since the paper web is looser, than at the calender stacks. By the eighteenth century blue colorants were known to have been added to the vat (Cornely 1956, 44-60 referenced by Krill 1987, 61).

• "Corrected white paper, a modern term, was paper which had a slight tint of blue, or occasionally red, added to it" (Krill 1987, 90). The whitener was added to correct the otherwise yellowish cast of the sheet. It became very popular in the eighteenth century (Krill 1987, 92) and continued in use (for example, charcoal drawing supports of Odilon Redon). Corrective whiteners include blue fibers and colorants such as indigo, smalt and Prussian blue. An advantage of indigo over smalt is that it spreads more evenly through the stock. The natural creamy tint of early modern rag paper was obtained by adding ultramarine blue. To obtain a creamier white, cochineal pink was added (Clapperton 1929, 122). The addition of red fibers has also been observed. Cheaper aniline dyes were also used but they may not be lightfast.

• Optically brightened: A colorless dye absorbs light in the UV region of the spectrum and re-emits it as fluorescence in the visible region. Most optical brighteners are stilbene derivatives. They are often added in papermaking to "brighten" paper: their blue fluorescence complements the yellow cast of natural fibers and the eye perceives whiteness. Pigments, fillers, etc. are often added to optically brightened papers to produce further modifications of the yellow tint. Toners or brighteners, fillers, etc. are very common in poster papers (19th century to modern).(SRA)

• Some pigments and dyes used to color paper include smalt (pieces of blue glass), ultramarine blue, logwood (produces black, blue, and gray), ochre and other earth pigments, cochineal, indigo, Prussian blue, turnsol, woad, etc. (see Labarre 1937 and Krill 1987 for further listings).

Calendered Papers

A paper (or cloth) that has been given a smooth surface by passing it one or more times through a calender. These are "horizontal cast iron rolls with hardened, chilled surfaces resting one on another in a vertical bank at the dry end of the papermaking machine" (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 44). Types of finish include: a) antique: a paper that receives a minimum of calendering; b) machine and English: a paper that receives increasingly more calendering; and c) super-calendered: a highly glazed paper (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 44).

Loaded Papers

The addition of mineral material to the paper stock before sheet formation is called filling or loading. Fillers are finely divided, relatively insoluble, white powders which are added into a papermaking stock either directly or by chemical processes (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 161). "Loading was first used in the 19th century, apparently surreptitiously, to save pulp and reduce the cost to the papermaker" (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 161). Such papers were considered inferior. Today fillers are considered to have many benefits and are required to achieve certain paper qualities. For example, in printing papers fillers increase opacity and brightness and improve printability (smoothness, ink absorption, and penetration) (Casey 1981, 1520). Softness and dimensional stability are also improved. Fillers are used especially where optical properties and printability are more important than strength. Typical fillers used today include clay and calcium carbonate. The fillers most widely used in magazine, book, and other printing papers are talc, titanium dioxide (its high opacifying effect reduces show-through after printing), zinc sulfide, calcium sulfate (gypsum), diatomaceous silica, and "blanc-fixe." These are practical as fillers because of their whiteness, high refractive index, small particle size, chemical inertness, cheapness, etc. (Casey 1981, 1516).

Gypsum (calcium sulfate) was used for the first time as a "loading" material in 1823 according to Hunter (1978, 540) although Cohn (1982, 10) cites a 1797 report that the calcium sulfate compounds, alabaster and gypsum, were used to load engraving papers. Imitation art paper is a printing paper containing a high percentage of China clay, kaolin, etc. in the paper furnish (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 136). (For early use of China clay see Hunter 1978, 490. For fillers in Japanese papers see Lining § Japanese Paper).

Artists' Coated (Prepared) Papers

• Metalpoint papers: White papers were traditionally coated with a liquid ground, usually white lead or powdered bone or shell, sometimes mixed with colored pigment. The binder was usually gum arabic or animal glue. The dried ground was burnished. More recent grounds have included barium sulfate, zinc oxide, titanium oxide and other modern white pigments.

• Dry-tinted papers: Dry pigment or pastel is rubbed into surface.

• Wet-tinted papers: Paper is dampened and sometimes stretched; it is then tinted with a thin glaze of watercolor, drawing ink or other aqueous colorant. M. W. Turner, for example, is known to have prepared his own papers. "One such paper is known...to have been stained with "tobacco juice and Indian ink" (Richmond 1990, 4).

Coated Papers

Coated papers are paper (or board) which has had its surface modified by the application of clay or other pigment and adhesive materials, etc., to improve the finish for its intended use (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 57). After the second half of the nineteenth century, a sustained technical effort led to the development of mechanical methods for coating paper on a commercial scale, either on the actual papermaking machine or on a separate machine. Coating of papers has been used widely during the twentieth century to give a smooth surface for printing, especially for the photomechanical printing of illustrations (e.g., the reproduction of fine half-tone blocks). One or both sides of the paper substrate may be coated to give a more uniform/more receptive surface on which to draw or print than is obtained with uncoated fibers. Coatings control ink absorption and ensure even transfer of printing ink. They enhance graphic reproduction, especially with multiple colors, and increase opacity and gloss of paper. A coated sheet may be calendered to impart a higher gloss. Coatings can also give the paper a different color.

• Pigment coating: A pigment-coated paper consists of a base paper covered by a layer of pigment particles (most common include clays--usually kaolin, a refined clay--titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate), and zinc oxide (for direct electrostatic copies [KN]); an adhesive binder (animal glues, pre-1895; casein, late nineteenth century; starch, early twentieth century; soy protein; synthetics, late 1940s) which holds the pigment particles together and to the surface of the paper; and some auxiliary agents (defoamers, lubricants, wax emulsions, preservatives, flow modifiers, insolubilizers, etc.) (see Casey 1983, 2013-2189).

• Functional coating: These coatings are designed for purposes other than printing enhancement, to produce surfaces with functional properties (barrier, etc.).

Western Tissue Papers

Western tissue papers are very lightweight paper made from any type of pulp and may be glazed or unglazed. Some tissues are relatively transparent (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 265).

• Glassine tissue: A translucent paper formerly produced by heavy beating in the pulp stage, followed by acid surface treatment. Currently neutral glassine is made translucent with glycol. Glassine is often used with works on paper as a "heavier-weight" interleaving or "slip-sheet" tissue when translucency and great smoothness is important. (See also Matting and Framing § Cover Tissues)

• Soft tissue: The soft tissue industry developed in the United States during World War I. Soft tissue is absorbent and strong. It is often made of a combination of high-grade waste and wood pulp.

Tracing Papers

A thin paper with a hard, smooth surface characterized by excellent optical transmission properties. "Important properties include proper receptivity to drawing ink and transparency, so that prints from the tracings can be made" (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 267). Tracing papers before the late eighteenth century rarely survive due to their fragility.

• Prepared tracing paper: Linen—flax, hemp, or linen rag—(nineteenth century) and cotton (twentieth century) pulp papers are impregnated in a separate operation with gums, oil and/or resin to transparentize (Mills 1986, D62-3). Mills identified drying and non-drying oils, pine resin, etc. in GLC-MS analysis of some nineteenth century English tracings.

• Parchment paper (vegetable parchment), Pergamyn, Papyrine, etc: The already formed but unsized paper sheet is subjected to a brief sulfuric acid bath. This "attacks and dissolves the cellulose and changes its fibrous form... (so that it) is altered in character to resemble parchment" (Yates 1984, 21). Then the sheet is washed in water, given a dilute ammonia bath to neutralize the acid and, sometimes, a coating or bath of glycerine or glucose. "On drying the paper shrinks considerably but it is greaseproof and much stronger" (Yates 1984, 21). Early parchment papers were made from rag papers; modern "vegetable parchments" are made from sulfite pulp paper.

• Imitation parchment (vellum): Chemical wood pulp paper given a prolonged beating or sulfuric acid treatment to render it grease resistant and waterproof and partially transparent. This is "a type of relatively strong paper first produced by W.E. Gaine in 1857...(it) is called imitation parchment in order to distinguish it from parchment paper made in imitation of true (animal) parchment" (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 136).

• Natural tracing paper: "Natural tracing papers are manufactured from selected wood pulps to give an optimum balance of translucency and strength. The mechanical treatment of the fiber, or refining, is designed to maintain fiber length and change the structure of the fiber to increase its surface area. During the formation of the sheet of paper, it is this feature which contributes most to the construction of a dense sheet of cellulose. Further compression and compaction of the sheet produces a paper virtually void of interstices, thus free of internal light-scattering interfaces. Unlike prepared papers, natural tracing papers are substantially free of papermaking chemicals. The paper is made at pH conditions close to neutral and the temperature at which the paper formed is high enough to kill most of the microbiological organisms that could cause paper decay. It therefore follows that modern natural tracing papers do have good aging characteristics. Even the size which is applied to give a surface receptive to drafting inks is selected to minimize acid hydrolysis" (Rundle 1986, D64-65). Natural tracing paper of circa 1825 has been observed at the National Archives and Records Administration.(KN) As developed in U.K. in 1939, the process included the addition of starch, but by 1950 starch was no longer required to produce translucency. Scanning electron micrographs of modern natural tracing paper show general fiber damage and fibrillation, but no impregnating agent (Priest 1987, 76).

• Onion skin: "...Thin, highly glazed translucent paper" (Yates 1984, 21).

• Waxed paper: "Paper passed through a bath of melted wax" (Yates 1984, 21).

Cardboard/Artists' Board/Illustration Board

(See also Backing Removal)
A board 0.006" or more in thickness. It is stiffer than paper (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 47). The term "cardboard" was not generally used until the nineteenth century (Krill 1987, 55).

Pasteboard: In use for bookbinding boards in the late fifteenth century; found on aldine bindings and may have been introduced into Europe from the Islamic world via Venice, Italy. The papermaker can make pasteboards by couching a number of sheets together and pressing, or by laminating several sheets of paper, either of the same size or smaller sheets pieced together. White paper could be used throughout or only on the outer surfaces of the board. Uses include book boards, playing cards, primary supports for drawing and oil paintings, and secondary supports for vellum in miniature painting.

Bristol Board: Introduced in England by 1800 it was a glazed pasteboard made of a fine wove drawing paper. "Each board was embossed with a circle containing the Royal Crown and the words 'Bristol Paper'" (Krill 1987, 139-141, figs. 121, 122). Used for making cardboard boxes, screens, and as a support for watercolors. Today the term refers to laminates thinner than "cardboard." (CS)

London Board: A more expensive board made by the 1830s from Whatman's finest drawing paper (Krill 1987 140, fig. 123).

Ivory Paper: A support for drawing introduced in the mideighteenth century and not very popular. It is a pasteboard composed of six sheets of drawing paper with parchment size adhesive between the layers. When dry, the board was smoothed with abrasive papers, coated with plaster of Paris in gelatin, and smoothed again (Krill 1987, 141).

Pulp Paper Boards

• Millboard: Term first used in the very late seventeenth century. These boards were made of the same fibers as pasteboard, but were manufactured by casting on a mold in a single sheet and then milled or rolled under pressure (Krill 1987, 55).

• Strawboard: A very coarse board that contains particulate filler - often lumps of gritty material, like gravel. (AM)

• Rope Manila Board: A very durable pulp board.

• Illustration Board: This commercially available product typically consists of a good quality facing paper upon which the drawing, watercolor, etc. is made; the facing paper is mounted to a cast core board of lesser quality stock. The back of the board may also be faced with a layer of paper bearing a printed inscription identifying the manufacturer, brand name, and a company address that may help in dating the object. "The usual properties of drawing paper, such as finish and sizing, are essential, but hard sizing and good erasing quality are of greatest importance" (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 136).

• Coated Boards: (See Coated Papers)

Drawing Papers

"The term ‘drawing’ paper was rarely seen in artists' manuals before the end of the eighteenth century...it was not until the 1790s that artists regularly began to use it" (Krill 1987, 83). Gainsborough and other artists used writing paper, which was well-sized, despite its laid lines and glazing, for watercolor or ink (Krill 1987, 83). "For works requiring careful detail, a glazed paper was more suitable...Baskerville had been glazing [between two steel rollers] both printed...and unprinted paper, especially writing paper since the 1750s" (Krill 1987, 89). John Hassell, writing in 1809, recommended two drawing papers - Whatman's wove and Dutch Cartridge. The latter "had a 'rough tooth' and was 'much in vogue'...was a large thick paper and of better quality than the coarser papers used by Girtin [cartridge]. Though it was usually white...it also could be made of mixed furnish." Dutch Cartridge was still used around 1870 (Krill 1987, 85-86). Whatman's wove paper is also mentioned in Watercolor Papers; Cartridge paper is mentioned in Watercolor Papers and described more fully in Printing Papers.)

East Asian papers: Soft-sized or waterleaf papers were also used for drawing when an artist wanted a more diffuse, less detailed, less contrasting image that allowed the media to blend with the paper. (AD)

Watercolor Papers

A thickish and uniquely hard-sized wove paper; the ascent of the British watercolor school is attributed in part to the development of wove paper by James Whatman in the late eighteenth century. It was considered "the best and proper paper for all serious efforts" (Cohn 1977, 18). English papers used for watercolor before Whatman's development were more weakly sized which made manipulation of the medium difficult because the paper surface would abrade easily. Sizing instructions appeared in artists' manuals. The Art of Drawing and Painting in Watercolors (1778) gave a recipe for sizing paper which was a combination of alum and roch-alum (Krill 1987, 84). Whatman paper was sized to minimize dimensional change when wet and to provide a durable surface that could be manipulated by scraping, rubbing, sponging, wiping, rewashing, etc., without becoming abraded. Paper made from linen rags was thought to withstand these techniques better than paper made from cotton (Cohn 1977, 22).

An even surface was desired for painting. An acceptable range of surface textures, available by 1850, included hot-pressed (a smooth, relatively non-absorbent surface), the intermediate "NOT" (i.e., not hot-pressed), and cold-pressed (a softer, rougher and more absorbent surface). The tooth is particularly important for watercolor; its slight irregularity "...enhanced the reflection of light and added to the vibrancy and luminosity of the washes" (Krill 1987, 89). Manual writers stressed the importance of texture to produce effects peculiar to watercolor (Cohn 1977, 16).

Other desirable properties include consistent absorption properties--the paper should be only slightly absorptive in the short run or the colors will "sink" and become dull, washes do not run smoothly on unabsorptive papers but tend to coalesce into droplets; ideally the paper was white so that light would be reflected through the layers of color and provide the highlights of the design where there was no media. "These requirements were not fully met by paper available before the end of the eighteenth century" (Cohn 1977, 16).

Other papers offered artists qualities of color, texture and sizing that suited their needs: "Cox's" paper, "sugar paper," Cartridge, Creswick, Harding, Griffin Antiquarian, etc. are some examples (Cohn 1977, 19). To eliminate the need for stretching by the artist in preparation for use, some commercial watercolor sheets are made of a high quality paper mounted on cardboard and often backed with another paper sheet (see Cardboard/Artists' Board/Illustration Board).

Addition of glass fibers and/or a blend of rag and synthetic fibers increase the dimensional stability of some modern papers.

Other supports for watercolor include East Asian papers, "unsized in the Western sense," which were used in the West to obtain distinctive effects (Cohn 1977, 17); Japanese vellum papers (see Japanese Papers); silk and linen; and colored papers. Machine made papers may be manufactured in imitation of handmade watercolor papers (Cohn 1977, 22; see also Surface Texture).

Artists' Printing Papers

• Rag paper: Artists used papers made of rag fibers from early times as supports for prints. These could be strong enough "to withstand dampening and printing under great pressure. (The) surface (was) receptive to ink, neither too rough nor too hard...(They) tended to change color very little with age, mellowing only from white to warm creamy tones" (Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1969, 178). The finest qualities of rag paper could give brilliant impressions with fine detail that was very legible. By the later nineteenth century Lalanne (1880, 72) noted the preference of "most people" for heavy Dutch handmade papers for etchings; charcoal paper and other good drawing papers also sufficed. The laid texture of paper broke up the line, giving highlights within it (Lalanne 1880, 59). Old papers with "brown and dingy edges" were sometimes prized by later nineteenth century printmakers (Lalanne 1880, 59). Because the "sizing has decayed in old papers and the fiber, in consequence, regained its pliability...these take an impression so much more sympathetically" (Lumsden 1924, 139). Lumsden also remarks on the "subtle color" of old paper (Lumsden 1924, 139). For him, soft-sized paper makes the best etching paper; waterleaf paper is "entirely undersized." Most drawing and etching papers are heavily sized (Lumsden 1924, 139). For mezzotint paper English printers in the nineteenth century preferred the French laid paper that was of hammer beaten linen fiber. (AD)

• Plate paper/copper-plate paper: Used for printing from copper plates, it was relatively soft, even surfaced (a result of the use of the wove mold, available late 18th century), free of flaws and absorbent, with little or no sizing (eighteenth century: generally soft-sized; nineteenth century: often unsized). Softness was obtained by reducing sizing and by adding more pliable cotton fibers to the linen furnish. This became common in the early nineteenth century as cotton became more abundant. A thickish paper is required for printing from copper plates; it is too easy to damage the sheet in printing if it is both thin and soft (Krill 1987, 68, 77). During the early nineteenth century "the English vatmen would form each sheet with two layers of pulp - one of ordinary consistency and then, on the side of the sheet destined to take the impression, a second extremely thin layer of especially fine pulp, completely free of foreign matter" (Dyson 1984, 166). Nineteenth century etchers used plate paper to assess the appearance of a plate as it developed; the artist would then usually select a finer paper to print an edition. Artists' manuals described "plain white plate paper" as the worst support for etchings "because (it is the) most inartistic" (Lalanne 1880, 72). Degas, however, frequently printed his etchings on plate paper possibly because of "its effectiveness in rendering the tonal qualities he sought" (Perkinson 1984, 255). Plate paper was often used as a support for nineteenth century chine collé prints published in large editions. (KN)

• Oatmeal or Cartridge paper: A cheap, rough, grayish-brown European paper with small flecks in it, made from the leavings of the vat. Oatmeal paper contained a high proportion of unmacerated and varicolored fibers, bits of string, fiber clumps and chips of wood or straw (Robison 1977, 9). Oatmeal seems to be a general descriptive name used by curators to describe a thick coarse paper flecked with dark fibers. (KN) This paper was not made as an art, writing or printing paper, though artists appreciated its texture and appearance. It was used by Rembrandt, for example, on several occasions (Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1969, 180). Oatmeal paper offers a middle range of values; impressions "have a softer, more delicate tonal effect...with a far less stark contrast than...impressions on white (rag) paper" (White 1969, 14). It appears to be a type of utilitarian paper, commonly called cartridge paper, and used to make paper wrappings for rifle cartridges, hence the name. (KN) Today "cartridge paper" refers to a tough, closely formed paper, usually produced from chemical wood pulps and/or esparto. Sizing and surface characteristics depend on intended use (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 47).

• Vellum: Etchings and engravings printed on vellum were a rare occurrence in seventeenth century Holland except for Rembrandt's work (Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1969, 180); however, earlier Dutch prints on vellum do exist. In seventeenth century France, portraits were occasionally printed on vellum. With the revival of interest in unusual support materials in the mid-nineteenth century, vellum was again used (e.g., Félix Buhot). Vellum is an unabsorbent material; ink is held on the "almost glassy" surface and does not penetrate at all. Ink tends to "bleed outward over the surface, thus fusing neighboring lines" (Robison 1977, 15).

Imitation vellum was manufactured in the late 19th century since interest in vellum exceeded supply. It was used for "appropriate tonal impressions (and) reproduced the color and transparency and even the slick, slightly 'glassy' surface texture of the real skins" (Robison 1977, 15). For a general description of vellum as a support material see Parchment/Vellum.

• India paper (so-called; also known as India, India proof, India transfer paper): According to Labarre (1937, 160) this is really China paper. The name is an English term that may be a misnomer derived from its having been imported by the Dutch East India Company. (KN) The name is sometimes loosely given to other papers of Asian origin, but also to papers of European and American manufacture (Labarre 1937, 160).

An off-white paper, varying in tone, without prominent laid lines but with yellow fibers throughout. This soft, unsized paper "adapts itself to the surface of the steel plate or wood, and soaks up a large quantity of ink without afterwards smearing" (R. Perkinson, A Treatise on Paper, London 1894 as quoted by Labarre 1937, 160). Thought to have been used by Rembrandt for several impressions, this paper is very absorbent and gives rich soft effects, particularly suited to the qualities of drypoint (Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1969, 180). Mentioned by Lalanne (1880, 59) as promoting "purity of line." India paper has been a thin, opaque paper made from chemically processed hemp and rags since 1875 (Roberts and Etherington 1982, 138). The British successfully imitated this paper with "Oxford India," a very white paper which somewhat resembled Western cigarette paper (also called "Cambridge" and "Bible") (Dwan 1989).

• Japanese papers: First imported into Europe in quantity in the seventeenth century. When printed, this smooth paper "receives the ink very well from the plate, but instead of absorbing the ink into the substance of the paper like European sheets, Rembrandt's Japanese paper holds the ink on the surface, keeping it all there and fully visible" (Robison 1977, 13 referring to Rembrandt's use of Japanese paper). The polished, soft surface "receives ink readily under minimum pressure and so does not wear down fine drypoint lines and burr as quickly as rougher paper surfaces tend to do" (Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1969, 180). It was also capable of taking very rich impressions. Lalanne notes the excellent qualities of Japanese paper which is "...of a warm yellowish tint, silky and transparent, is excellent, especially for plates which need more of mystery than of brilliancy, for heavy and deep tones, for concentration of effect..."(Lalanne 1880, 60). Lumsden (1924, 139) also noted its beauty of color. In the nineteenth century, Whistler made abundant use of a variety of Japanese papers. Gampi was preferred by 19th century European wood engravers because it allowed them to achieve the finest detail (e.g., A. Lepère). For a general description of Japanese papers as support materials see Japanese Papers.

References

Mechanical Wood Pulp Papers

(See also General References)

Hon, David N.S. "Discoloration and Deterioration of Modern Papers." Science and Technology in the Service of Conservation, Preprints of Contributions to the IIC-Washington Congress. London: IIC, 1982.

Lyall, Jan. "A Preliminary Study of Chemical Methods for Stabilizing Lignin in Groundwood Paper." Science and Technology in the Service of Conservation, Preprints of Contributions to the IIC-Washington Congress. London: IIC, 1982, pp. 79-84.

Shahani, D.J. "Options in Polyester Encapsulation." Association of Canadian Archivist Bulletin 2, No. 1, 1986, 1 page.

Young, G.S. and Helen Burgess. "Lignin in a Paperboard Advertised as Lignin-free." IIC-CG Bulletin 14, No. 4, 1989, pp. 14-16.

Colored Papers

(See also General References)

Perkinson, Roy. "Observations in the Drawings of Winslow Homer." The Book and Paper Group Annual 5, 1986, pp. 1-8.

Samuels, Laurie. "Optical Brighteners in Paper." Papers Presented at the 15th Annual Art Conservation Training Programs Conference. Harvard University Art Museums, 1989, in press.

van der Reyden, Dianne and Nancy McRaney. Identification of Colorants for Paper. Smithsonian Institution, Conservation Analytical Laboratory: Washington, D.C., 1990, unpublished.

Loaded Papers

(See also General References)

Daniels, Vincent. "A Study of the Crystallinity of Paper Before and After Conservation." The Paper Conservator 10, 1986, pp. 70-72.

Artists' Coated (Prepared)

(See also General References)

Cennini, C. The Craftsman's Handbook. Translated by D. Thompson, Jr. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1954, pp. 6-7.

DaVinci, Leonardo. Treatise on Painting. Translated by P. McMahon. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1956, p. 105.

Ellis, Margaret Holben. "Metalpoint Drawings: Special Problems for Collectors." Drawing 2, No. 3, 1980, pp. 59-61.

Richmond, Alison, "Turner's Use of Paper up to 1820' - A talk given by Peter Bowers." Paper Conservation News, No. 54, 1990, p. 4.

Coated Papers

(See also General References)

Baker, M., D. van der Reyden, and N. Ravenal. "FTIR Analysis of Coated Papers." The Book and Paper Group Annual 8, Washington, DC: AIC, 1989, pp. 1-12.

Casey, James P., ed. "Pigment Coating." Pulp and Paper: Chemistry and Chemical Technology. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Vol. 4., 1983 "Pigment Coating," pp. 2018-2189.

Parker, A.E. "The Freeze-Drying Process: Some Conclusions." Library Conservation News, No. 23, 1989, pp. 4-6, 8.

Prosser, Ruth. "Pigment Coated Printing Papers." Modern Art: The Restoration and Techniques of Modern Paper and Prints. London: UKIC, 1989, pp. 8-12.

Lattuati-Derieux, A., Egasse, C., Regert, M., Chung, Y., Lavédrine, B., 2009. “Characterization and degradation pathways of ancient Korean waxed papers”, Journal of Cultural Heritage, Vol 10, pp. 422–427.

A collection of Korean waxed papers from the 15th-16th centuries were chosen to be studied because they were starting to present signs of deterioration. These included: traces of mould, folds, cracks, embrittlement of the wax and white or purple deposits on the surface. The authors of this paper used Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectra and gas chromatographic and mass spectrometry investigations to identify the biomarkers and degradation markers of the Korean paper samples. Four different samples of waxed paper were taken. Comparing the samples to a modern sample of Korean beeswax showed that the chemical composition was very similar to the ancient Korean beeswax samples found on the papers. The main degradation compounds were found to be hydroxyethers.

Tissue/Tracing Papers

(See also General References)

Anderson, Priscilla. "Transparent Paper: An Examination of its Uses Through Two Centuries." Senior essay, History of Art Department, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1990.

Bachmann, K. "Transparent Papers Before 1850: History and Conservation Problems." New Directions in Paper Conservation. The Institute of Paper Conservation 10th Anniversary Conference, Conference Notes. Oxford, England: Institute of Paper Conservation, 1986, p. D61 (abstract).

Flamm, Verena, Christa Hofmann, Sebastian Dobrusskin, and Gerhard Banik. "Conservation of Tracing Papers." 9th Triennial Meeting of the ICOM Committee for Conservation Preprints. Dresden, German Democratic Republic: ICOM, in press 1990.

Fletcher, Shelly and Judy Walsh. "The Treatment of Three Prints by Whistler on Fine Japanese Tissue." Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 18, No. 2, 1979, 118-126.

Futernick, Robert. "Methods and Makeshift: Stretch Drying Lined Artifacts." The Book and Paper Group Annual 3, Washington DC: AIC, 1984, pp. 68-70.

Keyes, Keiko M. "The Use of Friction Mounting as an Aid to Pressing Works on Paper." The Book and Paper Group Annual 3. Washington DC: AIC, 1984, pp. 101-104.

Mills, John S. "Analysis of Some 19th Century Tracing Paper Impregnates and 18th Century Globe Varnishes." New Directions in Paper Conservation. Oxford, England: Institute of Paper Conservation, 1986.

Priest, Derek. "Paper Conservation Science at UMIST." The Paper Conservator 11, 1987, pp. 73-80.

Rundle, C. "The Composition and Manufacture of Modern Tracing Papers." New Directions in Paper Conservation. Oxford, England; Institute of Paper Conservation, 1986, D64-65 (abstract).

Wilson, Helen. "A decision framework for the preservation of transparent papers." Journal of the Institute of Conservation. 38, No. 1, 2015, 118-126. Online here

Yates, Sally Ann. "The Conservation of 19th Century Tracing Paper." The Paper Conservator 8, 1984, pp. 20-39, with short bibliography of publications containing useful information on tracing paper.

Cardboard/Artist's Board/Illustration Board

(See also General References)

Futernick, Robert. "Methods and Makeshift: Hinging Artifacts to Matboard." The Book and Paper Group Annual 3, Washington DC: AIC, 1984, pp. 68-70.

Gould, Barbara. "The Removal of Secondary Supports from Works of Art on Paper." The Book and Paper Group Annual 6, 1987.

Keyes, K. M. "A Method of Conserving a Work of Art on a Deteriorated Thin Surface Laminate." The Paper Conservator 10, 1986, pp. 10-17.

Watercolor Papers

(See also General References)

Cohn, Marjorie. Wash and Gouache: A Study of the Development of the Materials of Watercolor. Cambridge, MA: The Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Fogg Art Museum, 1977.

Walsh, Judith. "Observations on the Watercolor Techniques of Homer and Sargent." American Traditions in Watercolor: The Worcester Art Museum Collection. Susan E. Stickler, ed. New York: Abbeville Press, 1987, pp. 44-65.

Artists' Printing Papers

(See also General References)

Dyson, A. Pictures to Print: The 19th Century Engraving Trade. London: Farrand Press, 1984.

Lalanne, Maxime. A Treatise on Etching. London: Sampson Law, Marston, Searle and Rivington, London, 1880.

Lumsden, E.S. The Art of Etching. New York: Dover, 1924.

Perknson, Roy. "Degas's Printing Papers." Edgar Degas: The Painter as Printmaker. Sue Walsh Reed and Barbara Stern Shaprio. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1984, pp. 255-261.

Robison, Andrew. Paper in Prints. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1977.

White, C. Rembrandt as an Etcher London: Zwemmer, 1969.