The term parchment is a general term for an animal skin which has been prepared for writing or printing. Parchment has been made for centuries, and is usually calf, goat, or sheep skin. The term vellum from the French veau refers to a parchment made from calf skin.
Papyrus was the most widely used writing material in ancient times, and many papyrus records still survive.
The basic kinds of paper made during the 1800s were rag, straw, manila, and wood pulp.
Papyrus, the first paper
The ancient Egyptians used a surface called papyrus to write down hieroglyphs. They created this writing material by overlapping thin stems of the papyrus plant and pressing them together.
The earliest paper was called 'cloth parchment', but it often contained wood and straw in addition to cloth. All these raw materials were beaten to a fine pulp and mixed with water. Sheets of paper were then pressed out, dried and hardened.
Paper was first made in Lei-Yang, China by Ts'ai Lun, a Chinese court official. In all likelihood, Ts'ai mixed mulberry bark, hemp and rags with water, mashed it into pulp, pressed out the liquid and hung the thin mat to dry in the sun.
And finally in 1857, a New Yorker named Joseph Gayetty introduced and first patented toilet paper. He called it “Medicated Paper for the Water-Closet” and Gayetty's name was printed on every sheet. His medicated paper contained aloe and was sold in packages of 500 sheets for 50 cents.
Parchment Making
Most medieval manuscripts were written on specially treated animal skins, called parchment or vellum (paper did not become common in Europe until around 1450).
Most of the fibres in the old papers were linen or cotton rag. That is to say they used recycled clothing to make the pulp. They cut them up and beat them for days to make the base fibre.
In the Middle Ages, paper was made from linen rags. Linen is much stronger than modern wood-pulp paper. As a result, many medieval manuscripts written on paper have survived to today.
Historical sources credit the invention of paper to Cai Lun, a dignitary serving the imperial Chinese court who, in AD 105, began producing sheets of paper from scraps of old rags, tree bark and fishing nets.
The color of paper has changed quite a bit over the decades. Earlier in the Victorian period, colored and lightly tinted (and even scented) papers were fashionable, and mostly, if not exclusively, used by women.
The Tools of Writing
Documents, like legal contracts, were usually written in pen and ink on papyrus. Books were also written in pen and ink on papyrus or sometimes on parchment.
The Acta diurna (also called Acta populi, or Acta publica), said to date from before 59 bce, recorded official business and matters of public interest. Under the empire (after 27 bce), the Acta diurna constituted a type of daily gazette, and thus it was, in a sense, the prototype of the modern newspaper.
Foxing is an age-related process of deterioration that causes spots and browning on old paper documents such as books, postage stamps, old paper money and certificates. The name may derive from the fox-like reddish-brown color of the stains, or the rust chemical ferric oxide which may be involved.
This type of paper, with shadows along the chain lines, is now known as “antique laid” thanks to an improvement in mold design around 1800 that eliminated the suction by creating a slight gap below the laid wires.
too old to be considered modern, but not old enough to be considered antique…
Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of young animals such as lambs and young calves.
Wiping in the Medieval Times
Before toilet paper was even a concept, people just used whatever was available to wipe. This included items such as hay, wood shavings, corn cobs, and even iron cables.
Papyrus. The oldest discovered papyrus scrolls date back to 2500 BCE. The word “paper” derives from the word “papyrus.” Papyrus was expensive to produce and became a monopolized resource in the city of Alexandria. It was often washed and reused to save money.
The Romans cleaned their behinds with sea sponges attached to a stick, and the gutter supplied clean flowing water to dip the sponges in. This soft, gentle tool was called a tersorium, which literally meant “a wiping thing.”
From Seashells to Communal Sponges
In very ancient times, wiping with stones and other natural materials and rinsing with water or snow was common. Some cultures opted for seashells and animal furs.
Mullein aka “cowboy toilet paper”
If the cowboys used the large velvety leaves of the mullein (Verbascum thapsus) plant while out on the range, then you can too! Mullein is a biennial plant available for use in almost every bioregion.
But over time cellulose fibers oxidize. The process modifies parts of various molecules and turns them into what are called chromophores, which absorb light. White paper is white because it reflects all colors of light. Aging paper filled with chromophores reflects wavelengths that make it look yellow.
The earliest papers were not white by default. And when the change to white did happen, historians “do not know the reasons” for such a rapid shift.