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Paper and Grain

Material clues in sheets, surfaces, fibers, and decorated paper.

A clean directional grain diagram used as a visual analogy for sheet orientationPaper and Grain · 11

Grain Direction: The Orientation Hidden in Every Sheet

Fibres give a sheet a directional tendency that affects how it bends and responds at a fold. This note explains what grain direction can tell a binder when choosing, cutting, or folding paper, and how to investigate the clue without treating one observation as proof of a sheet’s history or condition.

Read field note →A close view of coarse low-quality paper with visible fiber fragmentsPaper and Grain · 12

Rag Paper and Wood-Pulp Paper: Reading Material Clues

How can I think about paper composition without overclaiming?

Read field note →A handwritten manuscript leaf showing ink held on a historic paper surfacePaper and Grain · 13

Sizing in Paper: Why a Sheet Takes Ink Differently

What does paper sizing change?

Read field note →A laid paper mold and deckle with the parallel wires that form chain-line evidencePaper and Grain · 14

Laid Paper: Lines, Chain Lines, and Making Evidence

What do the lines in laid paper mean?

Read field note →A wove paper mold and deckle with an even woven wire surfacePaper and Grain · 15

Wove Paper and the Smooth Surface of Industrial Change

Why does wove paper look different from laid paper?

Read field note →A marbled paper pattern with flowing veins and layered colorPaper and Grain · 16

Marbled Paper: Pattern, Use, and Responsible Care

How should I look after marbled endpapers?

Read field note →An illuminated manuscript leaf with handwritten ink and painted detailPaper and Grain · 17

Ink Meets Paper: Reading Without Testing

How can I assess ink and paper safely?

Read field note →A medieval manuscript leaf written on parchmentPaper and Grain · 40

Parchment and Vellum: Animal-Skin Supports for Books and Documents

What are parchment and vellum, and how should readers describe them?

Read field note →An eighteenth-century Japanese print depicting the traditional paper-making craftPaper and Grain · 41

Washi: Handmade Japanese Paper, Fibres, and Community Practice

How is traditional handmade washi made and passed on?

Read field note →A book cover decorated with a hand-brushed green paste-paper patternPaper and Grain · 42

Paste Paper: Brushwork, Pattern, and Book Cover Decoration

How is paste paper patterned, and where does it appear in a book?

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