Calligraphy: Tools and Methods

This page is under construction as of May 15, 1997

• Parchment and Vellum: Generalities
• Parchment and Vellum Makers
• Transfer Paper
• Watercolor Pencils
• Inks
• Glair

Being a self-taught parchment maker, I've read alot of the literature
that's out there on this topic.  As this was my introduction to the
'book arts', I had little in the way of pre-conceived biases.

These terms seem to be used interchangeably,
depending on who's talking.  While one person will insist doggedly on one
set of definitions, another will insist just as doggedly on a different and
incompatible set.

In recent decades, within the 'trade', parchment has been used in reference
to a lower grade product made from sheepskin splits.  Manufacturers have tended
to use 'vellum' in reference to better grades of product regardless of the
animal species involved.

Users however, have tended to use parchment as a generic term for all products
except those made from calf skin, for which they reserve the term vellum.  They
often justify this on linguistic grounds since it would appear that the word
vellum is based on the same latin root as 'veal'.  The french term for calfskin
parchment is vellin (or something similar - I'm working from memory, all my
references are at home).  

I've heard people say they thought that parchment was a kind of paper, and that
vellum was the real stuff made from animal skin, and vice versa.

Authorities in the field aren't quite as dogmatic in their approach.  There is
some evidence that, as far back as the middle ages,  the term vellum was being used 
to refer to any sort of parchment, without regard for the species involved. Clarkson
argues that the word 'vellum' may actually derive from the latin 'pellis', simply
meaning 'skin'.

The impression I get is that in academic circles, this controversy over the usage
of the two terms is regarded as rather tedious, and I tend to agree. My impression 
is that conservators and codicologists tend to use the term 'parchment' generically,
and avoid the term 'vellum' since it seems to mean different things to different 
people.            

When I first started selling my parchment, I was working almost exclusively with
goat/kid skins, and so I said that I was making 'parchment'.  Even after I started
using calfskins, I continued to refer to it as parchment. Several potential
customers turned up their noses because they felt I must be offering an inferior
product, based on what they had read in some calligraphy manual, insisting they
would only use 'vellum'. Now I usually say that I make parchment/vellum or 
parchment & vellum.

Considering the countless variations on the manufacturing process that have been
used over the centuries, and in different places, it's probably futile to attempt
to categorize parchment into only two types.

I guess the bottom line is that different people use the two terms differently,
so let the calligrapher beware.  When one hears either term, simply think 'animal skin',
and then get the specifics.

Just don't get me started on paper manufacturers who use the terms 'parchment' and
'vellum'. ;)

Here's my 'short' list of references:

Partial Bibliography on Parchment

Cains, Anthony. 1992 "The Vellum of the Book of Kells" The Paper
     Conservator.  vol 16: 50-61.

Clarkson, Christopher. 1992 "Rediscovering Parchment: The Nature
     of the Beast" The Paper Conservator.  vol 16: 5-26.

Fulacher, Pascal.  1988.  "Metier Parcheminier"  Art et Metiers
     du Livre.  vol 149: 77-83.

Wildbrett, Edith and Von Manfred.  1991.  "Hautpergament--Ein
     Naturprodukt von erlesener Schonheit"  Pergament:
     Geschichte, Struktur, Restaurierung, Herstellung.  Jan
     Thorbecke Verlag Sigmaringen.

Reed, R.  1972.  Ancient Skins, Parchments and Leathers.  New
     York:  Seminar Press.

Reed, Ronald.  1975.  The Nature and Making of Parchment.  Leeds,
     England: The Elmete Press.

Ryder, Michael L.  1964.  "Parchment -- Its history, manufacture
     and composition"  Journal of the Society of Archivists. vol
     2: 9, April, 1964.

Thompson, Daniel V.  1936.  The Materials and Techniques of
     Medieval Painting.  NY: Constable, 1936.

Visscher, W.P.  1986.  "Trends in Vellum and Parchment Making
     Past and Present"  The New Bookbinder: Journal of Designer
     Bookbinders.  vol. 6: 41-81.

Vorst, Benhamin.  1986.  "Parchment Making--Ancient and Modern"
     Fine Print.  vol 12 (4): 209-221.

Rick Cavasin
email: cav@bnr.ca 
Fri Jan 12 09:48:18 1996
Edited by Angelo M.

Parchment and Vellum Makers

[I] Meant to send this information months ago! I have been posting some of the
e-mail from cyberscribes on the notice boards in the scriptotium at Roehampton
where I teach. One of the French students there came up with an address for a
vellum supplier in France. N. Bavouze (accent/ on the last e), Le Leurouve,36000
Issoudun, France. 

Ewan Clayton <100130.343@compuserve.com>
Mon Jan  8 06:53:16 1996

With graduation season rapidly approaching, we would like to remind all
calligraphers that The Bookbinder's Warehouse stocks a full range of genuine
sheepskin parchment and calf manuscript vellum for diplomas and certificates.

If you would like to receive a sample card with 3x5" samples of both
sheepskin parchment and calf manuscript vellum, accompanied by a price list
showing all the various trimmed sizes that we stock, please send $5 (refunded
on your first order) to:

 
The Bookbinder's Warehouse, Inc., 31 Division St.,
Keyport, NJ 07735-1522.

P.S. We are the largest stocking distributor in the United States, and represent
one of the most well-known and respected vellum makers in the U.K., William
Cowley Parchment Works. We are most well known, perhaps, for our full line of hand bookbinding
supplies, equipment, tools, how-to books and sundry item for the hand
bookbinding community.

Sat Feb 15 02:06:49 1997
Regards, Karen L. Crisalli/The Bookbinder's Warehouse



Transfer Paper
This is a tip I found in my Guild Handbook for Scientific Illustrators book.
Those of you who do a lot of transferring might find it handy. --Shari, Ames
Iowa.


"A method of making reusable transfer paper was described by Gail W. Guth in
the summer 1977 GNSI Newsletter.  Form a masking tape border around a piece
of tracing paper to keep the paper from tearing.  Rub a graphite stick all
over one side of the paper, applying the graphite as smoothly and solidly as
possible.  Moisten a piece of tissue or cotton with rubber-cement thinner or
turpentine and very lightly blot and rub the surface of the paper.  Use the
solvent sparingly;  too much will remove the graphite from the paper.
Remember that rubber-cement thinner is extremely flammable; keep the can
covered.  Dry the paper thoroughly.  Repeat to fill any thin areas.  This
transfer paper can be used repeatedly until the graphite wears off."


Shari Vogl 

Thu, 30 Jan 1997 16:48:02 -0600


Some buy transfer paper, ready-made ...  called Transtrace
[Apparently Transtrace has gone out of business, ed.], wax free pure
graphite tracing down paper. Made by Frisk(Graphic Art Materials) Can be
bought in graphite, white,yellow, blue and red, each with a different purpose
but all indispensable. 

In the United States, we have Saral Paper (subtitled "Wax Free Transfer Paper
for Precision Tracing").  It further says:
-- contains no wax or grease
-- erases like pencil -- won't smear
-- ink or paint over tracing -- won't skip
-- makes clean crisp tracings
-- economical -- can be used again and again

Comes in graphite, blue, red, yellow and white.  I believe I mail-ordered the
first box I received (it comes on an 12-inch x 12-foot roll, like wax paper
and aluminum foil).  But then I found that JoAnn Fabrics or Hancock Fabrics
(can't remember which or both) carry the sample pack of 8.5" x 12" sheets
with all 5 colors in it -- it's better than dressmaker's tracing paper
because it has no wax.

You could get more information from the manufacturer at:

Saral Paper Co., Inc.
436-D Central Avenue
Bohemia, New York 11716



Beth Lee

Callibeth@aol.com

Sun, 2 Feb 1997 10:59:22 -0500 (EST)

Watercolor Pencils
The brand of watercolor pencils I use is Design.  I like them because they
are a little softer than the Derwent ones I have used and they blend well.
It takes just a drop or two of water on a brush to bring the brilliance of
the color out and to blend them together.

I use them on almost all projects...depending on the effect I want to end up
with.  Since it takes so little water to use them most papers will accept them. 
I first started using them to color  my stamp images and decorate my cards.
I am not sure that I would be eager to use them on a large area...but they
would probably work well.  My work tends to be relatively small.  THey
travel well.

I first used them in a workshop with Jim Edes.  His advise was to sharpen
them as little as possible.  It is the color we try to put down and since
they are not really inexpensive why chew them up.

The thing that first attracted me was the ability to combine colors and do
shading dry then watch the colors really come to life and gently blend when
I add a little water.


Lorraine

lorraine@electriciti.com

Inks

In black ink sticks, soot is used as main colourant.
This soot is obtained by collecting smoke from a flame.

The particle size depends on (a) what material is set on fire
and (b) how close to the fire the soot is collected [coarse
particles close to the flame; fine particles further away].

Soot obtained from burning a vegetable oil consists of much smaller
particles than that obtained when burning pine roots/twigs &c.

In my opinion, it is the friction heat created when rubbing
an ink stick (against an ink stone) which is the important
factor -- not any mechanical abrasion. Since the binder used
is an animal glue, heat makes it go liquid: soot, binder and
water unite...

What makes kosher ink kosher?

a) that the wine used in it is kosher wine

b) that all other ingredients are nothing but
   originally prescribed

c) this is the only ink which you are allowed
   to use when you write a Tora


Claes G Lindblad,
 Hostagillesvagen 36,
 S-226 51 Lund, Sweden

e-mail: claesg@algonet.se

http://www.algonet.se/~claesg

I do know a little about [stick inks] and just spent 
this past weekend in Greensboro with Ward Dunham studying 
Blackletter and watching him grind up and use stick ink. Plus 
I've looked at Claes's web page on stick inks and now feel 
confident to supply you with all the wisdom I have on the 
subject. Ha! But Claes is the real expert and has conducted many 
tests on stick inks

There are stick inks of various kinds of quality, composition, 
denseness of color and all sorts of other variables. All of 
these affect the price. What they all have in common is that 
they need to be ground in a certain kind of "dish" with a 
slightly rough surface (that too can vary!) with some water -- 
preferably distilled or filtered water as opposed to nasty old 
tap water or well water.

The Chinese were the masters of stick ink and the Japanese were 
close behind. The material being burned (you got it, it varies) 
gives off soot. That soot is collected and put together with a 
binder (yup) and compressed into a shape, usually a stick which 
is rectangular or cylindrical. Depending on what else is in it 
it may be shiny or dull. Sometimes the sticks were made in a 
mold with characters on them and then either another color or 
gold were added as decorations on the outside of the stick. 

What happens when you rub the stick, with water, on a slightly 
rough surface is that the particles that make up the stick are 
distributed in the water. You can make it as dense or as light 
as you want. Usually (but not always) the ink prepared this way 
is meant to be used right away and not stored up, but most ink 
stones have covers and you can let them sit for a little while 
(all day) as opposed to months. So the ink can be shiny, dull, 
black or greyed, thick or thin; you are the one who controls all 
those variables. It's like the difference between a fully manual 
camera versus an automatic one.

A lot of people find that grinding stick ink is a very relaxing, 
peaceful way of centering oneself before beginning to put tool 
to surface. The ways that the grinding stone can differ are: 
surface (how rough or smooth they are), shape, whether or not 
they're covered, weight, size and material. You don't want one 
that's porous because that would suck up the ink. On the other 
hand you don't want a porcelain finish because that wouldn't 
abrade the ink stick enough. And you do want a separate grinding 
dish for each color.

John Neal [Bookseller on the Web] carries several brands, kinds
and colors of stick ink and grinding stones -- and I was just 
there on Saturday evening 
so I saw 'em. His catalog will give a pretty good description 
and he himself is a font of information so don't be afraid to 
ask. The very best thing to do would be to ask him to 
demonstrate for you (if he has time) and then you can fiddle 
around with it when you get home. Ward loves to use big bamboo 
pens which he cuts himself and then he just dips the nib end 
into the grinding stone where he's made a puddle of ink. Some 
people prefer to take a brush and load the ink onto the pen that 
way (better for small nibs).

Typically most ink sticks are black...but there are also various 
shades of vermilion (orangy-red) and of course other colors. The 
other colors are fairly exotic and not widely available. Part of 
the reason is that the ingredient which gives the color, for 
example lapis lazuli for the blue, is hugely expensive and 
difficult to make. But by all means try the black stick ink! I 
would recommend that you start with what they call "student 
grade" and get the feel of it before you go on to other much 
more expensive stuff.



Maura Cooper

scribl@sprynet.com

Glair/egg-white
In The Complete Guide to Painting & Drawing Techniques & Materials
Colin Hayes, says:

EGG

During the Middle Ages gums and size-glues were used for painting,
but by far the most common medium was egg and the process of painting
with it - known as egg tempera.

Both the white and the yolk can be used, either separately or mixed
together.  Fundamentally they both contain exactly the same ingredients
but in different proportions:  for example, the yolk contains 22 per
cent oil while the white has only 0.2 per cent.  The higher proportion
of oil in the yolk make it fatter than the white, tougher, more elastic
and ultimately COMPLETELY WATERPROOF (but this is the YOLK);  it was
well suited to panel painting.

Egg white or 'glair' was the standard medium for manuscript illumination;
to make the viscous ....... (recipes already adequately supplied) .....
The beating tears apart the molecular structure of the white so that it
is converted into a clear smooth-flowing liquid which is delicate, easy
to handle and mixes well with water.

The Calligrapher's Dictionary by Rose Folsom, does not have much to add:
"It was widely used by medieval illuminators, who found it had very delicate
properties desirable for use with, for example, light blues.  For richer
colors, gum was favored, as it helps bring them out.  Most often a MIXTURE
of the two served best."

Neither of these sources states unequivocally that the WHITE or GLAIR is
WATERPROOF, but I'm prepared to take the word of the other scribes on the
list who have used the product, and will vouchafe its waterproof properties.


John Ter Haar

terhaar@melbpc.org.au