Traditional Parchment Making: Last US Workshop | Artisan Crafts & History

In conservation laboratories within the Vatican complex, specialists work on documents damaged by age or misuse, water or fire, insects or simple handling. Their work requires both scientific knowledge and artistic skill, understanding the chemistry of paper and ink, the structure of bindings, the techniques of medieval scribes, and using this knowledge to stabilize and restore, always with the principle of minimal intervention. A conservator might spend weeks on a single document, carefully cleaning dirt and grime accumulated over centuries, working under magnification to see individual fibers of paper. Some documents arrive in terrible condition, having survived fire or flood, the paper charred and brittle or waterlogged and moldy, the ink faded to near invisibility.

Archives have preservation workshops where damaged documents are restored using specialized tools including natural rubber sponges, small brushes, and miniaturized equipment. Archives receive documents in various conditions, from clean to severely soiled, some arriving from attics, basements, or private households. Archives use miniature equipment for document restoration, including small vacuum cleaners and mini irons approximately 2cm in size. Archives achieve a 99.9% success rate in document preservation. Archives use 'urkundensauna' (document sauna) to flatten creased parchment documents by placing them in a sealed frame with a water-filled container, raising humidity to 90%, which causes the parchment to naturally unfold without damage.

Document restoration requires careful, precise interventions using specialized materials like latex sponge for cleaning and fish glue for stabilizing deteriorated ink, with the fundamental principle that restorers can only stabilize existing material rather than recreate lost content.

Conservation in archives involves preventive measures (environmental monitoring, storage systems, emergency planning) and interventive actions (stabilization, desacidification, decontamination). Restoration aims to restore or improve an object's legibility after significant deterioration. The ICOM (International Council of Museums) established these principles in 2008, emphasizing accessibility for present and future generations. In archival contexts, 'preservation' is a more abstract, conceptual term that encompasses management policies, while 'conservation' refers to specific disciplinary activities. Conservation is fundamentally about caring for things, and as a caring profession, it has an important affective and sensitive component. Conservation objectives include: conducting a general diagnosis of the documentary fund, creating a comprehensive treatment proposal, stabilizing materials for archival work, and improving storage conditions. The complementary relationship between preventive and interventive conservation is essential, as interventions without proper storage conditions may be ineffective. Worker fichas (cards) from the Society of the Cross of Workers consist of approximately 693 cards made of mechanical pulp paper (12x16 cm) with printed and handwritten information. Over half have attached gelatin silver photographs (4x6 cm). Common deteriorations include paper tearing, stains, and elastic band remnants, while photographs show advanced silver mirroring and insect activity (silverfish). The presence of silver mirroring and silverfish indicates that the documentation was stored in conditions of high relative humidity, which also promotes silver mirroring through the combination of humidity, contaminants, and improper storage materials. A homemade humidity chamber for paper conservation consists of a basin with water as the humidity source, a grid, friselina (fabric) to prevent direct contact, and an acrylic cover to close the environment. This allows controlled humidification while enabling simultaneous work on other tasks, facilitating paper relaxation for deformation correction. Paper deformation correction involves placing the document in a humidity chamber to relax fibers, then using a sandwich method with paper secante (absorbent paper) and friselina to absorb excess moisture while applying weight. This process corrects deformations and prepares documents for proper storage, preventing future physical deterioration. Primary guards for photographs should use medical-grade paper (papel de grado médico) because standard materials can react with photographic materials, causing silver mirroring, gelatin acidification, and yellowing. This practice in Argentina emerged as an alternative to specialized archival paper due to regulatory restrictions on imported materials. Theatrical scripts from the Society of the Cross of Workers include both edited publications and handwritten manuscripts. Common deteriorations include surface dirt, humidity-induced deformations, oxidation of metal fasteners, and stains. Handwritten manuscripts are more fragile and require gentler handling, with additional risks of ink migration and paper fragility. Surface cleaning uses a vacuum cleaner with a friselina filter to prevent powerful suction from damaging paper. For more stubborn dirt, mechanical cleaning with soft brushes is used. Metal fasteners should be removed and replaced with thread to prevent continued deterioration. Paper repairs use Japanese paper (papel Japón) and methyl cellulose adhesive for creating bridges and patches. Methyl cellulose is preferred because it has good adhesion with cellulose-based materials and is reversible (can be removed if needed). Localized humidity application using a vaporizer targets specific deformations in paper documents. The process involves applying vapor to the affected areas, then using a sandwich method with absorbent paper and weight to flatten the document. This technique requires careful testing, especially for documents with ink, as humidity can cause ink migration.

Document conservation combines art, science, and history through systematic scientific approaches. Parchment and paintings react to humidity changes, requiring controlled acclimation periods. Conservators use ultraviolet photography to reveal lost text invisible to naked eyes. Adhesive analysis identifies exact compositions before treatment. Minimal enzymatic solutions with trace moisture soften old adhesives for removal. Paper repairs require compatibility with original materials, with fills thinned and toned to match surrounding parchment. Inpainting remains confined to fill areas only. After repairs, parchment undergoes humidification and flattening, followed by three-month stabilization under restraints before final assessment.

Economically, substituting paper for parchment reduced material cost per page dramatically. Socially, this reduction turned texts into commodities in ways they had rarely been before. Printers could sell dozens, hundreds, or eventually thousands of copies of the same title. Markets for information grew. Literacy expanded because more people could afford to own and read printed matter. The pocketable book migrated from elite luxury to civic and commercial life. Paper also made new visual possibilities feasible—woodcut illustrations matched well with type, and intaglio and letter press techniques could coexist in a single page because paper accepted both relief and raised impressions.

In the 19th century, demand for paper exceeded rag supplies, prompting nations to pass laws restricting rag exports. People discovered wood could be used to make paper, revolutionizing production. Wood pulp paper is much cheaper than rag-based paper, reducing newsprint costs, lowering book prices, increasing literacy, and contributing to the rise of liberal democracy by enabling broader political participation and informed voting.

Between 1250-1350, Europe experienced a dramatic shift from parchment to paper as the primary writing material. This transition was particularly evident in cities like Luca, where some registers show year-by-year shifts between materials, sometimes bound together in the same volume. By 1350-1370, parchment had almost completely disappeared from register keeping, though it remained for high-status applications like library catalogs. Paper was approximately ten times cheaper than parchment, enabling an explosion in documentary production.

Charles Fenerty from Halifax produced the first paper from wood pulp in 1838. This invention revolutionized paper production by providing a cheaper and more abundant raw material. Paper containing wood pulp cannot be dated earlier than 1838, making chemical analysis of paper composition a valuable tool for authenticating historical documents.

Early texts on bark could not be preserved and were accessible only to few. The printing press revolutionized knowledge access. Gutenberg printed the first Bible using lead alphabets assembled in frames. Modern printing uses computer-typed negatives and rotary machines. Paper originated in China around 105 AD, reached Central Asia by 751 AD, and Europe by the 14th century. Wood pulp replaced traditional materials, and paper now comes in large rolls for newspapers.

Medieval scribes used quills made from goose wing feathers, with the feathery tip clipped off. Iron gall ink contained wood dye for darkness and iron filings that caused the ink to literally burn into the parchment's surface structure. If mistakes were spotted quickly, they had to be scraped off entirely. Knives served multiple functions: cutting parchment, keeping pages flat, correcting errors, and sharpening quills.

Iron gall ink, the dominant writing medium from the 12th to 19th centuries, was created by combining tannic acid from oak galls (produced by gall wasps burrowing into oak trees) with iron sulfate (called copperas), then binding the mixture with gum arabic; this chemical reaction produces a blue-black pigment that penetrates paper fibers for permanence but creates long-term preservation challenges as the ink's acidity eventually destroys the paper it was meant to protect.

Iron gall ink, the standard writing ink in Europe from the 12th to 19th centuries, is made by extracting tannins from gall nuts (abnormal plant growths caused by insect larvae), reacting them with iron salts (such as ferrous sulfate), and thickening the mixture with gum arabic; this process demonstrates how historical document preservation relied on understanding plant chemistry and material science.

Iron gall ink is made by soaking crushed oak galls (galls formed when wasps lay eggs on oak trees) in rainwater for at least six days, which transforms tannic acid into gallic acid; the mixture is then boiled down, filtered, and combined with iron sulfate (German vitriol) and gum arabic to create a waterproof black ink that was widely used in medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, though its high acidity can corrode metal nibs and damage paper over time.

Iron gall ink is a water-based ink with approximately 1400 years of history, made by combining tannic acid (extracted from oak galls, tea, or purchased) with an iron(II) salt like ferrous sulfate; the iron(II) forms a soluble complex with tannic acid that enables writing, but oxidizes to insoluble iron(III) compounds when exposed to air, making these inks incredibly long-lived and archival quality. The ink is typically prepared by extracting tannic acid from oak galls (10g in 75ml water), dissolving ferrous sulfate (2.5g in 30ml water), and adding gum arabic as a binder, with optional aniline dye for visibility during application.