Browse Items (420 total)

This work provides an example of the printer’s device of Swiss printer, Johann Froben (1460-1527). Based in Basel, Froben was a Humanist scholar himself, and was acquainted with Erasmus, as well as Hans Holbein the Younger, who would not only paint…

The design here imitates that of a peacock’s fanned tail. After one has deposited the colours on the thickened solution of water and used the comb to create the first series of designs, one then uses a stylus to refine the design. The marbler is…

The marbling technique for this decorative paper has been achieved with the use of the comb tool. The colours used are also date to the mid-19th century and are not the classic and uniform blues, reds, yellows and whites colours typical of the 18th…

This particular motif was the most popular in the 18th century. With this text dating to the mid 16th century, we have clear example of the time lags that can occur between a book’s date of printing and it's binding. This work may have also been…

A further example of paste paper where the colour scheme has been generated by the “pulled” technique. In this case, one clearly sees the “pulling” or stretching effect that the glue has undergone in producing this design. Thisexample carries an…

This image shows a very fine mottling scheme, where the white/cream colours are omnipresent on a background of red and blue. In this example, the dark colours had been deposited on the surface of the liquid mixture before the white. It is this last…

This example of mottled paper, a very classic design, displays much more modern colours, with its tones of burgundy, black and cream.

The edge of this book displays a decorative technique used fairly often. Instead of a marbled edge, here one has opted for a light sprinkling effect, achieved by drops of colour being “tapped” from the bristles of the brush.

Here we see the introduction of gold into the manufacturing process of marbled paper. In this case, it is difficult to say whether this is an example of handmade paper or one produced mechanically given that the date of printing and the fact that the…

Here we see yet another type of decorative paper, probably achieved through a mechanized process. The design of flowers with tendrils of gold is reminiscent of wrapping paper for gifts or even wallpaper, which is of no surprise, as these types of…