The Process of Making Medieval Paper by Hand

Antiquarian bookseller Tom Ayling, who previously explained the evolving shape of books, visited the Museo della Carta in Amalfi, Italy, the oldest paper mill in Europe, to learn how to make paper by hand as it was done during the Medieval times.

Amalfi Museo della Carta is the oldest paper mill in Europe with working machinery, so here’s how to make paper by hand:

The process was a bit onerous and rather odiferous at first, as the rags used to make paper first had to be whitened using animal urine and then beaten to a pulp by a water wheel. The beaten pulp then had to be fished out of a circular water tank onto a rectangular form. The collected pulp was transferred onto felt, pressed and hung to dry, and finished with animal fat.

Once dry the paper can be removed from the felt, and given a finish so that it can be written on. Traditionally this was done using a glue bath made from animal fats. The paper is then dried again, before being ready to be sold to the local scribes.