How Handmade Paper Holds History Together

On Feb. 21st we linked to a New York Times Magazine article on Tim Barrett, a papermaker based in Iowa. Mr. Barrett is a leader in promoting and making papers to support paper conservation. In the 1980’s, he studied materials and techniques used to make Japanese papers that were tissue-thin but strong and long-lasting.  His book on Japanese papermaking processes is a classic. He studied Western hand-made paper of the 15th-17th centuries to reveal characteristics of old papers that made them strong and age well, such as gelatin sizing. His dry tear paper is a great boon in large mending projects.

Tim Barrett’s MacArthur grant in 2009 was for ground breaking work promoting papers to preserve cultural artifacts. Applying a great understanding of papermaking, Tim and his co-worker Lynn Amlie crafted paper on which parchment documents rest in the encasements for the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the newly installed Magna Carta at the National Archives. The photo above shows the paper shaped to be invisible below the Magna Carta.  

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