Herzliche Einladung zum Vortrag von Dr. Joran Proot (Antwerpen),
am 13.01.2025, 16 Uhr c.t. im Fakultätssaal des FB05
The Study of Paper Thickness in the Early Modern Period:
Relevance and Methodological Challenges
A crucial element enabling the production of books on large series was paper. Already in the last quarter of the fourteenth century paper surpassed parchment as the most important canvas for written books, but the demand for paper would really rocket with the introduction of the printing press. Paper makers had to find ways to keep up with an ever growing paper consumption while keeping up with the expectations of customers. This inevitably involved in the production of papers of lower weights, which generally results in thinner papers. In this talk I will discuss methodological challenges related to the study of paper thickness. These include the morphology of the handlaid sheet as well as binding and rebinding practices.