The Handbook of Visual Paper Studies

A Step-by-Step Guide to the Reproduction, Cataloguing, Expertise and History of Papers based on Images of Paper Structures

An Educational Product of the Bernstein Consortium

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Note: The focus of this handbook are the images of the paper structure and the information that can be extracted. In other words the core of the databases and tools. Other aspects of paper studies are not treated here - such as physical characteristics of chemical composition of the papers if not deductible from the available images.

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1. Introduction

1. What you can learn from this Handbook
2. Intended audience for this Handbook
3. Elements of paper history
4. The paper production chain

2. Reproduction of papers

1. Techniques: an overview
2. Hand drawing
3. Rubbing
4. Backlight
5. Backlight-frontlight substraction
6. Ultraviolet, indirect ultraviolet (Dylux)
7. Infrared
8. X-Ray
9. Betaradiography
10. Surface laser scan
11. Other
12. Table of Pros and Cons

3. Cataloguing and Descripton

1. Types of paper-bearing objects
2. Paper sequences in manuscripts and printed books
3. Choosing the papers to be reproduced
4. Describing visual properties of papers
   1. Sieve elements (watermarks, countermarks, laid lines, chain lines, knots, shadow zones...)
   2. Frame elements (wood beams, paper size, paper's felt and wire side, deckle edge...)
   3. Paper characteristics (paste homogeneity; thickness from radiographic reproductions...)
   4. Object life (state of preservation, evidence of restoration/repair, trimming, fragmentation...)
5. Database installation, interconnectivity and use
   1. Installation
   2. Interconnectivity (with paper databases, databses about paper documents (typography, philology, economics... ; authority files), data processing tools (image processing, cartography...)
   3. Use cases

4. Expertise

1. Comparison of watermarks
2. Dating of paper-based objects
3. Authentication
4. Other measurements

5. History

1. Statistics
2. Cartography
3. Integrating historical sciences

6. Glossary

7. Bibliographical and web resources

1. Bibliography
2. Links

8. Appendix - a Reader

1. Theo Gerardy: Die Techniken der Wasserzeichenuntersuchung
2. Theo Gerardy: Die Ursache der sogenannten Kannelierung des handgeschöpften Papiers
3. Theo Gerardy: Die Erschließung einer Wasserzeichensammlung mit Hilfe der elektronischen Datenverarbeitung
4. Edo G. Loeber: Kriterien der Gleichheit von Wasserzeichen
5. Edo G. Loeber: Criteria Affecting the Identity of Watermarks
6. Edo G. Loeber: Experiences of an Inexperienced Filigranologist