Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-03-19
rAcIs ABOUT PAPER.



SONS cerning Its Origin.
81. have ralsed up the following facts
few musty tones, which we
,ro' tut will please numerous cores
lFn',' a,ts and prove as interesting to
p sa,a as it has been laborious FOR us to
lhon .h them. 1t is not known when
uu'' ,vas first made from linen rags,
par n whom we owe the invention.
no' p,5deaux is OF the opinion that
~, naner was brought from the East,
tnsn many OF the Oriental manu-
oeI It, are written upon it. Mabilon is
sI ~ tbe opinion that the invention be-
49,, y 10 the twelfth century. One OF
i W., Earliest specimens Of paper from
,ineo rags yet discovered is a docu-
ilr ~ with the seal preserved. bearing
aate A. D. 1889, signed by Adolphus,
1 camnt of Schaumburg. Casiri, how
s,ar asserts that there are in the Es-
s'sial a number of manuscripts, both
.,non cotton and linen paper, which
wore written prior to the thirteenth
aantury. The invention was early in
.sodnasd into England, for some acts
y ov;stence of John Cranden, Prior
- Ev made on linen paper, bear date
- me fourteenth year OF the reign OF
r,no Edward H., A. d. 1889; and jim the
T..tonian Library are said to be several
unit;ncs on this kind OF paper as early
- The wear 1885. Some twenty years
ano Mr.. Thomas Wright, in note TO
40 Iondon AHenguan, wrote: 81 have
m.de a little discovery, which, think,
III. he considered curious in the his
,orv of paper. | believe that the first
,races OF the use OF paper in Western
Enrope are found toward the end OF
tho twelfth century and we have no
reason to suppose that it was in use in
rrgIand until the thirteenth or the
beginning of the fourteenth. 1t is I'M
derstood to have been brought west
uara from Italy, where it was in use
earlier: and | believe that our word
naper-a corruption, of course, Of
panvrus-is considered to have been
narrowed, with the article itself. from
the French. saw years ago in Paris
i believe they belonged to the royal
collection Git was in the time of Louis
pbilippe)-a few OF the earliest docu-
merits on paper known, belonging to
Western Europe, in tlls period since
the Romans, which interested me much.
They consisted OF receipts, or rather.
bonds. for money borrowed from the
Jews in the time Of Occur de Lion,
given by chiefs who wore starting for
his crusade and, il | remember WELL
the paper resembled much that of the
thatit was of rather coarse texture. ii
would seem as if, in the West, its use at
this early period was known principally
among the Jews. Now am just pass
ing through the press an edition OF a
glossary of Latin and English-or, as
we are accustomed to call it, Anglo
Saxon-words OF, think, not later than
the middle of the tenth century. We
may safely look upon it as the English
1.-THE days of Athelstan: and in the part
Of which have just received the proof
find papyrus. paper. The word
paper does not occur in DIR. Bos-
worth's or any other Anglo Saxon
dictionary, but we have here evidence
that it was in use in our language ut a
very early period and there cannot be
doubt that we derive it from the An
glo-Saxon and have not taken it from
the French of the Middle Ages. But
this fact leads us to another, namely.
that our Anglo-Saxon forefathers, to
have the word in an Anglo-Saxon form
in their own language. must have been
pretty well acquainted with paper it.
self, and no doubt they found the
Roman paper in use on the island
when they came. 1t is fact, indeed.
which opens TO us several others.
equally new, in the social history oil
our Anglo-Saxon forefathers. ! need
hardly add that paper probably never
went entirely out of use in Western
Europe after the Roman times, and .
little research might still throw some
curious light upon its history during
the early Middle Ages. 1t certainly
was not supposed before that it might
be in use among the Anglo-Saxons. -
The Piper NIL