Differences between Parchment, Vellum and Paper | National Archives Technical Information Differences between Parchment, Vellum and Paper The term parchment is a general term for an animal skin which has been prepared for writing or printing. Parchment has been made for centuries, and is usually calf, goat, or sheep skin. The term vellum from the French veau refers to a parchment made from calf skin. The manufacture of parchment is quite involved. After the skin is removed from the animal and any hair or flesh is cleaned away, it is stretched on a wooden frame. While it is stretched, the parchment maker or parchminer scrapes the surface of the skin with a special curved knife. In order to create tension in the skin, scraping is alternated by wetting and drying the skin. The parchment is scraped, wetted, and dried several times to bring it to the right thickness and tautness. Sometimes a final finish is achieved using pumice as an abrasive followed by chalk in order to prepare the surface of the skin to accept ink.

Parchment has traditionally been used instead of paper for important documents such as religious texts, public laws, indentures, and land records as it has always been considered a strong and stable material. The five pages of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Articles of Confederation are written on parchment. The terms parchment and vellum are also used in the paper making industry. Parchment paper is made from cellulose fibers prepared from fir trees or plants such as cotton or flax. Paper can be made which mimics the thickness and smooth surface of parchment. The terms refer to the finish of the paper and should not be relied upon as an indicator of its long term stability. This page was last reviewed on August 15, 2016. Vellum And Parchment. The History Of Its Use. The History Of Vellum And Parchment According to the Roman Varro, Pliny's Natural History records, vellum and parchment were invented under the patronage of Eumenes of Pergamum, as a substitute for papyrus, which was temporarily not being exported from Alexandria, its only source.

Herodotus mentions writing on skins as common in his time, the 5th century BC; and in his Histories (v.58) he states that the Ionians of Asia Minor had been accustomed to give the name of skins (diphtherai) to books; this word was adapted by Hellenized Jews to describe scrolls. Parchment (pergamenum in Latin), however, derives its name from Pergamon, the city where it was perfected (via the French parchemin). In the 2nd century B.C. a great library was set up in Pergamon that rivalled the famous Library of Alexandria. As prices rose for papyrus and the reed used for making it was over-harvested towards local extinction in the two nomes of the Nile delta that produced it, Pergamon adapted by increasing use of vellum and parchment. Writing on prepared animal skins had a long history, however. Some Egyptian Fourth Dynasty texts were written on vellum and parchment. Though the Assyrians and the Babylonians impressed their cuneiform on clay tablets, they also wrote on parchment and vellum from the 6th century BC onward.

Rabbinic culture equated the idea of a book with a parchment scroll. Early Islamic texts are also found on parchment. One sort of parchment is vellum, a word that is used loosely to mean parchment, and especially to mean a fine skin, but more strictly refers to skins made from calfskin (although goatskin can be as fine in quality). The words vellum and veal come from Latin vitulus, meaning calf, or its diminutive vitellus. In the Middle Ages, calfskin and split sheepskin were the most common materials for making parchment in England and France, while goatskin was more common in Italy. Other skins such as those from large animals such as horse and smaller animals such as squirrel and rabbit were also used. Whether uterine vellum (vellum made from aborted calf fetuses) was ever really used during the medieval period is still a matter of great controversy. There was a short period during the introduction of printing where parchment and paper were used interchangeably: although most copies of the Gutenberg Bible are on paper, some were printed on animal skins.

In 1490, Johannes Trithemius preferred the older methods, because "handwriting placed on skin will be able to endure a thousand years. But how long will printing last, which is dependent on paper? For if ...it lasts for two hundred years that is a long time." In the later Middle Ages, the use of animal skins was largely replaced by paper. New techniques in paper milling allowed it to be much cheaper and more abundant than parchment. With the advent of printing in the later fifteenth century, the demands of printers far exceeded the supply of vellum and parchment. The heyday of parchment use was during the medieval period, but there has been a growing revival of its use among contemporary artists since the late 20th century. Although it never stopped being used (primarily for governmental documents and diplomas) it had ceased to be a primary choice for artist's supports by the end of 15th century Renaissance. This was partly due to its expense and partly due to its unusual working properties. Vellum and parchment consists mostly of collagen. When the water in paint media touches parchment's surface, the collagen melts slightly, forming a raised bed for the paint, a quality highly prized by some artists.

It is also extremely affected by its environment and changes in humidity, which can cause buckling. Some contemporary artists also prize this quality, noting that the skin seems alive and like an active participant in making the artwork. To support the needs of the revival of use by artists, a revival in the art of making individual skins is also underway. Handmade skins are usually better prepared for artists and have fewer oily spots which can cause long-term cracking of paint than mass-produced parchment. Mass-produced parchment is usually made for lamp shades, furniture, or other interior design purposes. The radiocarbon dating techniques that are used on papyrus can be applied to animal skins as well. They do not date the age of the writing but the preparation of the skin itself. However, radiocarbon dating can often be used on the inks that make up the writing, since many of them contain organic compounds such as plant leachings, soot, and wine. Manufacture of vellum & parchment Parchment is prepared from pelt, i.e., wet, unhaired, and limed skin, simply by drying at ordinary temperatures under tension, most commonly on a wooden frame known as a stretching frame.

After being flayed, the skin is soaked in water for about 1 day. This removes blood and grime from the skin and prepares it for a dehairing liquor. The dehairing liquor was originally made of rotted, or fermented, vegetable matter, like beer or other liquors, but by the Middle Ages an unhairing bath included lime. Today, the lime solution is occasionally sharpened by the use of sodium sulfide. The liquor bath would have been in wooden or stone vats and the hides stirred with a long wooden pole to avoid contact with the alkaline solution. Sometimes the skins would stay in the unhairing bath for 8 or more days depending how concentrated and how warm the solution was kept—unhairing could take up to twice as long in winter. The vat was stirred two or three times a day to ensure the solution's deep and uniform penetration. Replacing the lime water bath also sped the process up. However, if the skins were soaked in the liquor too long, they would be weakened and not able to stand the stretching required for parchment. After soaking in water to make the skins workable, the skins were placed on a stretching frame. A simple frame with nails would work well in stretching the pelts.

The skins could be attached by wrapping small, smooth rocks in the skins with rope or leather strips. Both sides would be left open to the air so they could be scraped with a sharp, semi-lunar knife to remove the last of the hair and get the skin to the right thickness. The skins, which were made almost entirely of collagen, would form a natural glue while drying and once taken off the frame they would keep their form. The stretching allowed the fibres to become aligned running parallel to the grain. Vellum And Parchment treatments To make the parchment more aesthetically pleasing or more suitable for the scribes, special treatments were used. According to Reed there were a variety of these treatments. Rubbing pumice powder into the flesh side of parchment while it was still wet on the frame was used to make it smooth so inks would penetrate deep into the fibres. Powders and pastes of calcium compounds were also used to help remove grease so the ink would not run. To make the parchment smooth and white, thin pastes (starchgrain or staunchgrain) of lime, flour, egg whites and milk were rubbed into the skins.

Meliora di Curci in her paper "The History and Technology of Parchment Making" notes that parchment was not always white. "Cennini, a 15th century craftsman provides recipes to tint vellum and parchment a variety of colours including purple, indigo, green, red and peach." The Early medieval Codex Argenteus and Codex Vercellensis, the Stockholm Codex Aureus and the Codex Brixianus give a range of luxuriously produced manuscripts all on purple vellum, in imitation of Byzantine examples, like the Rossano Gospels, Sinope Gospels and the Vienna Genesis, which at least at one time are believed to have been reserved for Imperial commissions. During the seventh through the ninth centuries, many earlier parchment manuscripts were scrubbed and scoured to be ready for rewriting, and often the earlier writing can still be read. These recycled parchments are called palimpsests. Later, more thorough techniques of scouring the surface irretrievably lost the earlier text. Use of vellum in bookbinding Vellum was commonly used in bookbinding. It could be used to cover a wooden or cardboard core or alone without any backing.

Many vellum bindings are simple and undecorated. Vellum was often used to cover less-valuable or common books. However, it could be decorated in a number of ways. Blind stamping or impressing a design into wet vellum (or leather) with a hot punch or roller was a common way of decorating vellum bound books. Sometimes it (or the designs) was also gilded. One decorative technique, invented in the late 18th century, involved the use of very thin and transparent vellum. A scenic picture, coat of arms, portrait, or other design would be painted on the underside of the transparent vellum. This protected the painting from smudging or damage from handling. The binding would also be decorated with blind stamped and gilded decorations. This type of binding, named after the family of booksellers/binders that created and sold them, is known as a 'Halifax' binding. Because vellum was expensive, it was not uncommon for old manuscript pages to be reused to make bindings. A number of valuable and important manuscripts have been recovered from old bindings.

Limp binding is a bookbinding method in which the book has flexible cloth, leather, vellum, or (rarely) paper sides. When the sides of the book are made of vellum, the bookbinding method is also known as limp vellum. The cover is made with a single piece of vellum or alternative material, folded around the text block, the front and back covers being folded double. The quires are sewn onto cords such as alum-tawed thongs and the sewing supports would be laced into the vellum cover. The thongs would also often be used at the fore edge of the covers to create a closure or tie. In limp binding the covering material is not stiffened by thick boards, although paste-downs, if used, provide some stiffness; some limp bindings are only adhered to the back of the book. Limp vellum bindings for commonplace books were being produced at least as early as the 14th century and probably earlier, but it was not usually commonly until the 16th and 17th centuries. Its usage subsequently declined until "revived by the private presses near the end of the 19th century.

So there we have it, vellum and parchment have been used since the earliest times, and still finds use today amongst artists, scribes and bookbinders. Though now costly to produce, it remains one of the most durable of library materials. Document Restoration for Vellum and Parchment - Polygon In case of emergency – Call 1-800-422-6379 (24hr service) Blog – Document Recovery Document Restoration for Vellum and Parchment Home / Blog / Document Restoration for Vellum and Parchment Most people have heard the terms vellum and parchment, but few know that these writing surfaces were originally made of animal skin. Parchment was originally any animal skin that had been readied for writing, while vellum referred specifically to “paper” made from calfskin. (Calf in Latin is vitulus.) Just as calfskin leather is categorized as a superior form of leather, vellum is the highest quality of parchment. Some steps in leather and parchment/vellum preparation are the same (removing hair, for instance), while others are unique. Leather is tanned and limed, while parchment is just limed.

This means parchment often reacts to changes in humidity and is not waterproof. Business disaster recovery companies must be cognizant of these properties when providing parchment and vellum document restoration, as explained below. Both parchment and vellum are prepared by removing skin from hair; stretching skin against a frame; and alternating between scraping, wetting and drying to create a smooth, durable writing surface. These materials were known to be durable, so they were reserved for the most important documents. The United States Constitution is written on parchment, for instance. Parchment and Vellum Repair Although writers in the Middle Ages praised parchment and vellum as capable of lasting a thousand years, damage sometimes occurred. Repairing tears. Traditionally, vellum and parchment document restoration involved hand stitching any tears. Today, gelatin or other animal-based products are often used to mend tears in parchment and vellum. Flattening curls and creases. If the entire document requires flattening, document restoration experts may choose to place the document in a humidity chamber. Once the document has been thoroughly moistened, clips may be used to stretch if out.

An even safer method is to flatten the document by hand and then attach it to a suction table with polyester strips, which are easy to remove once the document has dried. When only one or two creases must be removed, an isopropyl alcohol mixture may be applied with a cotton swab directly to creases. Next, the business disaster recovery professional would pull on either side of the crease to gently flatten it by hand. Replacing missing areas, or infilling. This most extreme form of parchment and vellum damage is also the trickiest to repair. Ragged edges and holes may be “infilled” with ground-up animal hide, silk cloth or Japanese paper inserts. Suction tables are often used for infilling as well. Don’ts for Repairing Vellum and Parchment Vacuum freeze-drying should be avoided. Parchment will not stand up to this repair method. Avoid using starch paste, which creates a humidity imbalance and changes the structure of nearby parchment or vellum. The business disaster recovery experts at Polygon provide top-of-the-line parchment and vellum repair. Libraries and museums rely on our document restoration services to repair sensitive, significant documents.

Unlike many business disaster recovery companies, we are equipped to provide both vacuum freeze drying (best for pulp-based paper) and desiccant drying (best for vellum and parchment). In addition to assisting libraries and museums that have already experienced a disaster, Polygon helps these institutions prepare by cataloging delicate documents; noting insurance carriers; and taking other steps to ensure fast, effective document restoration. Real Parchment - PaganPath PaganPath - Real Parchment When a spell instructs the Witch to inscribe something on parchment, most Witches use a fine writing paper such as the type used for calligraphy. However, the word parchment originally referred to the skin of a lamb, sheep, goat, young calf, or other animal, that was specially prepared for writing. This is true parchment or real parchment. Vellum is a word generally used interchangably with real parchment. However, vellum refers to a particularly fine type of parchment, usually made from the skin of a very young animal, especially calfskin, and is often rendered clear and white. Parchment and vellum both make excellent book binding materials for their strength and longevity, and for their low elasticity. Parchment was considered a superior writing surface.

Dried ink could be scraped off with a parchment knife, and it was durable enough to be handled repeatedly. However, it continues to be an expensive item. Many Witches feel that it is wrong to use the skin of an animal, others feel it is wrong to cut down a tree. Either way, real parchment can still be found, but fine paper works just as well and does cost less. We prefer to make our own paper and incorporate herbs, resins and even ground gemstones into the paper to add energy to magickal workings. The use of parchment in older spells will clue an observant Witch in on the spell's origins. Although ancient Greeks used parchment, it is unlikely that European Witches used it in their folk-type magick . Many Witches were illiterate, and parchment would be costly or laborious to make. This may give you some clues that a spell which requires parchment may have ceremonial magick , Judeo-Christian, or Kabbalah elements in it. The use of brown ink on parchment (real parchment, or ecru colored parchment paper) makes a nice effect for framed certificates or sigils and mandallas. To the right is pictured a parchment knife.

It is also known as a scribe's knife, these were used by scribes to both help hold down the parchment, and to scrape any writing errors off of the parchment. After scraping, the parchment would be polished with a stone or other hard object so that any new writing would not "bleed" into the paper. This example dates from between 1800 to 1850, and has an ivory handle with a steel blade. Parchment is costly, running about $35 per square foot and up. Parchment style paper is much more affordable at about 25¢ a sheet or less. References & Resources: An online search will yield many results for parchment, usually the paper type. If you are looking for real parchment, check out Pergamena . They also carry fine book binding leathers. Parchment vs Vellum - What's the difference? | the-difference-between.com Parchment vs Vellum - What's the difference?

As nouns the difference between parchment and vellum is that parchment is a material, made from the polished skin of a calf, sheep, goat or other animal, used like paper for writing while vellum is a type of parchment paper made from the skin of a lamb, baby goat, or calf. History of Vellum - Origin and Facts about Vellum History of Vellum Vellum History - Facts and Origin of Vellum Vellum is a type of parchment, made only from thin calf skin. Since its first creation in the time when Europe did not have access to the cellulose-based paper that originated in ancient China, it was regarded as the finest material for writing notes, books, scrolls and similar documents. Even though the original vellum was created only from calf skin, the term later started describing any high grade parchment that was manufactured from any type of animal skin. The reasons why vellum was considered such highly was because of its durability and smoothness that enables not only easy writing, but also very precise drawing and painting. Originally used in Ancient Rome, vellum became staple of the European bookmaking for centuries, even managing to survive for a while after arrival of cellulose-based paper.

The famous first books that Gutenberg made with his typing machine were printed on both modern paper and traditional vellum skins. This was done so because people did not know how durable this new paper is, electing to make sure they have vellum copies made that could survive for thousand years if stored properly. The process of vellum creation was a hard one, but it represented the only reliable source of writing materials in Europe for thousand years. Process started with collecting skin from newborn or young animals, its cleaning, bleaching, stretching (alternating drying and wetting to increase tension), scraping of skin with crescent-shaped knife, abrading surface with pumice, and finally applying chalk or lime so that surface of vellum would accept ink. Today, vellum is still used, most often by artists or by some governments who still keep tradition of writing important declaration on high-end vellum parchment (British Parlament for example). Vellum is also used in several instruments, most notably banjo. © 2017 - History of Paper | Contact Parchment, Medieval Manuscript Manual II. Materials and Techniques of Manuscript Production Credits 1. Parchment Parchment is made from the skin of an animal.

The process of transforming the animal skin into a clean white material suitable for writing medieval manuscripts was the task of the percamenarius, the parchment-maker or parchmenter . In the late Middle Ages parchment-makers took their place among the artisans and tradesmen of every town. In normal usage, the terms parchment and vellurri are interchangeable. The word parchment, usually pergamenum in medieval Latin, derives from the name of the city of Pergamum whose ancient King Eumenes is said by Pliny to have invented it in the second century BC during a trade blockade on papyrus . The word vellum has the same origin as veal or veau in French, in other words, calf, vitellus in Latin, and is strictly the writing material made from cow skin. But except with magnification and a good knowledge of dermatology it is practically impossible to tell the prepared skin of one animal from another. The preparation of parchment is a slow and complicated process. Early craftsmen's manuals emphasise that the selection of good skins is crucial. Medieval farm animals probably suffered from diseases and ticks, and these can leave unacceptable flaws on the skin of the flayed animal.

A parchmenter , looking over available skins in the abattoir, would probably also have to consider the colour of the wool or hair as this will be reflected on the final surface of the parchment: white sheep or cows will tend to produce white parchment, and the shadowy brown patterns which are one of the aesthetically pleasing features of parchment may often be echoes of brindled cows or piebald goats. First of all the parchmenter has to wash a skin in cold clear running water for a day and a night according to one recipe or simply 'till it is clean enough', according to another. As the skin begins to rot, the hair naturally falls out. In hot countries the damp skins may have been laid out in the sun to allow this to take place. Usually, however, the process of loosening the hair in parchmentmaking is artificially induced by soaking the skins in wooden or stone vats in a solution of lime and water for between about three to ten days, stirring the vats several times a day with a wooden pole. One by one, the wet slippery skins are taken out and draped hair side out over a great curved upright shield of wood.

The parchment-maker scrapes away the hair with a long curved knife with a wooden handle at each end. The bare skin is revealed underneath, looking pink where the animal's hair was white and paler where it was brown. Where possible the outer film is scraped away too. This surface where the hair has been is known as the grain side of the parchment. The de-haired and tidied-up pelt is then once more rinsed for two further days in fresh water to clear it of the lime. In the second phase of the process the skin is actually made into parchment . It centres around the drying of the skin while it is stretched on a frame. The pelt, floppy and wet from its last rinse, is suspended spread-eagled in a wooden frame. This frame can be hoop-shaped or more-or-less rectangular. The skin cannot be nailed to the frame because it shrinks during the drying process and the edges would tear away (and in any case the frames are used over and over again and would become unserviceable if riddled with nail holes) and so instead the parchmenter suspends the skin by strings attached to adjustable pegs in the frame.

Every few centimetres around the edge of the skin the parchment-maker pushes little pebbles or smooth stones into the soft border, folding them in to form knobs which are then looped around and secured with cord. The other end of the cord is then anchored into the slot of a revolving peg in the frame. One by one these knobs and strings are lashed around the edge until the whole skin resembles a vertical trampoline, and the pegs are turned to pull the skin. As it stretches, any tiny gashes or cuts accidentally made in the flaying or de-hairing will be pulled out into circular or oval holes. It is not uncommon to see such holes in pages or margins of medieval manuscripts. If the parchmenter notices cuts in time they can be stitched up with thread to stop their expansion into holes; sometimes in pages of manuscripts one sees holes with stitch marks around their edges, evidently indicating that cuts were mended but nevertheless split their sewing and opened up again under pressure. The skin is now tight and rubbery but still wet. The parchment-maker keeps it wet initially by ladling on scoops of hot water. He then begins scraping vigorously at the skin using a curved knife with a central handle.

An ordinary knife would have a sharp corner and so could also easily cut the tight surface. The crescent-shaped knife was called a lunellum and occurs in medieval pictures of parchment-makers as their most recognisable tool, and is used to give both surfaces a really thorough scraping, especially the flesh side of the skin. As the work progresses the parchmenter is constantly tightening the pegs and tapping them with a hammer to keep them fixed. Then the skin is allowed to dry on the frame and it shrinks and becomes tighter still as it does so. When it is all dry, the scraping and shaving begins again. The skin is now as tight as a new drum and the noise in the workshop of the metal knife on the surface is considerable. In the early monastic period of manuscript production parchment was often quite thick, but by the thirteenth century it was being planed away to an almost tissue thinness. The grain side where the hair had once been has to be scraped away especially at this final stage to remove the glassy shine unsatisfactory as a writing surface. Now the pegs can be undone. The dry thin opaque parchment is released and can be rolled up and stored or taken to be sold.

Probably when medieval scribes or booksellers bought vellum from a parchmenter it was like this, not yet buffed up and rubbed with chalk in preparation for the actual writing. Prices of parchment of course varied greatly, but sheets were mostly sold by the dozen. Parchment is extraordinarily durable, far more so than leather, for instance. It can last for a thousand years, or more, in perfect condition. Good parchment is soft and thin and velvety, and folds easily. The grain side of the sheet, where the hair once was, is usually darker in colour, creamy or yellower (especially with sheep parchment) or brownish grey with goat parchment. Chris_Paschke_Mounting_Article_Archive_and_Reference_Library:_Mounting_Vellum_and_Parchment ï¿½ï¿½ February 1999 For years there have been assorted techniques promoted for the mounting of 'sheepskins' and generally there is more than one way to skin a cat.ï¿½ But in order to better understand the positives and negatives of attempting to mount parchment we need to first examine the origin and differences of this tricky animal.

HISTORY The use of vellum animal skins for recording history has long been an accepted practice, and skins have survived from as early as Egypt 2500 BC.ï¿½ Calf, goat and sheep were normally used, but skins of gazelle, antelope, stag and ostrich have been uncovered and preserved.ï¿½ Vellum is the proper name given for any high quality animal skin excluding sheep or lamb.ï¿½ Though all writing skins are often referred to as 'parchment', the only true parchment comes from sheep. In ancient times the preparation of skins for writing was crude.ï¿½ï¿½ Archbishop Hildeberg of Tours in the 11th century tells that prior to writing on skin the scribe cleaned remains of fat and other impurities with a razor then pumiced it with a stone to smooth and remove tendon lines.ï¿½ On the other hand, it was said that Cicero had an extensive library of parchment in which there existed a parchment so fine that the whole story of The Iliad was written upon it and fitted into a nutshell.

PARCHMENT IS SHEEPSKIN Genuine sheepskin parchment is used for printing, writing and bookbinding whenever excellence or distinction is desired.ï¿½ This is the reason many ivy league universities continue to produce diplomas on original sheepskin instead of artificial parchment or fine grade printing paper.

ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï

¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ The skins from sheep are whiter and oilier than vellum.ï¿½ To prepare them sheepskins are first pickled for storage then in large batches are depickled, scraped, limed, then finally squeezed to remove moisture.ï¿½ Skins are then tied to a wooden frame at 21 points around the edge of the skin, and allowed to dry 5-6 days

.ï¿½ The skins are then scraped (for the second and third times), degreased, shaved, pumiced, purified, and whitened, all by hand.ï¿½ Then they are set aside to dry slowly to ensure a flat even skin.ï¿½ Dried skins are cut from the wooden frame for finishing and/or cutting into smaller pieces.

VELLUM Though the process for preparing vellum is similar to sheepskin, while sheepskins are sorted and selected after dewooling, calfskins and goatskins are selected prior to dehairing.ï¿½ After the hair has been removed, there is a long liming process lasting up to four weeks.ï¿½ Shaving of vellums takes much longer and is more difficult, requiring much greater skill for it is easy to remove too much or too little of the skin reducing its value. New skins are generally stored rolled and reverse rolling will lie them flat.ï¿½ Most vellums are sold as whole skins unlike sheepskin parchment which is also available in rectangular shapes.ï¿½ Vellums are generally creamy in color and often showcase the veining of the animal, while parchment is whiter and has a much smoother surface.ï¿½ï¿½ Unlike paper, the preparation of natural animal skin cannot be mechanized.

PARCHMENT AND VELLUM TODAY Though the use of animal skins appears to be more limited to university diplomas in the United States, in other parts of the world it is extensively used for everything from wedding invitations to royal proclamations (photo 1).ï¿½ Skins are sought after for their longevity because of their complete lack of acidity due to the cleaning and purification processes.ï¿½ No two skins are truly alike.ï¿½ This in turn is part of their natural beauty and the basis for framing them true to their nature...unmounted.ï¿½ï¿½ Fully mounting a piece of parchment or vellum using any process restricts it from the natural expansion and contraction it craves through variations in relative humidity.ï¿½ï¿½ Preservationally, a skin document or diploma should be hinged or conservationally mounted.ï¿½ If a document is slightly buckled it is the nature of the beast and is truly a part of the total effect and appearance, it should be allowed to thrive.

FLATTENING FOR CONSERVATION HANDLINGï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ If a cracked, wrinkled, or rolled document has been brought in and needs to be made flat, the best advice for the framer is to be very careful about offering to mount it at all.ï¿½ï¿½ Moistening and flattening procedures on this type of project often should be contracted to a book or paper conservator in your area.ï¿½ Relaxing and flattening a badly damaged document may involve soaking in water then slowly drying between Pellon and blotters beneath a weight.ï¿½ If it has become dry and brittle forcing it flat could crack it. There are many areas that require testing prior to submerging any skin document, such as testing for ink and paint permanence, or wax seals.ï¿½ Also skins will react differently depending upon what animal they are but more so how they were prepared for use in the first place.

For help in locating a conservator in your area contact the American Institute for the Conservation of Historical and Artistic Works, 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 340, Washington, D.C. 20036. FLATTENING WITH MOISTURE AND PRESSURE Since vellums are originally dried on frames much like stretcher bars, when dampened they will cockle and warp, and attempt to revert to the original shape of the animal as they dry (if left to dry under no restraints).ï¿½ So to reflatten vellum, it must be dampened and dried under tension or pressure, such as plate glass weights (photo 2).ï¿½ï¿½ But even flattened skins will buckle again with increased relative moisture.

Simple flattening of a slightly cockled or warped piece is very easy to do by a framer.ï¿½ Skins may be redampened to relax them in an attempt to reflatten prior to framing.ï¿½ Tests should still be done on the document prior to dampening to determine the permanence of the inks and pigments used.ï¿½ With a dampened Q-tip, touch each individual color lightly to check for bleeding or lifting of color.ï¿½ A humidifier is a great way to moisten a document.ï¿½ A makeshift humidifier may be made with two plastic garbage tanks, the larger one having a lid.ï¿½ Place the smaller in the larger and surround it with a moat of water, keep the smaller inner one dry.ï¿½ Place the document in the dry tub and close the lid.ï¿½ It will relax as it absorbs the moisture in the tank.

Heavily dampening parchment will both effect the surface finish and may shrink the skin, about 5% overall (photo 3).ï¿½ To lessen these dramatic effects, use the lightly dampened blotter method by pressing it to the skin for just a few seconds.ï¿½ Then press the parchment between clean, dry blotters, placing a sheet of Pellon between the skin and the blotter, under even weight like that of a closed (not locked) cold mechanical press or piece of plate glass large enough to cover the entire piece.

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½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ A 50/50 solution of alcohol and distilled water may also be used during the dampening process, and dampening may be done from the back of the document with a cotton ball, squeezed sponge, or mist bottle.ï¿½ Another version is transferring moisture into the skin by moistening a blotter and then placing it in contact with the back of the skin, but be careful this can bond to the document if left too long.

Change the blotters every 1/2 hour if very soaked, 4 hours if misted, until completely dry.ï¿½ Do not leave damp blotters in contact for extended periods to the skin as it promotes mold growth.ï¿½ Most skins will water stain (some worse than others) so spot dampening should always be avoided and parchment will definitely want to curl. Parchment is much more delicate than vellum and reacts much more violently when mishandled.ï¿½ Predictability is the key, always know what will happen prior to doing anything.ï¿½ Many applications (ie: moisture and heat) individually are quite safe, but when applied in collaboration can be deadly to that "one-of-a-kind" sheepskin ledger page from 1852 (again, photo 3).

IF YOU MUST MOUNT Occasionally the customer will dogmatically announce they want it flat, regardless of its natural tendency to buckle through moisture expansion.ï¿½ Although mounting is often possible, it should be discouraged.ï¿½ These are often one of a kind collectibles or originals and should be treated as such.ï¿½ Documents, certificates and diplomas should be treated in the same manner as a fine art original.ï¿½ Museum mounting using all the standard conservation methods of hinging with wheat starch and Japanese hinges on only acid-free 4-ply boards should always be stressed.ï¿½ Slight buckling of a skin with natural temperature and humidity changes truly is the nature of the beast.

Other options for mounting depending on the skins include: stretching over coated bars or acid-free museum board and affixing to the back; wet mounting with adhesives specified for skins; and dry mounting.ï¿½ Additional heat applications involve Lamin-all (a heat setting wet glue) and Parchweld.ï¿½ Both of these last two methods involves a combination of taping, heat and pressure.ï¿½ Even when vellum is stretched like canvas it will cockle as time passes and the natural effects of the above mentioned temperature and humidity tighten and relax it.ï¿½ Of course the ideal environment is 60-70F with 50% relative humidity. HEAT APPLICATIONS But if the plunge is taken and the risks are all understood, then often parchment may be mounted using many methods.ï¿½ None will be preservation, or reversible. When a dogmatic client pursues the more static and flat look, dry mounting fully dried skins with low temperature, removable, acid-free tissues is quite simple and effectively successful.ï¿½ Acceptable dry mount tissues include BufferMount, TM-4, Drychival or Acid Free Mounting Adhesive.

Vellum will notoriously tolerate much greater temperature and moisture abuse than parchment.ï¿½ Applying heat alone to skins will not radically effect them as long as it is not too hot.ï¿½ Tests show that temperatures of 180F for up to 5 minutes will not do damage to either vellum or parchment samples, although a tendency toward brittleness does begin to occur.ï¿½ High temperatures of over 200F will be asking for trouble, for parchment could literally be fried, it is a real skin.ï¿½ Care should always be taken when applying heat of any kind, though 160F for 3 minutes to set any low temperature tissue is very safe (photo 2, sheepskin onto BufferMount).ï¿½ A combination of heat and pressure while damp will slightly shrink most vellum (almost undetectably), while it may do major damage to parchment (photo 3).ï¿½ Make certain any skin having been dampened to flatten is totally dry and clean of all other adhesives prior to mounting to avoid any irreversible damage.ï¿½ Use your common sense, vellum and parchment are both natural animal skins and will readily react to other natural elements safely, when

 adding extremes of heat (an unnatural element) the other elements need to be totally under control.

Both stretched and mounted versions of presentation are unnatural to vellum and parchment, for it assumes an inconsistent character from the true natural look.ï¿½ If archivally hinged, skins should be placed 1/8" from the glazing for room to breathe, which can easily be achieved by using multiple neutral pH window mats (this pressure against the edges of the vellum will also minimize overall buckling.ï¿½ Once framed these pieces of fine art should be hung in a dry location, preferably out of direct sunlight.ï¿½ Taken well care of, these archivally preserved masterpieces will last many future generations. END Framing Vellum or Animal Skin | Museum Framing Framing Vellum or Animal Skin By Rick | Published May 1, 2012 Vellum, also known in general circles as parchment, is animal skin that has been used for years for writing or printing due to its durability and longevity. Vellum in Latin, is vitulinum meaning “made from calf”, hence calfskin. Manufacturing and preparing vellum is a lengthy tedious process which involves splitting from the animal, washing and drying with lime or other solvents.

Vellum is not considered leather, as leather involves a tanning process as it is used for different purposes. Depending on the condition of the skin and the animal, one can see a certain membrane running through the vellum. Almost like a fingerprint, it is a distinct look and not always the same. For many centuries, Vellum has been used as land indentures, official documents and for other important purposes. The author has framed vellum documents lasting for many centuries. Since vellum is a skin, it does breathe in a way that it expands and contracts and can vary depending on several factors, mainly being humidity fluctuations. Vellum is very sensitive to moisture and can create problems if too much exposure occurs. Too little humidity can cause a brittleness and too much can cause fungus or mold to grow. At this point a professional conservator needs to be contacted to take care of these issues. All too often, I have seen framers try to “fix” a problem, only to make it worse, and in some cases, unsalvageable. Though vellum is not used much in the present time, it was very popular for older diplomas and documents, as well as collectible documents as mentioned above.

For framing, though I have seen strong mounting or mesh fabric, we prefer a method that involves little contact or obstruction with the vellum, especially since collectors want little contact with their material. We would first examine the condition. If it is in excellent condition and lightweight, we would used archival mounting corners or strips, Mylar or 2 ply rag. When applying, leave enough space in the application to allow the necessary expansion and contraction without the vellum slipping out of the mount. Depending on size, I would recommend at least 1/8? to 1/4? (1/3 cm. to 2/3 cm.) . Maybe more for larger pieces. If you place a cotton rag mat over the vellum edges, this will give it more support. I would also recommend a double 4 ply rag mat or single 8 ply rag mat to give it depth from the glazing (glass or acrylic). And, on this subject, I would use acrylic as it is less of a conductor of condensation. Another preferred way is encapsulation in Mylar. This is where the vellum is placed between 2 sheets of polyester (Mylar) and sealed at the edges. NOT LAMINATED!

There is a difference. Sealing is done where the outer edges of the Mylar, beyond the document, is sealed, but accessibility to the document is reversible and can be removed without any problem. Lamination is heat melding the plastic into the vellum, a complete disaster and will cause permanent damage to the vellum. For vellum in poorer condition. This can include vellum with mold, fungus, certain amount of buckling or other condition problems, I would recommend seeing a conservator to remedy any issues. You do not want to frame or mount vellum containing problems in the frame as it would “trap” it and allow the problem to grow overtime. Same is true with buckling. This can be the result of improper storage or a certain amount of accumulated moisture over time. Again, seek a trained expert in restoration to examine what can be done about this. Vellum may be different form other forms of known paper or writing tablets, but it does not have to be difficult for framing. Further Reading...

Question: Vellum, a type of parchment, was originally made from the skin of which animal?
Answer: Calf