Paper
Nuremberg Chronicle
Papermaking has traditionally been traced to China about AD 105, when Cai Lun, an official attached to the Imperial court during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), created a sheet of paper using mulberry and other bast fibres along with fishnets, old rags, and hemp waste.
While paper used for wrapping and padding was used in China since the 2nd century BC, paper used as a writing medium only became widespread by the 3rd century. By the 6th century in China, sheets of paper were beginning to be used for toilet paper as well. During the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) paper was folded and sewn into square bags to preserve the flavor of tea. The Song Dynasty (960–1279) that followed was the first government to issue paper currency.
An important development was the mechanization of paper manufacture by medieval papermakers. The introduction of water-powered paper mills, the first certain evidence of which dates to 1282, allowed for a massive expansion of production and replaced the laborious handcraft characteristic of both Chinese and Muslim papermaking. Papermaking centres began to multiply in the late 13th century in Italy, reducing the price of paper to one sixth of parchment and then falling further.
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Famous quotes containing the word paper:
“It is to be noted that when any part of this paper appears dull there is a design in it.”
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)
“The paper boy curses the dog through the latched screen door.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Gentleman. A man who buys two of the same morning paper from the doorman of his favorite nightclub when he leaves with his girl.”
—Marlene Dietrich (1904–1992)