Timothy Barrett, a hand-papermaker who teaches at the University of Iowa’s Center for the Book, is producing what some consider “the world’s most perfect paper” from the bark of the kozo, a relative of the common mulberry. “This is pretty much how it was done for 1800 years,” Barrett says. “By hand. One sheet at a time.”
Among other applications, Barrett’s paper is used to mend treasures like musical scores penned by Mozart. Barrett is well worth reading about on his own, but “Can a Papermaker Help to Save Civilization?” by Mark Levine in The New York Times magazine also works in a capsule history of papermaking, from its Chinese origins through the 20th century. Aficionados of handmade papers won’t want to miss this article, or the accompanying photo gallery by Samantha Contis. [TB]
