


The Vellum would also be treated with a variety of different solutions to make it smoother, Whiter and to prevent the ink from running thus making the finished scripts more aesthetically pleasing.

#VELLUM PAPER SKIN#
Once the skin had been soaked and dehaired it would then be put onto a wooden stretching frame to stretch, smoothen and dry out the skin and prepare it to the correct thickness. The dehairing process could take up to a week, if not more depending on the concentration of the solution and other factors such as temperature. The skin would then have to be soaked in water for 24 hours to rid it of any dirt, grime and blood before it would be transferred to a solution made up of liquor from rotten and fermented vegetables, often included lime juice, in order to rid the skin of any hair. The manufacturing of Vellum was a lengthy process that started with the skinning of the calf. Whilst parchment generally referred to a material made from sheep and, occasionally, goat skin, Vellum was noted to be a finer quality product made specifically from calf skin instead, that has been dried and stretched into a strong, smooth and incredibly valuable writing material. Well, from historic times, Vellum was the term given to a parchment like product made from animal skin. We all have an idea in our heads about what we mean when we refer to a product as 'Vellum', however that can vary significantly amongst different companies and specialists. The word 'Vellum' is a common term used regularly amongst paper and card specialists, however it doesn't often seem to refer to any specific type of paper.
