Sheep vellum
Revision as of 13:15, 27 April 2013 by (username removed)
Description
A fine, white parchment made from untanned sheepskin. Skins for vellum typically come from newborn or stillborn animals. Vellum is made by cleaning, dehairing, scraping and stretching the skin until a smooth, thin semitransparent page is obtained. The final smoothing step involves polishing with pumice or talc to create a smooth writing surface. Vellum is also made from calfskin and goatskin.
Synonyms and Related Terms
vitela (Esp.)
Authority
- Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982