Rag paper

Lithograph on rag paper
MFA# 1970.515

Description

High quality, durable paper containing at least 25 % Rag content. Rag paper was the only type of paper produced in Europe prior to the 19th century. It was made from textile scraps, old fabric, rope, and nets. Currently, only a small amount of rag paper is made and it may contain up to 35% Cotton linters. Rag paper is used for artists' papers, currency, ledgers, maps, blueprints, and writing paper.

Synonyms and Related Terms

lompenpapier (Ned.); papier de chiffon (Fr.); papier chiffons (Fr.); Hadernpapier (Deut.); Lumpenpapier (Deut.); carta di stracci (It.); papel de tela (Esp.); lumppapper (Sven.)

Additional Images

• 

  Cotton rag paper pulp stained with Graff "C" stain

• 

  Flax paper pulp stained with Graff "C" stain

Resources and Citations

• The Dictionary of Paper, American Paper Institute, New York, Fourth Edition, 1980

• E.J.LaBarre, Dictionary and Encyclopedia of Paper and Paper-making, Swets & Zeitlinger, Amsterdam, 1969

• Boise Cascade Paper Group, The Paper Handbook, Boise Cascade, Portland OR, 1989

• Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982

• Book and Paper Group, Paper Conservation Catalog, AIC, 1984, 1989

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000

• AMOL reCollections Glossary - http://amol.org.au/recollections/7/r/htm

• Multilingual Glossary for Art Librarians at http://www.ifla.org/VII/s30/pub/mgl.htm