Sheep vellum
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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.)
Sources Checked for Data in Record
- Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982