THE HISTORY OF PAPER IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION
TERESA RICE

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
LIS 7700
PROFESSOR MICHAEL CARPENTER, PH.D.
SPRING SEMESTER 2004

"It was paper, however, that gave printing its real impetus, for had the expensive parchment been the only material available the craft of printing could never have developed."1

The Papermaker

Figure 1 The Paper Maker2

The history of paper in western civilization is a modest fraction of an extensive and evolving development whereby civilizations innovate ways in which to record and communicate within its society. Paper itself has been in use by a variety of different cultures for almost two thousand years, yet paper was not commonly used in Europe until emerging technological advances, namely the printing press, of the middle fifteenth century created a need and a market. Combined with the printing press, the increase of literacy in society, and the public demand for materials printed in vernacular languages necessitated that a source of affordable material be found and processes adapted by which to accommodate the increasing print market. Due to technological advances and innovations, paper was eventually chosen as the primary material used for printing in western civilization and the publishing industry as we know it today emerged.

To truly understand the history of paper in western civilization, it is necessary to understand the gradual process of technological development. Each factor of technological change is connected and directly affects other elements such that when one process changes, irrevocable changes occur in surrounding processes. Thus, technological change drives the need for new and better products and means of production, which in turn creates new technological changes.3 By creating a historical framework of publishing through time, the development of how paper became the chosen material for printing in Europe is understood.

1 Hunter, Dard. Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943: 18.

2 "The Paper Maker as Jost Amman Drew Him in 1568," found on the first leaf verso, Blum, Andre, On the Origin of Paper. (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1934), page not numbered.

3 Cohen using the U.S. paper industry during 1915-1940 argues a strong case for technology driving advancement in industry. "Technology Change as Historical Process: The Case of the U.S. Pulp and Paper Industry, 1915-1940," The Journal of Economic History. (September 1984): 777.

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