paper

paper. A material made from the pulp of wood or other fibrous substances, manufactured in thin sheets as a surface for writing, drawing, or printing. Paper was invented in China about 2,000 years ago and was first made in Europe in the 11th century, in Spain. Other European countries followed, and by the end of the 14th century France, southern Germany, Italy, and Switzerland had well-developed paper industries. The first record of a papermill in England dates from 1494. The growing availability of paper (in place of the much more expensive parchment) was a great stimulus to the development of drawing during the Renaissance. Until 1800 European paper was made entirely of rags pulped in water, and drawing paper of the best quality is still made by hand in the traditional way. Writing papers, less expensive drawing papers, and some book papers are machine-made of a mixture of cotton, hemp, esparto, and wood, with a good deal of china clay added to make them smooth and opaque, size to make them non-absorbent, and starch to make them stiff. Cheaper papers are machine-made wholly of wood. Oriental papers made of bamboo, rice straw, and mulberry bark are imported for artists' use.