Paste Paper Paradise

The Main Library subject departments provide an extraordinary array of materials for a lifetime of exploration. For librarians, discovering the mysteries and histories behind the subjects we specialize in furthers our knowledge and expertise, as we guide our patrons in their own explorations. This is part of the joy we derive from working in the library.

One such interest for a certain librarian is the art and application of paste papers. An early form of decorated paper originating sometime in the sixteenth century, paste paper was used in the end papers and covers of books through the eighteenth century. Interest in the craft of paste papermaking resurged again in the twentieth century and continues to be practiced by makers in San Francisco and beyond. 

In her classic book on the subject, historian Rosamond Loring describes two distinct styles of paste papers: “those that were printed and those on which the design was made with freehand brush strokes or drawn with some tool directly on the colored, paste-covered surface of the paper.” (Loring, Decorated Book Papers, 4^th edition, 2007, p.65).

Developing an interest in a subject requires examples upon which to learn; a search of the Library collection is not only a requirement, but a serendipitous activity. It was a search of the Grabhorn Collection on the History of Printing & the Development of the Book a few years ago that resulted in the discovery of a lovely red printed paste paper. In an album of eighteenth century Italian decorated papers, this was the first paper to appear, followed by many more samples of paste papers, brocade, Dutch Gilt, and marbled papers. Why did this red printed paste paper stand out? It wasn’t long before the answer revealed itself. 

A faded pattern of this same design was discovered in another area of the library stacks. Probably Italian-made, it was used as the binding for Catalogo degli Ordini Equestri e Military (Rome, 1741), an illustrated catalog of military religious orders, documented by Filippo Buonanni (1638-1725), pupil of Athanasius Kircher, the last of the Renaissance men.  Kircher founded a remarkable collection of curiosities in Rome, recording the contents in published catalogs, two of which may be found in the Grabhorn Collection. After Kircher’s death in 1680, Buonanni became curator, but after his death, the collection declined; eventually it was merged into Rome’s Museo Nazionale. In some instances, Kircher and Buonanni’s books are the only visual evidence of what they collected. 

The eighteenth century album of Italian papers and Buonanni’s illustrated catalog are now on view through January 31, 2015, in the Skylight Gallery, South Salon, part of Celebrating 50 Years of Special Collections.