03-08-2018, 06:22 PM
I have noticed that some of the major centers were using paper by the late 1300s (a few even had it by the mid-1300s) while many of the smaller scriptoria used parchment up until the mid-1400s.
Some of the important paper producers were in areas where printing presses were initially established. This may have occurred for practical reasons. If you are going to set up a successful press, it is less costly to procure materials if you locate the press near a paper producer (this is a guess as to why many of them seem to be geographically adjacent). Some of the paper mills were bought out by the presses themselves or, those who owned the mills started the presses. It was difficult to "truck" things in those days and paper is heavy, so it makes sense that paper and early presses would be strongly associated.
I've kept track of which materials were used for manuscripts I've sampled or bookmarked for other reasons. I'll gather the information this evening and post it. I don't know if it will be helpful information (I haven't studied it myself), but I can pull it out the data without too much trouble.
Some of the important paper producers were in areas where printing presses were initially established. This may have occurred for practical reasons. If you are going to set up a successful press, it is less costly to procure materials if you locate the press near a paper producer (this is a guess as to why many of them seem to be geographically adjacent). Some of the paper mills were bought out by the presses themselves or, those who owned the mills started the presses. It was difficult to "truck" things in those days and paper is heavy, so it makes sense that paper and early presses would be strongly associated.
I've kept track of which materials were used for manuscripts I've sampled or bookmarked for other reasons. I'll gather the information this evening and post it. I don't know if it will be helpful information (I haven't studied it myself), but I can pull it out the data without too much trouble.