29-08-2020, 06:36 PM
Judith Flanders quoting Griffiths and Persall "Book production and publishing in Britain: 1375-1475" says:
Paper was also of a constant quality, whereas parchment would vary in quality across a skin.
Parchment was still mainly used in manuscripts because of its perceived quality, but paper was in common use for notebooks and accounting purposes.
And remember that early books, incunables, were deliberately designed to mimic manuscripts, with initials and illustrations being hand added around the printed sections to make them feel familiar to the purchaser.
Quote:By the end of the 14th century, a quire (25 sheets) of paper cost the same as a single skin of parchment, and had 8 times the writing surface. By the end of the 15th century, the price was a quarter of what it had been.
Paper was also of a constant quality, whereas parchment would vary in quality across a skin.
Parchment was still mainly used in manuscripts because of its perceived quality, but paper was in common use for notebooks and accounting purposes.
And remember that early books, incunables, were deliberately designed to mimic manuscripts, with initials and illustrations being hand added around the printed sections to make them feel familiar to the purchaser.