What is vellum made of?
Q: What is vellum made of?
A: Vellum is made from animal skin, originally calf skin, that is cleaned, bleached, stretched, scraped and treated to accept ink.
Q: What is vellum used for?
A: Vellum is used as a writing surface, for single pages, scrolls, codices or books, and is often used for high-status documents.
Q: What was vellum used for before paper?
A: Vellum was one of the standard writing surfaces used in Europe before paper became available.
Q: How is vellum prepared to take writing in ink?
A: Vellum is scraped to create tension by turns wet and dry and then rubbed with pumice and treated with lime or chalk to create a final finish that can accept ink.
Q: What is "paper vellum"?
A: "Paper vellum" is a type of vellum made from synthetic materials instead of mammal skin, but is still used for the same purpose as normal vellum.
Q: What is the difference between parchment and vellum?
A: Originally, vellum meant calf skin while parchment referred to sheep or goat skin, but in English the term vellum is used more widely. They are both prepared to take writing in ink and were standard writing surfaces used in Europe before paper became available.
Q: Why was vellum used for high-status documents?
A: Vellum was used for high-status documents due to its durability, high quality and expensive production process.
