Modern facsimile of a Roman wax tablet, with wooden stylus.

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Title

Modern facsimile of a Roman wax tablet, with wooden stylus.

Subject

Gift of Terry Belanger.

Description

Wax tablets were portable writing surfaces used in ancient world for ephemeral activities: making notes, recording the figures of business accounts, etc. They consisted of thin planks of slightly recessed wood filled with soft materials, such as lead or melted wax—the latter hardened to provide a smooth surface for incising (and erasing) with a stylus. Tablets were of different sizes. The replica here is a diptych, or “double-leaved” tablet.

Source

From the collection of Rare Book School