Demonstration paper mould made for RBS by Timothy Moore,

Demonstration paper mould made for RBS by Timothy Moore,

1986.

Until around 1755, all paper in the West was made using hand-held paper moulds, whose wire surfaces left telltale impressions: chain lines located more than half an inch apart, crossed at a 90-degree angle by fainter and more closely set wire lines. The result is called “laid” paper. Then John Baskerville commissioned James Whatman to make paper smooth enough to display his own typography to advantage—a paper later referred to as “wove,” owing to the fine mesh used to make it. This hybrid paper mould, created for RBS by Timothy Moore, shows the difference between these “laid” and “wove” surfaces.

From the collection of Rare Book School