Paper Trail: History of an Everyday Material

Brocker, Susan. Paper Trail: History of an Everyday Material. 2008. 36p. ISBN 978-0-531-17589-7. Available at 676 BRO on the library shelves.

Paper is one of these commodities we never really think about, but it surrounds us. In fact, without paper one could argue that our entire civilization would collapse. Consider toilet paper, for example. What did people use before toilet paper was invented and refined into a product we would recognize today?

This short book describes the history of paper and what was used before it was created. From clay tablets and papyrus, writing was reserved for government officials and rich individuals. In China, a highly secret and coveted recipe created a very coarse form of paper. It was an expensive and long process. Using wood pulp, hemp, and bits of clothings, these fibers merged together and formed a tight bond.

As the recipe for paper slowly spread throughout the world, an insatiable appetite for paper fed by increased literacy created new products, art, and sped the development and transmission of information. Now an everyday item with a myriad of uses, the paper industry remains one of the most polluting industrial products, and we still not have come with viable processes to make clean paper.

Whether we head towards a paperless society or whether paper remains with us for a long time, the history of paper is a fascinating story.