Ancient papyrus paper, 1075–945 B.C.
Newly made papyrus paper left, backlit on the right (Notice overlaps of strips of pith).
Book of the Dead of Nebqed, a scribe during the reign of Amenophis III (1353 B.C.), Thebes.
New Kingdom Rishi Coffin covered with drawings of feathers and wings.
The Field of Reeds from the Papyrus of Ani showing the winding, watery passage through a heavenly papyrus swamp.
Modern papyrus swamps in Botswana and S. Sudan.
Collecting papyrus from a swamp, Tomb of Puyemra, Thebes 1400 B.C.
MAP A A vegetation map of the Sahara in prehistoric days 8000-3000 B.C. showing the “fans” or swamps in the region west of the Nile Basin.
A papyrus scroll being read in ancient times. The scroll is 20 pages long.
Virgil reading his Aeneid to Augustus and Octavia.
Harvesting papyrus stems for the tourist paper trade in modern day Cairo.
Cutting a thin strip from a fresh papyrus stem.
Scroll, replica copy of an Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Assembling a scroll from sheets of papyrus paper.
Reading from a papyrus paper scroll.
A young scribe, no doubt from a well-to-do family, shown in a tomb painting 1350 B.C. offering the deceased a commemorative scroll. He carries his pen holder under his arm while a large bag of scribal equipment sits at his feet. On right is a more traditional pose of a scribe at work.
Facade of the Library of Celsus an ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, now part of Selçuk, Turkey.
Replica ancient pen holder and reed pens. Two wells for red and black ink.
Papyrus book trade–late 48 B.C.–1450 A.D.
MAP B Location of the ancient Nile and the town of Memphis based on a map drawn by Major James Rennell in 1799.
MAP C Papyrus paper distribution in Byzantine Europe.
MAP D Location of important papyrus finds in Egypt.
Modern replica of a papyrus codex.
Papermaking in China, 11th Century A.D.
Set of four trading cards from beef extract packets marketed by the chemist, Justus von Liebig in the 1800’s showing the four stages of paper evolution.
Papermaking Ancient Egypt
Selling paper in China 700 A.D.
Papermaking eighteenth century France.
Modern paper mill twentieth century Europe