We continue our series Inside the Cover by looking at another book on display in our exhibit A Book’s Nature: Artist Books by Peter and Donna Thomas. This book, Not Paper, delves into materials that are paper-like, but still not paper.

As stated in the above image "Paper was traditionally made from rags. Now it is usually made from plants, typically trees. The raw fiber is beaten to a pulp, suspended in water, strained, then transferred to felt, pressed and dried flat..."

Tyvek

Often when we put something in the post, the envelope we use is not paper...

Parchment

Made from animal skin, so neither vegan nor paper...

Wasp Nest

Chewed up stems, sticks, logs, etc. and saliva, looks like paper, but not paper...

Birch Bark

Used like paper in many ancient cultures, not paper...

Papyrus

Though the word paper comes from papyrus, it is not paper... (It is also an often criticized font...)