Before the word, was flesh—an animal’s skin, scraped and stretched to form the vellum, a writing surface for a scribe to scratch text with quill.
Iron-gall ink fashioned from crushed oak gall nuts and ferrous sulphate, gum arabic for thickening. Red ink from vermillion and egg white. A polishing rub, a ruling of the sheet, a marking off of boxes for illuminated puzzle initials or decorated miniatures. A knife in one hand to steady the vellum, and a quill in the other, the writing begins. Stacks of folios accumulate, are divided amongst artists for decoration. Reassembled, stitched together to bands attached horizontally to the spine and threaded onto boards, then wrapped in leather.
A handmade book, a sensual object.
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