Customer Reviews

Ancient Skins, Parchment and Leathers (Studies in archaeological science)

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When I became interested in calligraphy and illumination (and leather history), I went looking for books at the local library. That's where I found Reed's Ancient Skins... I believed that a good part of the fun of recreating illuminations was researching historical methods, and understanding the science behind making parchment. Since finding Ancient Skins..., I keep running into Reeds book as references and in bibliographies of papers on topics of leatherwork, ancient / medieval books and parchment making. It is a standard text in leather and parchment circles. This book would also be a handy reference to any librarian who deals with the care and preservation of older books.

Few texts boast completeness as this book can. It is so well written that it is hard to put down. What is amazing is that as useful, informative, and complete as this book is, no one has bothered to arrange with the Reed family to republish it. It is a standard work by this time yet almost impossible to own...a sad state of affairs.