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Paper is as important an artistic or esthetic element in the well-made book as it is as a technical element; and it is likewise to be regarded from the point of view of the optician and the physiologist.

It is possible to select a paper for any book that will lend itself to the artistic scheme of the book. It has not long been possible to do this. The product of the skilled paper maker has more than quadrupled, in artistic variety, during the few years last past, until it is now the fault of its designer if a book intended to be harmoniously artistic is not as true to its motive in paper as in typography or binding. But it is evident that paper for a book cannot be selected without reference to the typography, the plates, and other mechanical features. A grade of paper that would be appropriate for the printing of a rugged-faced type (like Caslon) upon, would not do at all for a conventional type, such as the Scotch face, it might be discovered, even though the paper, in texture and finish, seemed to be peculiarly appropriate for the literary motive. There are certain type faces which may be printed upon paper that is milk white, and certain other faces that lend themselves more readily to the production of harmonious tonal effects when the paper has a "natural" tint, or is thrown strongly toward a brown color. Either of these combinations, or any similar combination, may harmonize unfavorably with the literary motive, or with the scheme for proportion and balance, or with the tone and values element, and though admirable in itself have to be finally rejected.

The weight and texture of the paper have to be considered as minutely and as carefully, and with the same principles in full view. A delicate and shy literary motive must not be given the massive dignity of heavy handmade paper and large and strong type. Such a scheme is harrowing to a sensitive reader's nerves and rudely subversive of the more obvious and elemental artistic principles.

It is a complex and an involved process to select the proper paper for a given piece of printing, and the rightful decision of either of the component elements involves the rightful decision with reference to each of the others. It is impossible to consider the question of paper apart from a consideration of the typography, the illustrations, the format, and the binding; and it is not possible to consider either of these elements apart from the literary motive, which must always be the foundation of the structure.

Paper is one of the group of coÖrdinately important elements in a piece of artistic printing, and only one, and never otherwise than strictly coÖrdinate. It may not be considered by itself, unless possible disaster be consciously and deliberately invited.

Therefore before the specifications for a book or other piece of printing are otherwise fixed, it is necessary to decide upon the paper to be used. It is one of the elements of printing over which the printer exercises no control except the liberty of choice. He can choose the paper he wishes to use, but he cannot adapt it. He can adapt his typographic plan and his color scheme, and adjust them to the paper in such fashion as will result in harmony for the completed work, but his paper he is obliged to take as the paper-maker furnishes it. For this reason, and because the paper is actually a foundation element in printing, it is necessary that printers know about paper, and that those who essay to execute work of a high standard be familiar with its history, composition, and methods of manufacture.

Too much importance will not be likely to be attached to the history of paper, for it runs parallel with the record of the advance of civilization and learning, and it has been an indispensable factor in that advance. When we note the important part played by paper in the complicated scheme of our twentieth century lives, we may gain some faint appreciation of its place and relative importance as a factor of life. As a factor in printing it has been customary to place paper first in the list. It is a safe practice, though the versatility of the paper makers is yearly making it less essential to do so. Yet, when all the progress in paper making has been considered, it paradoxically remains that the selection of paper by the printer is not the simple matter it was only a few years ago.

With the progress of the art of printing during the last quarter of the nineteenth century there has come complexity in all its branches. Type has been wondrously multiplied, inks are in greater profusion, and varieties of paper have rapidly multiplied. The good printer of today needs to know the history of the evolution of type, ink, and paper, if he hopes to be able to cope successfully with the problems facing him.

One reason for this particularity of knowledge is the tendency of the laity to study the technical phases of printing. Type founders have courted the attention of large consumers of printed matter and of large advertisers, and the lay knowledge of type has led to a like result regarding paper. So that it at present happens that the printer's patron is able to dictate the style of typography he desires, and the quality and tint of paper he prefers. This predicates knowledge on the part of the printer; and in the case of paper it necessitates expert knowledge. Type is type, speaking somewhat loosely, and, whatever the crotchet a consumer of printing may get into his head it is not likely to cost more than about so much a pound. It is otherwise with paper, and generally it is more the color, texture, and appearance the patron wishes than the intrinsic value, and the printer must make a choice that shall satisfy the artistic exigencies of the case, as well as consider its financial aspects. One paper may be unsuited for a particular piece of work, and another of the same tint, weight, and price may be exactly suitable; and the reason may lie in so obscure a cause as the peculiar process of manufacture, or the chemical nature of material used by certain paper mills, or a slight variation in finish that may affect ink in a different manner.

A bright and observing printer inevitably becomes more or less versed in paper. He handles it continually, and cannot avoid recognizing certain more evident differences. What is learned in this way is good knowledge, but it takes a long time to get a comprehensive acquaintance with paper, and there has not in the meantime been built up that flawless reputation for good work which all printers regard as the very best capital.

The printer who knows about paper knows about its history, its composition, and the methods of manufacture. To him wood-pulp paper is not all the same, and he knows what he means when he speaks of "all rag" or "handmade." He knows that paper made wholly of wood varies in goodness according as it is made by this or that process—mechanical wood, soda, or sulphite; and knows that "all rags" may be all cotton, or all linen, or a combination of rags, or a combination of wood and rags, or indeed all wood, or some vegetable fiber not specified. It is not the mere exhibition of this sort of knowledge that particularly signifies; it is that it adds greatly to the printer's power to execute good work, as it places him in a position to select the most suitable paper, and insures his reputation. It enables him to execute a piece of work intended to endure a long time in a manner that will preserve its beauty, so that it will not fade or turn a dirty brown or yellow color, as well as to make his paper play its legitimate rÔle as the most important inflexible art element he will usually find it necessary to deal with. A knowledge of paper in this thorough sense is even more desirable if a printer presumes to arrogate to himself the title and qualities of an artist. It is scarcely too radical to assert that the esthetics of printing depend for exemplification more upon paper than upon typography. It has been said that type, ink, and paper go to the making of good printing. This formula may be reversed and made to read paper, ink, and type, since so much of the effect of decorative printing depends upon the paper and the ink. If these two harmonize properly it remains that the type must not interfere but must play the negative rÔle of conformity. It is the paper that is selected first, then the ink, and lastly the typography is brought into the scheme. Typography, as an ornate art, has dwindled, and the skilled constructor of wonderful effects with types and rule is no longer esteemed in the job room. The arbiter of style sits in the counting-room, and turns the leaves of the paper and type specimen books before the critical eyes of the patron. The job is built upon a paper sample, and the designer sees it completed in his mind before he sends it to the compositor.

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