Recommended Materials List

Mistress Aldith Angharad St. George, OL

Paper

Of course, parchment or calf vellum are quite acceptable, but you are not required to use them for your scrolls. While parchment and vellum are authentic and beautiful, they are frequently very expensive and difficult to obtain. However, if you wish to use parchment or vellum, and take the trouble to learn how to use them, go right ahead.

Paper is perfectly acceptable and more period than you may think. However, the paper you use should be 2 or 3-Ply Bristol Board paper (vellum finish or smooth finish). Any firm and opaque acid-free paper is acceptable, if you can't find Bristol; however, please don't use "Parchment" paper: its acid content is high, and will cause the scroll to crumble into bits after a few years. Must be 100% Rag content, or at least acid-free.

Pens (for Calligraphy)

"Dip" Pens: Brause nibs have an attached reservoir to hold ink, and are pre-cut at the tip to a 45 angle (not good if you are left handed). Speedball(C series) nibs also have an attached reservoir, are easily available, and are cut horizontally so that they can be used by right- and left-handed scribe alike. Rexell nibs are bought separately from the reservoirs, are hard to find, but they are available with 45 cuts at the tip for either right- or left-handed scribes.

"Fountain" Pens: Osmiroid and Pentalic seem to be the best, but some scribes like to use Sheaffer pens, even though they have only three sizes of nib. However, Sheaffer pens can only be used with Sheaffer cartridges, which are filled with ink; you will need to empty the cartridges and refill them with a lightfast ink (see below). Sheaffer ink will FADE after only a short exposure to strong light!

Quill pens are quite acceptable; you will need to learn how to cure and cut them. Use pinion feathers of goose or turkey for the best results.

Ink

Higgins Waterproof Black India is lightfast, dense, and can be used in dip and fountain pens alike. It is also suitable for drawing and outlining.

Calli calligraphy ink is lightfast and dense, and is supposed to perform well in fountain pens ... my experience is that it does not, and only works really well in dip pens.

Colored inks are problematical. Calli makes colored inks that seem to be lightfast; yet the best results come from using gouache (see section on paints) diluted with water to an ink-like consistency. This requires a little experimentation, but is worth the unlimited color range. Please do not use "drawing" inks: these inks are not lightfast!

Homemade Ink: if you wish to make your own ink using a period recipe, go ahead, but be careful that your ink is permanent and lightfast. (For example, some inks made with iron filings can actually RUST with age.)

Paint

Winsor & Netwton Designer's Gouache (opaque watercolor) is the best of many available brands. The following is a list of suggested colors:

Cadmium Red Middle -- Gules

Ultramarine -- Azure

Permanent Middle Green -- Vert

Brilliant Yellow -- Or

Purple Lake -- Purpure

Zinc White -- Argent

Ivory Black -- Sable

Others: Prussian Blue Alizarin Crimson

Yellow Ochre Burnt Umber

Sepia Gold

Silver Bronze

Do not use transparent watercolors: they are not lightfast!

Acrylic Paints: Some scribes like to use acrylics - they are permanent and easily available. However; it is very difficult to make corrections with Acrylics, and we don't know how they behave on vellum. However, feel free to experiment.

Ground Pigments and Medium: Pre-ground pigments are available in art stores and come in powdered form; or you may wish to grind your own. Ground pigments are used with several types of media (binders). These require much training and study to use. Again, use of ground pigments is fine as long as the result is permanent.

Tools

Erasers: Magic Rub by Faber-Castell is excellent; it doesn't shred paper. Kneadable erasers are good because they can be molded to erase in tight places.

Ruler: 15" or 18" metal cork-backed rulers are the best, because they can be used with technical ink pens for outlining, etc.

Brushes: use water-color type brushes; a Winsor and Newton #2 is an extremely good brush as it can cover large areas evenly, but can also make extremely fine lines.

Drawing Pens: Technical pens such as Rapidographs, Castells, and Alvins are useful but expensive. An inexpensive (and also more period) pen is the "Crow Quill" dip-pen made by Hunt. This takes some practice to learn to use; it can make a hair-fine line to a fairly thick line with only one nib, even in one stroke, which is great when trying to duplicate the look of woodcut.

Knives (for cutting paper, not your wrists): X-Acto, Niji, and scalpels are all excellent. Scalpels are especially good because their curved blades are good for scraping off mistakes.

Drafting Templates: these are useful for all kinds of borders, and heraldic motifs, the circle template being the most useful: circles drawn with a compass mar the paper.