Hi everyone. Ok, I have no idea of this will go over like a wet blanket or not, but let me explain what I want to do. For the past year or so I have had occasional random wonderings about different things. Yesterday, I was suddenly curious about when cardboard was invented. I know, it's weird, but I thought I'd share my research with you. If you ever wonder about the history of something, please feel free to comment or email me and I'll be happy to research it.This isn't an in depth study. It's just mainly to expand our horizons, think about something we probably all take for granted, and maybe learn something interesting.
So, when did cardboard get invented? Here's a quick history of paper products:
3000 BCE: Invention of papyrus by the Egyptians, the first writing material created by pasting together thin layers of the pith of papyrus plant, a type of sedge grass that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt.
1600BCE - 256 CE: In China documents were usually written on bone or bamboo (tablets or strips sewn into scrolls). Silk was also sometimes used, but very expensive.
6th century BCE: By this time, parchment was being used in Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. It was perfected in Pergamon, which is where it got its name. Parchment is made from the skin of calves, sheep or goats, often split. It's thin and is not tanned like leather, but limed. Vellum was a fine quality parchment.
200 BCE: the Chinese glued rice papers to their walls.
105 CE: Cai Lun is considered the inventor of paper in China during the Han dynasty. He created it out of mulberry and bast fibers along with fishnets, old rags and hemp waste. However, the earliest piece of paper that has been found is inscribed with a map and dates from 179-41 BCE. So Cai Lun didn't really invent it, but improved the recipe and the skills for making it.
Paper was very thin and transluscent and was only used on one side. The first use of paper not for writing was to wrap or pad delicate bronze mirrors. It was also used to pad poisonous medicine.
Toilet paper was used in China by the 6th century CE. Around 618-907 CE, paper was sewn into square bags to preserve the flavor of tea. It was also used to make baskets and napkins at that time. The first paper printed money was also in China around 960-1279 CE.
It spread to Japan and then the Middle East where the first paper mill was founded in Samarkand around 751. In Bagdhad, they invented a method to make thicker paper which helped turn it into an industry.
By the 9th century: Arabs made books even lighter and made covers of leather over paste board. They were using paper regularly, but for important books like the Quran, they still used vellum.
By the 5th century CE: a similar bark paper parchment was used by the Mayans and Mesoamerica, until the Spanish conquest.
Note: parchment is made from reeds and bark. Paper is made from pulp, rags, and plant and cellulose fibers.
