A Brief History of Paper

The first paper in the world was made by wasps. Tiny bits of wood are chewed to a pulp, mixed with saliva, then smoothed to thin sheets as part of a wasp's nest. The process is quite different but the materials are very similar to those in modern paper.

In ancient times people wrote on stone, clay, animal horns, and even bamboo. Later on tree bark, silk and parchment made of animal skins were used. The Egyptians used thin sheets made from papyrus reed for their writing surface. It was the Chinese who made the first paper as we know it about 105 AD and are still known for their skill in paper craft.

Most paper today is made on a machine invented by Sealy and Henry Fourdrinier in 1803. Their machine has a belt made of wire mesh on which the watery pulp is spread. It then travels through a series of rollers which squeeze out the water and finish the surface. With the invention of this machine, paper became cheap, abundant and essential to modern life.

Almost all paper in common use is made of wood pulp through some cotton and linen fibers are used also. Since people consume an ever incresing amount of paper, this can be somewhat hard on all the forests of the world. Please try to use recycled computer, copier, or magazine paper for your airplanes, then pick them up and recycle the paper again.