In the Notre Dame chapter, I discuss Elias Dorn’s thick pile of notes which contained his findings over the many years he practiced alchemy. Here’s how I described them: “The paper Dorn had written on was from a mill in Xàtiva [Spain], made from mulberry bark, hemp, and linen. It was quite thick, which made it very durable. After Dorn’s time in Toledo, he had gone to the mill near Valencia and brought back a large quantity to London. Ever since Tom was rescued, he witnessed his master fill the large pages with inscriptions, drawings, diagrams, and arcane signs, using ink from pounded hawthorn branches mixed with claret and iron salt, which he showed him how to make. Blocks of writing in a tiny, precise script were wedged between drawings, with lines of text continuing downward, then sideways, backwards, sometimes turning upside-down, running off the edge, only to continue on the backside, wending from page to page. Each thread of text, if followed through the pages to the end, led to a different result. Sometimes the path of ink went back to the beginning.”
To create the paper, I took a piece of music manuscript paper and wadded it up many times, making it very pliable. Then I soaked it in water with tea leaves and coffee grounds, staining it a very nice color. (The music staff lines are on the other side.) This is the only place you will see the image in color, since it is reproduced in b&w in the book. However, if the book is ever released in hard cover, it can be used for the end papers. The paper is also a texture on the cover of the paperback. You can see how it’s an underlayer in the image:
