Almost Paper is a charming little book from publishers and authors Peter and Donna Thomas. The text is a selective history of papermaking and the use of materials that are paperlike, but not quite paper. It starts by describing the first writing on stone and clay, and then includes samples of seven materials used for writing and ceremonial purposes, from before the common era to the present day. Paper was first made in China around the year 100 B.C.E., and became the writing surface of choice in Europe about 1,500 years later.   The first sample is tapa, a bark-cloth made and used by Polynesian peoples for ceremonial writing. The tapa, made by soaking and pounding the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree, is thin and lacy, reminiscent of many Japanese papers. Amate, originally made by the Aztecs from the inner bark of the fig tree, is thicker and more brittle. The surface, first used for copying Aztec codices, feels like felt and the sample included looks much like a marbled paper. The sample of papyrus, a plant-laminate made and used in Egypt for writing, is similar to amate in stiffness, but more like tapa in texture. Papyrus was the principal writing surface�and the papyrus scroll the principal book form�in north Africa and the Middle East until parchment, the next sample in the book, came into use with the invention of the Roman codex in the third century C.E. Parchment, like the other materials mentioned, is not true paper. It is made from animal skin and was first used as a writing surface in the Greek kingdom of Pergamum (after which the material was named) a century earlier.   The next two samples, wasp's nest and Tyvek (the plastic used by the U.S. Postal Service for its seemingly indestructible envelopes), are not paper either. Some people consider the wasp the world's first papermaker, because it transforms wood fiber into thin sheets. Tyvek is spunbound olefin plastic, made by Dupont and named by them so that it "does not offend anyone or their ancestors in any foreign language." Finally the reader sees a small sample of true paper, made by the Thomases especially for this volume.    The book is more of a teaching tool than a reference book; it gives the user an opportunity to see and touch a number of different paperlike materials. For each sample, the authors describe the properties and methods of production, in brief fashion. One could carry the book, which measures roughly 2 x 2 7/8 inches, in a pocket to use in class when students ask about the differences between these materials that are "almost" papers.    The Thomases letterpress printed the book using their own handmade papers. They bound it very simply in a loose Coptic style, in gatherings of four, without glue, exposing the back edges of the gatherings. The front and back boards� Hawaiian Koa wood scraps left over from the manufacture of ukuleles�are only slightly larger than the textblock and are sewn through with a dark green thread. An enterprising collector might seek to find and purchase the uke made from the same piece of wood as his or her copy of Almost Paper, as an association piece.   The book is made to lay flat for easy reading. Each folded free end paper encloses a folded sheet of the Thomases' decorative paper by way of introduction. This is followed in front by a half-title, "not quite paper...," and a frontispiece listing eleven terms containing the word "paper," printed as a list on a decorated sheet.   The book is nicely designed: the boards, samples, and paper all help illustrate and enhance the text. The Thomases plan to publish a larger version of the work soon, with text written or imprinted on the actual samples. This would make the book an even better teaching tool because it would illustrate how well or poorly each material functioned as a writing surface.    According to the Thomases' bibliography, published in miniature in 1992 when their imprint was The Good Book Press, Peter produced his first miniature book in 1980. He worked then at the Lime Kiln Press, where he was able to salvage scraps of handmade paper large enough for his tiny pages. He learned that books under three inches in height and width were salable to the miniature book market, so this format became their press's stock-in-trade. Almost Paper tells an interesting story in the history of papermaking and it will be particularly appreciated by aficionados of the miniature book format.    Connell Gallagher

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