Artists who choose to take control of their own materials are faced with a curious dilemma: how much technology to employ? Technology in the service of the marketplace progresses linearly toward efficiency and consistency of product. The contemporary artist, conversely, often picks and chooses from the gamut of cultures and prior technologies in pursuit of specific material qualities or metaphorical significance. An artist who works in paper may use pre-processed linters from a variety of countries, a Hollander beater, a forming method adapted from a two thousand year old tradition, and the most current additives and dyes to produce a one-of-a-kind creation or perhaps a finished product which will then be used by another artist or craftsman. For papermakers and artists seeking a perspective which is inclusive, Bo Rudins' book, Making Paper, is an ambitious attempt to document the history of papermaking from the earliest efforts through machine papermaking, closing with a chapter on paper art of the last twenty years. Chapters are self-contained, in order to explore in depth topics which are elsewhere often merely skimmed, such as the chemistry of paper, watermarks and filigranology, and the paper mould. One chapter offers unique insight into papermaking, based on a lengthy interview with a Swedish papermaker, Georg Anzelius, who has practiced the art for 74 years. Anzelius' lifelong association with the Tumba Paper Mill, near Stockholm, reveals intimate details of both the papermaker's quality of life and the production process itself. The mill in his time was a patriarchal establishment with a rigid guild system. Families of workers were provided with housing, schooling for children, fuel, and a small garden plot; these, at the turn of the century, were considered generous accommodations. After attending the mill school as a child, Georg Anzelius became an apprentice in 1916. Anzelius describes in detail the work day of the papermaker, documenting the effects of technological changes in the process. In one interesting passage, he describes the making of an exclusive batch of paper from twelve tons of hemp cable recovered from a war ship which had foundered in 1628. The final chapter, which covers contemporary art, seems somewhat incomplete after the depth of the other topics covered, despite a good number of color photographs of the art. However, overall this book is a good general source book for reference purposes and would be an invaluable addition to the library of anyone seeking an overview of the spectrum of papermaking. Mercedes Kerr

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