Spain · Paper craft; Agricultural craft; Supplement record
Papel de Esparto Español
The making of paper from esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima) — a paper-making tradition that was Spain's primary industrial paper source from the 1850s to the 1970s before wood pulp replaced it, but which survives as an artisan paper tradition of exceptional quality. Esparto paper is chemically different from wood pulp paper: the specific silica content of esparto grass fibers produces a paper with natural opacity and a surface that accepts printing ink without glare, making it historically the preferred paper for Bible printing and fine book publishing. The artisan esparto paper maker reads the pulp quality by a modified version of the same lift-and-shake test used in Catalan rag paper making (CRAFT-1047).
Risk level: Endangered · Not listed
The making of red wine from Garnacha Tinta in Navarre — the Iberian grape variety that originated in Aragon-Navarre and now produces the most planted red wine grape in the world.
The making of Idiazábal — the smoked or unsmoked pressed sheep's milk cheese of the Basque Country and Navarre, made exclusively from the milk of Latxa and Carranzana ewes (Basque sheep breeds).
The building of traditional wooden boats in the Basque Country — from the trainera (the traditional Basque rowing regatta boat, built from American oak using a specific longitudinal planking sequence) to the goleta (the Basque schooner…
The making of txakoli — the Basque low-alcohol; high-acid; slightly sparkling white wine made from Hondarrabi Zuri (white) and Hondarrabi Beltza (red) grapes grown on steep coastal terraces.
The preparation of authentic paella valenciana over an open wood fire (foc de llenya) — a culinary craft tradition whose technique is as demanding as any documented in the archive, requiring simultaneous management of fire intensity, pan…
Wheel-thrown earthenware from Murchante (Ribera de Navarra) — the primary surviving traditional pottery center in Navarre, producing functional earthenware (cazuelas; ollas; cántaros) in the characteristic Navarrese green-amber glaze.
Shan paper making (ရှမ်းစာ shan sa) is the handmade bark paper tradition of Shan State — using mulberry (sa tree, Broussonetia papyrifera) and local plant fiber to produce paper for Buddhist manuscript copying, folded book (parabaik)…
The Irish bookbinding tradition — the production of the hand-bound books in the Irish heritage style drawing on the Celtic interlace and knotwork vocabulary inspired by the Irish monastic illuminated manuscripts (Book of Kells, Book of…
The creation of patterned paper by floating pigments on a size (carrageenan or ox gall solution), manipulating them into patterns with combs and styluses, and transferring the design to paper by contact — producing unique, unrepeatable…
A relief printmaking technique in which an Inuit printmaker carves away the surface of a flattened stone block to leave a raised design translated from an artist's original drawing, then inks and hand-prints the design onto paper,…
A nearly 2,000-year-old bark-paper making technique in which inner tree bark is boiled with lime and ash, then hand-pounded on a wooden board with a flat stone into a single continuous sheet, preserved after the Spanish colonial…
The hand-binding of books using traditional techniques — sewing on cords or tapes, case-making in leather or cloth, gold tooling, and marbled paper — in a tradition associated with Milan's publishing and printing industry and the…