Ethnographies of Paper in Early Modern England

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ethnographies of Paper in Early Modern England

AU - Smith, Helen

N1 - This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the University’s Research Publications and Open Access policy.

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - In his lengthy poem ‘The praise of hemp-seed’, John Taylor (1578-1653) dwells on the manufacture of paper. This article argues that Taylor is concerned not only with paper’s origins as fabric and plant, but also with its etymological and global histories. Putting Taylor’s poem into conversation with travel narratives that described paper and other writing substances in sometimes excruciating detail, the article makes the case that Taylor invokes paper’s ancient histories and global traditions in order to efface them, claiming this remarkable substance as quintessentially British, or rather English.

AB - In his lengthy poem ‘The praise of hemp-seed’, John Taylor (1578-1653) dwells on the manufacture of paper. This article argues that Taylor is concerned not only with paper’s origins as fabric and plant, but also with its etymological and global histories. Putting Taylor’s poem into conversation with travel narratives that described paper and other writing substances in sometimes excruciating detail, the article makes the case that Taylor invokes paper’s ancient histories and global traditions in order to efface them, claiming this remarkable substance as quintessentially British, or rather English.

KW - Paper

KW - John Taylor

KW - nonsense

KW - travel narrative

KW - natural history

KW - ethnography

U2 - 10.1111/criq.70005

DO - 10.1111/criq.70005

M3 - Article

SN - 0011-1562

JO - Critical Quarterly

JF - Critical Quarterly

ER -