Table of Contents

Foreword; Preface; The Roots of Indian paper; Preserving the world; The Arabs Liberate; Paper Secret; A Prospering Paper Craft; The Path of Paper; Conquerors and Craftsmen; Paper's Northwestern Frontier; Sialkot; Kashmir; Paper in the Northeastern Crescent; Agra and Mathura; Zafarabad; Bihar and Bengal; Delhi: Days of Papermaking; Western India's Wave of Paper; Gujarat; Rajasthan; The Deccan: Middle India; Daulatabad: Fabled Fortress Medieval Paper Centre; Kagzipura at Khuldabad; Erandol: City of Paper Ruins; Making Traditional Indian Paper; The Materials of Paper; The World of the Written Word Before Paper; Materials Used by the First Papermakers; The Papermaker's Garden; Pulp Pounders; The Mould: The Papermaker's Ally; The Dimension of Paper; Creating the Paper Sheet; Drying Paper in India's Warm Domain; Coating Paper with Size; Hand Polishing Paper Sheets; Colouring Paper; Paper of Gold; Bird Paper; Masterful Marbled Papers, Stencils & Cut-Paper; The Strange Transparent Deer and Snake Paper; Recycled Paper: An Indian Tradition; Using Every Resource; Papier Mache; Mountain Paper; In search of Indian Paper's Lost Himalayan Roots; The Strong Lustrous Plant of High Mountain Paper; Making Mountain Paper; The Mysterious "Big-Paper of the North"; Pundit Paper; Influences Towards Change: Contemporary Handmade Paper; Encounters with the West; Jailhouse Paper; Gandhian Efforts to Help Rescue Papermakers; Government Rescue for Papermakers; 1990s Turn Around: An Unpredicted Blossoming of Traditional and Contemporary paper Units throughout India; List of Indian Hand-made Papermakers; Fibre List; Bibliography & Map.

About the Author

Stephen P Huyler is an American ethnologist, writer and photographer conducting a cross cultural survey of Indian folk art. During each of the past twenty-three years, he has spent several months travelling extensively throughout India, documenting craftsmanship and contemporary traditions. Beginning with a research project on the terracottas of Tamilnadu in 1971, he has continued to document clay sculpture and its production and use in rural communities, particularly in ritual worship. With degrees in Indian history and art history from the University of Denver, he prepared his Ph.D. thesis at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. His doctoral topic was a survey of rural India terracottas, focusing on contemporary traditions as a means for understanding their ancient counterparts.

Reviews

"I highly recommend this well-designed book to all interested in India, ceramics, folk art or fieldwork. -- Nora Fisher, EL PALACIO, Volume 101, No.3"