The making of parchment:

'Take goatskins'

Not only goatskins but calfskins are perfectly suitable. In the Netherlands the two sorts have always been in use. In Italy and France sheepskin has been, and still is much in use. How fresher the skin how easier it is to clean, especially from blood. We notice how difficult it is to remove coagulated blood when handling a skin from an animal that has not been slaughtered or bled. The parchmentmaker can, however, make use of this effect, producing a veined parchment which can be very beautiful. This is not much used by restorers as the iron in the blood may eventually have an effect on the skin. The skin from an unborn calf, or one that is born dead, a small lamb or young goat provides the best material for parchment being supple, soft and yet quite strong. For this the Germans use the term 'Jungfernpergament'.