Pappersomslag och pappersband i arkivens samlingar

Paper wrappers and paper bindings have been used to preserve written and archival documents of all kinds. In the manuscript collection of Ericsberg (National Archives, Sweden) we find many examples of how written material was gathered and protected by simple paper bindings. Paper bindings are used as sketchbooks, for writing and calculating, as diaries, and as notebooks of administrative and economic nature. They serve as preservation bindings for letters, receipts, tickets and all kinds of notes. They were common as an ordinary, cheap and attractive alternative to other forms of ordinary bindings in the daily use of written and printed material. The idea that a paper binding is a temporal or ephemeral binding in its character is only true to some extent. The increasing use of paper bindings on both written and printed material reflects changing practises and attitudes within the material culture of the book.