Bikupan: The Story of a Trip to Visit a Hand Paper Mill in Sweden, with a Bit of History Added in for Good Measure

Peter and Donna Thomas are itinerant book artists and papermakers based in Santa Cruz, California. They have travelled the globe to learn about the ancient art of making paper by hand and to incorporate what they have learned into their artists’ books.

This book was printed on paper handmade by Peter Thomas.  The sample papers were made at the Lessebo Paper Mill in southern Sweden and feature the mill’s traditional watermarks. The mill has been in operation since 1693.

“The book is titled Bikupan, which means bee hive, both as a reference to the shape of the buildings (which is depicted in the illustration across from the title page), and to the bee hive watermark in the newer sheet of paper we bought to include as a sample. Working with this theme, rather than printing a traditional half-title, we printed a quote taken from Tycho Brahe’s gravestone (and found again later in the text) ‘let us work while we have time…’ a reference to the bee hive and a recognition of how much work it takes to make paper and make fine press books.” -Peter Thomas