White Magic. The Paper Age

Paper is much older than the printing press and was the most important means of communication in western civilisation long before the invention of printing. As well as fulfilling basic economic functions in the form of banknotes and bills of currency and exchange, paper was indispensable as a writing medium for accounts and bookkeeping, and facilitated administration in the shape of files and documents. As letter paper it helped define the nature of the human soul, and as newspaper provided an arena for political argument. In short, paper was instrumental as a vehicle for shaping civilisation as we know it.