“One wall held roll upon roll of whole calf and goatskins, most from Nigeria. Even within the same dye lot, each hide can take on a slightly different shade — variations, say, from a deep raspberry to a bright crimson. To the left of the leathers were rolls of book cloth (backed with paper for easier gluing) in various textures and fabrics, much of it imported from Japan. And to the right were stiff, creamy sheets of vellum and almost opalescent parchment imported from Britain; the parchment is treasured by botanical illustrators for its ability to hold the finest line without any bleed.”