الورق المقوى

Ingredients

دقيق يعرف بالفينة, ماء, صمغ

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The adhesive (glue) used in binding and paper reinforcement is prepared by mixing a specific fine flour known as 'Al-Fayna' with water. The mixture is cooked until it reaches a thick consistency. Subsequently, gum (Samgh) is added, and the entire mixture is mashed until it becomes extremely smooth (p. 193). For creating cardboard (Al-Waraq al-Muqawwa), the binder repeatedly layers sheets of paper and sticks them together using this glue until the desired thickness, similar to modern cardboard, is achieved (p. 193).

Evidence

"الصمغ: وهو ضروري للمجلد، وعادة ما يخلط بدقيق يعرف بالفينة، ويطبخ حتى يتماسك، ثم يضاف إليه صمغ، ويهرس حتى يصبح ناعمًا جدًا"

Remarks

In the Najdi tradition, binding materials were often simplified due to environment and resource availability. The 'Al-Waraq al-Muqawwa' was a local solution to create sturdy book covers (Daftay al-Kitab) when industrial cardboard was not available. The binder (Mujallid) adjusted the thickness according to the specific needs of the manuscript (p. 193).