paper from rags

Ingredients

old clothing, rags

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

In 1834, Muḥammad cAlī established a local paper factory to mitigate dependency on European (primarily Italian) imports. The production process utilized recycled rags obtained from old clothing collected from soldiers and later from religious leaders. The factory produced paper for government purposes, books, and trade (p. 6).

Evidence

"Muḥammad cAlī (1805-1848). cAlī tried to reduce the dependency on foreign export by establishing a paper factory, sending people to Europe to learn the papermaking technology, and initially ordering soldiers and later religious leaders to send their old clothing to the factory for rags."

Remarks

While locally made paper existed, it never fully supplanted imported Italian paper, which dominated the market during the 18th and 19th centuries (p. 6). Egyptian paper was also exported to India, parts of Arabia, and Europe (p. 7).