Cupcake holder

Cupcakes and other such dainites are usually served in small paper cups, which are often decorated. This particular example ( which has been flattened out) is decorated with a pattern of red and white hearts. Other examples are decorated in a pattern of small floral sprays, often in two colours.



 

Joss paper 1- "Cloth"

According to Chinese tradition, one may send gifts to one's ancestors ( clothes, money and even whole houses) if paper representations of these things are burnt as offerings to them. Such paper articles are commonly known as "joss paper" .
  Many of these papers are most curious , if in their own gaudy way, and I shall be presenting more of such things in the future.

The present article of joss paper is a square sheet of thin Chinese , or "Rice" paper. It is printed with a elegant pattern of flowers and scrollwork. It is intended to represent a piece of patterned cloth-- presumably for ancestors who prefer making their own clothes.

 

This paper is printed off a woodblock, as seen from the black gouge marks in the upper left corner. This is somewhat surprising, considering that this paper was bought around 2011.This sheet was once part of a stack of sheets. All bore the same pattern ( as here) but were printed on different colour of paper -- green , yellow  and white in addition to this pink colour.

 

 

Japanese decoratve cloth tape

Although this is not, strictly speaking, a piece of decorative paper, I find it so beautiful that it would be a shame not to feature it here.

This is a strip of Japanese decorative tape. It consists of a strip of cloth, with an adhesive backing, much like a sicker or roll of scotch/duct tape. What sets it apart, however, is the extremely attractive pattern printed on it. It consists of flowers and leaves with a red background, and gold outline.

A length of the tape

A closeup. 

Trickled paper

The following decorated paper is best called "trickled paper", for it probably described its method of manufacture. It is executed in shades of dull blue and pink, and forms the endpapers of an edition of The book of Common prayer, printed around 1947.

Annonay paper 4

The following paper forms the cover of an account book, roughly from the 1980s-1990s. The paper is somewhat dull with age, but nonetheless, is similar to most examples of the genre.

Envelope lining 3

This example of an envelope lining is somewhat different from the previous examples; Its pattern does not appear to be composed of wiggly lines, but rather of a form of repeat pattern:

Another unusual thing is that the paper appears to be printed from letterpress ( i.e from a process analogous to using a stamp) , as opposed to lithography or offset ( as in the previous envelopes). We may see below the characteristic blobby effect of letterpress, known as "ink squash" ( particularly evident towards the bottom ends of the shapes)

Wrapping paper

The following sheet of wrapping paper is somewhat of an oddity. It is printed on an extremely thin stock ( roughly 10 lb. paper), resembling a form of calendared tissue paper, a odd choice for a wrapping paper.

Another oddity is the design. The above example is the only example of wrapping paper that I have seen that does not depict something like flowers or puppies, but rather is an abstract design. It is hard to say what the maker was intending this paper to represent ( perhaps marble?), or if it was intended to resemble anything at all.

If anything can be said of this paper, it is printed. However, in the dark areas of the paper, we find a curious pattern:

How this pattern came to be I have no idea.