Information is given about the nature of animal skin, how it is converted into parchment, the ills from which it suffers and how to avoid or cure them, and how man learned to inscribe, draw and paint on an un-stable material so effectively that many records have survived for hundreds of years. A large amount of diverse historical matter is also given on the conversion of animal skins into many kinds of leather, its uses and a selection of conservation methods. -- AATA