How Animal Hides Are Made Into Parchment At The Last Workshop In The US | Still Standing
Pergamena is the last workshop in the US that turns animal skins into parchment, an ancient paper-like material that nearly disappeared after the Middle Ages. CEO Jesse Meyer runs the family leather tannery business that has been in operation since 1550.
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How Animal Hides Are Made Into Parchment At The Last Workshop In The US | Still Standing
Jesse is an artist and an historian. He presents at universities, such as Yale and Penn, regularly. We rely on his knowledge to teach medievalists how parchment was made. Great video!
Thank you Ray! :)
@@jessemeyer4831 thank you for sharing your time and knowledge on how to make parchment.
Thank you @JesseMeyer for sharing this information! Really enjoyed it.
Would love to have a little how-too book. I've been wanting to try making parchment out of my deer hides.
The use of "an" and "a". You use "an", when the following word starts with a vowel, such as "an artist" and "a" when the next word begins with consonant. Such as "a historian" . All of which is further confused by the use of a comma. And my use of "vowel" and "when".
the fact that jesse is sharing his techniques in making parchments even though no one taught himtheir parchment making process before tells so much about him.
B
@@aliceong5554 why B?
@@farell4878 B
@@farell4878 cause B
@@LeeFav. ok
If some authors wanted to make a special edition of their book, like a single ultra limited edition version, I'd make it from parchment like this. That would be a bad ass book.
Yes
Ooow that's awesome 🤩
Parchment also lasts for thousands of years in the right environment and, if made properly, can retain what is written after multiple soakings. So if you want a book to last, yet not written in stone, do it on parchment.
One sheet costs 100 dollars. Say you can make 20 pages out of it (which is my upper estimation btw) A 300 page slim book would already cost 1500 dollars in parchment alone.
@@iamcurious9541 I was at a ren fair a few years back and they had some leather bound parchment books for sale (blank pages). Idk how many pages they had in total but the largest one was over $4,000.
Ancient knowledge, rediscovered against the odds. I wish Jesse a long, healthy life and good fortune with his business. He deserves to succeed and to thrive.
Not really.
@@chavruta2000 what even is this comment? why???
@@antoniadragongirl3099 which comment
@@chavruta2000 wtf is wrong with you
This guy is a bad ass. Reverse engineering parchment so he can make it himself to revitalize his family business.
@BitterVoid this is why people hate vegans, you are not accomplishing anything just annoying people and hurting your own cause, you even made comments that people shouldn't kill worms
@BitterVoid he doesn’t kill the animals by the way! and also that you know better they are also not killed for this parchment 📜 it just goes to waste... so his making use of waste.
@BitterVoid everybody hates vegans for a reason and this is one of them
@BitterVoid was expecting a good comment section then this vegan guy popped up.
@BitterVoid I’m just going to laugh at your comment while I enjoy some nice, juicy, rare bone-in ribeye while drinking my rum and coke. Hell, I might just pop out a celebratory cigarette if you comment again.
That purple parchment was gorgeous
Hey there Potato brains!
Biden China's dog
@@user-ft6qy7cd5e Bull shit liar
To be fair i got to liking all of these parchments in his stock when he showcased them
@Ordinary Citizen Unlike some, he actually cares about the country, so he won't.
That deep blue was so beautiful. And who knew you could make paper out of animal skin? I definitely didn't.
Agreed! I would totally spend 100$ on a color that pretty
Never read Harry potter ?
I remember hearing about parchment when I was in 2nd grade but I thought it was fake until now
Anyone who didn't sleep in history class atleast once knows this.
I believe the U.S. Declaration of Independence was written on parchment, hence a major reason why it is in such good physical condition even after 246 years.
I recall perhaps being one of Jesse'!s first parchment customers when I was the buyer for Kates Paperie in NYC way back in the day. I am so happy to learn today that he's been successful in keeping his family business going - nice job, Jesse
This guy learned latin just to carry his family's business. Mad respect!
@James Cricket carpe diem
Veni Vidi Vici
@James Cricket laude
Dormienti squillam unda rapta.
In vino veritas.
I hope this art returns. Such a good use of the animal skin. No waste. Good on you sir
But it tastes good when you eat animal skin
@@everybodydripfrog3365 dude🤣
There's a lot of waste in the tannery business.
Lots of chemical waste tho
No waste? Its just the skin he is working with lol what about the rest of the animal?
"There are other companies that do this, but they're far away and they wouldn't teach me" ....I felt this. Good for you Sir on deciding to keep going, even if it was on your own.
I love how he's doing everything old-school; then whips out the electric sander!!😝😝
Man talks about saving his 450 yo family business and passion with such confidence. What a Giga-chad.
Chad confirmed
Totally! The way he talks about it and his body language shows his confidence.
200 years, not 450.
@@josephmartin4487 200 Years my man. 5:57.
@Jimmy Russels Meh, whatever dude
As an artist, I'm terribly attracted to the permanence of these extremely difficult to find parchments. There's lots, and lots of parchment works in the world that are way more than 1,000 years old. So, if you have a project that can be helped by that kind of permanence - A family tree - for example. I think it can be a very, very good idea to contact Pergamena for making a purchase. Plant based papers, with the exception of (Maybe!) acid free cotton rag just can't possibly hold up over extreme lengths of time and mostly just turn to dust unless preserved in well controlled environments protected from temperature, humidity, and (sunlight) ultra violet and other types of radiation.
If your thinking in terms of longevity then you may as well go troglodyte styles and do cave paintings
@@navajoauckland6003 Do you know that (True Story here!) that they gave Pablo Picasso access to the caves at LaCroix, in FRANCE, for his opinion of the work--The works are 35,000+ years old, and they're special because whoever drew them made use of the natural stone structure in order to provide some three dimensional aspect and proportion. Believed among scientists to be brilliant in their design for such stone age people, Picasso came out of the caves and declared, "We've learned nothing. Absolutely nothing."
@@congozilla I didn't know that, thank you, I will watch doco's on Lacroix
😱😳 OMG 😃 good 💡 idea!!! Thank u! A fam tree, n just adding to it as it grows!! I'd add my past n me n my brother's future. God 🙏 BLESS you 😉
Just get it laminated
this is the kind of guy that gives you "hunting mission" in every video game
You know it's not about money when they show you how it's done.
To be fair, for what its used, im sure as hell that the parchment Is extremely expensive
They know people are lazy and it takes too much work. Who's going to jump and start doing this work? It's not necessarily inspiring...
So this is the place where the entire wizarding world get their supply of parchments
They cant use muggle stuff
@@medicamedico4335 Who said he was a muggle 😉
@@federicocaballero1310 *shook as ravenclaw*
@@medicamedico4335 Quills were muggle items.
@@turkishundelightful5382 now that's debatable...
This guy was on dirty jobs years ago. Super cool to see him still going
I knew I recognised him from somewhere
I came here to say the same thing. Glad he was able to keep the tannery going after tough times.
If I remember correctly the tough times were caused by the EPA and other government agencies overstepping their bounds and outright harrassing these people.
@@wutntarnation if they weren't controlling their runoff then that is a major issue. I wouldn't call it harassment, moreso needing to meet standards of compliance for the betterment of the environment and people who live nearby. It's the cost of doing business.
@@NosillaWilla They had no jurisdiction as was plainly stated in the episode, so.... yes... it was harassment.
I remember seeing this guy on Dirty Jobs years ago, glad he’s survived all these years and through 2020
This is so cool. I hope he offers courses on how to do this someday, it would be great if more people got to learn this skill!
He does. I just went to a 2 day workshop taught by him and it was amazing.
I don't eat red meat or pig but in saying that I do appreciate the use of the entire animal and this age old craft
You appreciate really killing an inocent eating them and then skin is been used for this really doesn't inocent animal life matter to you
@@sejalharsora4941 I'm pescatarian so I do appreciate a well smoked salmon skin with brown sugar and butter
@@navajoauckland6003 haha good one
@@sejalharsora4941 please stop people can eat what they want and no one cares so please just shut up
@@sejalharsora4941 learn how to spell properly first before arguing with someone smh
One could make a nice drum from this
People from reserves around me do make drums out of hides still nice sounds
Just search "bedug indonesia" we use this kind of leather for it. It's like a drum to call people to pray
@@jasminejuno Eyyy hi neighbor country
there are nice drums made of this! lion dance troupes have awesome drums made from animal hide, and it sounds really good too
In the Bahamas we use goatskins for our drums
He's such a cool guy, I'm glad artisans like him are still around. The fact that he's out here sharing his information when he couldn't find any himself originally too is an amazing thing.
Jesse, I hope that I am spelling your name correctly, you, are a TRUE CRAFTSMAN!!! And THANK YOU for it!!! Please, write down, video tape, audio tape your craftsmanship so that it isn't lost to time! You are living history that needs to be preserved!!! 😊
wow you requested quite a lot for something you wouldn't care for tomorrow
I can smell the place
Me too, just like watching fish market near the beach, lol.
😭🤢🤮
What's the smell like?
@@goodnightsaf a mixture of bleach and an oily scalp
Rotting flesh Anyone seen SAW 3
I hope he teaches several people how to do this and the trade isn't lost. America needs more of this.
Why?
More people need to keep old traditions alive and not let them be lost to the past
@@youmaybehighstrungbutimlok1601 good luck with that
@@vive335 yeah ya right. I ain't got the patience for it tho
Sucks that old traditions get lost in time.
I love this video. Jesse, keep doing what you're doing. I'm sorry it's been so hard to learn this craft and that those who who have been doing this for so many years have not been willing to share their expertise. Best of luck in all you do.
Fantastic! Ancient crafts and skills should continue to be a part of the fabric of modern day society. Thank you Jesse. I would love to be a part of this amazing skill you have developed and rediscovered. Keep up the great work!!!
This has been going on in my area Hazaribagh (Bangladesh) for last 400 years. The peak time for Leather Refinery is during the Eid-ul Adha (Celebration of Sacrifice). We even have an University dedicated for this industry called Institute of Leather Engineering & Technology (ILET) under Dhaka University. Peace 🙏
That is so awesome 😎.
And you guys have much better hides because of Eid ul Adha because your sacrificial animals are larger
lmao bangladesh was formed in 1971. you should call it ancient india
@Noah dude go and read history. if not, a simple google search would be sufficient.
@Gladiator Max6 it is a curse but without sufficient infrastructure and knowledge poorer nations will keep hanging on to it .
I think the price of the parchment 📜 is very low after watching this, how labor intense the process is, it should have been 4-7 hundred dollars!
I even looked up his company, Pergamena, and I believe you're correct. What they showed was a lot of work for the price. However, on this video they said they have machinery that does what he was just doing by hand. Much more efficient and economical.
I believe with the right people this could be enormous , dragons den maybe or shark tank would snap this up , and then he’d be one of those story’s where he made millions with a follow up video
@@gq.5923 its important to preserve this craft but cmon now, the artisan market he services is that small not for lack of quality but the simple fact that people just dont buy that stuff anymore
Agreed its labour intensive, but they need to also make sure they can sell it. Price it too high and they won't be able to get customers. They also said it STARTS at 100 so could be that they do have more expensive pieces.
In India very cheap less than 1dollar but Gucci use the same leather and it's very expensive
Титанический труд. Не здоровый, наверняка. Достойно всяческого уважения! СПАСИБО ВАМ.
I have so much respect to this guy. He is very hardworking, smart, talented and so much passion in preserving their family's heritage.
this guys tenacity and confidence makes this whole thing 10 times cooler
Am Mazing! Dude is hard at it. Finished product is beautiful. This coming from an almost lifelong vegetarian. Wow. Just wow!
I love all art forms. I respect you for being a vegetarian. I myself cannot see myself giving up meat. But I do have a dream of running my own hobby farm to raise my own meat and get away from factory farmed meat.
@@rustyrelicsfarm2406 That sounds like a winner. One of the reasons that I became a vegetarian was that I didn't want other people doing my killing for me. If it really bothers me to kill animals, which it does, it's a pretty good driver for me to give it up. But..... I have never tried to convince other people to live as I do. I never even tried to sway my girlfriend, now wife, to give up meat. After we'd been together for some time, she chose it entirely on her own. And now we've been together for over 42 years! BTW, it's not nearly as hard as you might imagine. I started when I was 18, and neither of my parents were vegetarians.
@@hilltopgypsy Thank you for your understanding sir. I just hate the cruelty of factory farming so that's why I want to raise my own meat one day. Plus there are quite a few farmers in my family who take very great care pf their animals and I can ask them their advice. It's not the small family farmers that are the problem it's the big corporate farms that are the problem.
@@hilltopgypsy hey so do you eat shrimp and oysters etc??
@@jaycash8611 No, I don't eat any seafood. The way we put it is We don't eat anything with a face. We eat cheese, drink milk, and my wife keeps chickens from which we get eggs that we eat. No commercial eggs because we hate the way they're treated. Locking sentient beings in tiny cages for their entire lives is both wrong and cruel. Have a nice day.
This is so amazing. That burgundy parchment omgg ♡. I always appreciate hardwork like this U can tell he puts so much work into this and its not just a "job" to him its a purpose. So beautiful.
The look on his eyes during the whole video, i can feel his pain his joy showing us the method! This guy grabbed all the respect of people who ever watched this mine too
I truly respect such hard working people. If only I could find 10% of the work ethic they had, I’d be set for life...
same broo😭
Just gotta find a passion for something. My passions only seem to last for a year or two then I'm bored haha smh
you can do it! 😊👍
People who are set for life aren't necessarily those who have a work ethic. This is one of the lies of the American Dream.
@@mcpuffenstuff6213 I agree. This is the hardest part of life I think, finding something you are passionate about in life and working in that field. I feel far too often we often coast through life working jobs that just get us over the line.
450 year old family business. That is truly incredible.
Well, the parchment bit is like 10 years
Wonder if they owned slaves then lol
When I was a kid, we used to get parchment layer applied on cricket bats to increase its life. Never knew it took this kinda work in making.
That deep brown one looked like leather. Such a beautiful art! That’s awesome he’s keeping a tradition alive!💯🤟
I took a calligraphy course at my college and we had the opportunity to write on scraps of parchment--it was a wonderful experience, but unfortunately my dog thought it was tasty
I bet it taste like jerky
😂😂
Ao... Your dog ate your homework?
So really that saying "my dog ate my homework" probably has ancient origins, possibly back to 2450BC?
Those reddish brown pieces are absolutely gorgeous
You should have seen the faces of my grandniece and grandnephew as they watched tis video while holding the real parchment. Kudos to these people for keeping the art alive and to the parents who encourage their kids to learn and appreciate both beauty and history.
Beautiful work. Thank you for this homegrown, American story.
Imagine using this paper in exam
Wdym so? It's a joke
@@preciousmariepenuliar209 i agree
I'd feel so much pressure, Don't wanna ruin such paper, that's made with that much hard work.
@@truedirectioner1 yeah. these papers deserve the best
My vegan classmate would faint
Imagine a map made out of these paper. It would be so badass
Reminds me of a favorite picture book of mine, The Indian Paintbrush. Simple but beautiful book about creating nature’s art from nature itself.
Saw this guy on Dirty Jobs years ago, it’s awesome they’re still going 🙌
The cameraman should get a raise...
The Editor too
Under appreciated work
@Olias imagine smelling the place
Totally
@@vibeswjay6887 How do you know the smell? Is is that bad?
Simply 🥰 this guy. He should have a youtube channel to pass on the knowledge. Amazing.
Well this is by far the most interesting Business Insider I have seen so far. This is just amazing.
This is beautiful. Only a few people like this left on earth. This is a dying art form /process is so rare. Hats off he keeps it alive. I hope he has sons to pass this great work onto
English is not my first language and I thought the video title was about animal hiding
I speak english and I thought the same
even though English is sorta not my first language I knew what it meant
dude me to
I read it that way to
To be fair, I feel like about half of English speakers would think hide is spelled hyde in this circumstance.
I remember y'all from Dirty Jobs! So glad you're still going strong in these times!
*y’all. (It’s short for “you all”.)
@@tookitogo corrected, I typed too fast. You're welcome to leave me alone now.
Im here because i had no idea parchment was made with animal hide. I am a history lover, D&D player, Well traveled in all the ancient cultures and lore, and had No clue. Thank you!
Ah I love being an artist, I love the different types of paper, color markers, paint people put their love and effort into. It really does show the love people have for craft
$100 for one parchment that took a minimum of 2 weeks. Thats $1.25 per hour. More power to you !
It took two weeks but not two weeks of total labour (he did other parchments in that 2 weeks) so hes earning more than 1.25h
@@ginnymarch NO lol he didn't have several pieces being worked at once in this very video
@@seanclements6206 the parchment spent 2 weeks just soaking in Chemicals. So it’s not like he spent 2 weeks doing hard labor to make it.
@@carlkpsplucky5554 yeah I was being sarcastic anyway
Quick! Somebody needs to get this man started on YT - so he can make hide tanning and parchment *{ASMR}* videos!! 😆❤️
Ewwwww 😣
Hell nah
Ikr haha many interested in ancient tech like these
@@coffeebreak100 ur more ew
Well done and good job Sir.The man like you is one of my heros to be respected by all over the World.Because you are kipping one of the very famous ancient art,in life..Your work should be appreciated by everyone..The World should be proud of you..I wish you health and prosperity...
My dads an auctioneer and antique dealer and has been for 50 plus years in NY right near this guy. We always get old hand tools from estates that the amish buy. Ive seen tons of tools like the hide scraper over the years. Great craftsman
Fun fact: Torah scrolls are made with parchment scrolls to this date.
I don't know you, but I'm proud of you. Good work
omg the narration in this is so soothing
Parchment comes from the Greek city Pergamon in Turkey, modern Bergama. Pergamena is Greek, not Latin, it's the adjective that shows you're from that city, like Parisian or Londoner 😉
The hungarian name is also 'pergamen'
'MOISTURIZE ME' she said
*insert lenny face*
Doctor who reference lol
😅🤣
Ah. A person of culture, I see.
Your my new favourite person
That was beautifully shot. Congratulations to the camera and lighting crew. Great job!
i never knew what parchment was till now. i just new it was “old-timey paper” but now knowing how it was/is made and how much time is put into its creation, shines more light on how important old texts are
I think I've watched this 3 times already this was such an interesting video to watch. So interesting everytime I watch it again and again.
Nice show. Just for the record, this craft is alive and well by us Jews. All Jewish males wear "Tefillin" which must be hand written on parchment, every Torah Scroll must be hand written on parchment ect. Since these factories usually operate within the Jewish community there is no need for websites and public display.. but this craft is alive and well.
This was awesome! I love watching gifted people do what THEY love
Awesome! I wish I could get just one sheet of this parchment paper. I'm amazed! Great job.
respect to him mastering and sharing his skill most masters probably won't share their process
I finally got a video about how they did it for book binding parchment and more
Thank you and your family for making this product again.
Work like this is it's own reward. The day recognition comes it meets you already validated and grounded!
This is the most artistic, manly, and astounding thing I've watched in a while
Definitely a Art form and a great family business. Respect to him for hanging through the tough times I also love the skill and passion he works with just beautiful
I love how humble he is.
Very cool. It's always amazing to see skilled craftsmen at work.
Holy crap! My entire life I thought parchment was just a specific kind of wood-based paper. I had no idea it was made out of animal hides. You'll learn something new everyday!
Hello
Cool work you do man! Glad stuff like this exists in the world!
They still make it in Greece and the name pergamini that you refer to is not Latin but Greek and refers to a place called pergamos in turkey now that was back then Greece and it used to be one of the biggest most famous producers of this type of paper.
For one, they say he's the only one in the US that currently makes it. They didn't say anything about the rest of the world. And two, she refers to the word pergamena, which is a latin word for parchment. If you listen the the video, he changed the name of the business to that. No one was claiming it was Greece word, no one was claiming it Greece didn't also make paper. The Latin word was made way before Greece was even a thought.
@@Lt.Waffles bro this word is Greek. They call it that way because of what I said. And then the latins/romans took it too.
@@Lt.Waffles you’re just wrong. You know nothing about history. Greece came before Rome. And this word was Greek.
@@Lt.Waffles Rome before Greece? 🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻
@@EliasRafael10 Rome before Greece indeed, Greece was founded in 1829
Just give this man a great support and love cuz he deserves it ❤
Jesse your work is valuable.
In the old tannery days, they used dog poop and water to remove hair from pelts. They also used urine to degrease sheeps wool dye cloth and treat hides. The whole process was located down wind and as far out of town as possible.
Wow. I'm just grateful and so thankful to modern mass produced paper. It has made paper so accessible. Thankyou to all the inventors.
That’s amazing... great job and hope it continues.
So PROUD of all your doing for your family and history
this is incredible, respect to you and the family business mate 👏👏💪💪
I think you should do this on Netflix
Mad respect for everything he's doing and for who he is
I'VE WORKED WITH MY HANDS ALL MY LIFE IN SOME FORM OR FASHION. THE COST ON MY BODY HAS BEEN ENORMOUS. IN THE SHORT SPAN OF 45 TO 50 YEARS MOST EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED IN THE AREA OF POWER TOOLS. I STARTED OUT DRIVING SCREWS WITH A SCREW DRIVER, THEN A PUMP SCREW DRIVER UP AND DOWN, FINALLY A ELECTRIC POWER DRILL, NOW MOST OF THE MARKET HAS BECOME BATTERY DRIVEN. JUST THAT ONE SMALL TOOL. ITS AMAZING 👏 IM GLAD THAT MEN LIKE THIS HAVE FOUND A WAY TO STAY RELEVANT IN THIS FAST PACED WORLD. I TIP MY HAT SIR AND WISH YOU ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD.
It would be amzing to do a residency with this man. If love to submerge myself in this craft and learn how to apply it to my artwork.
Huge *respect* for this man
Great informative video. Thanks for this!
As an artist I'm so thankful someone is left in this world doing this craft. For two reasons. One because this in itself is an art that shouldn't be lost. And two. I love using their parchment for my work and getting the real stuff is VERY hard to come by. They really are one of the last two make it. Before I found them I even tried to make it myself and failed lol.
Тяжёлая работа! Парень молодец!
Yo this guy is really hardworking 💗💗💗
I live about 20-30 minutes from this place, and never knew it until now. Small world, very interesting!
Parchment, the processed skins of certain animals-chiefly sheep, goats, and calves-that have been prepared for the purpose of writing on them. The name apparently derives from the ancient Greek city of Pergamum (modern Bergama, Turkey), where parchment is said to have been invented in the 2nd century bc.