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Paper for gravestone rubbings (reader question)

 Brian & Dawn at Wild World
Gene Hammiel, who shows his wonderful colored pencil work on the Colored Pencil Society of America website for Washington DC, asked me about paper for gravestone rubbings. He was looking for some lightweight paper that he had found years ago, but could no longer locate.

The only thing I knew to suggest to him was the standard Aqaba paper which is specifically made for gravestone rubbings. There are lots of sources for it online, but that's not exactly what he was looking for.  Gene wrote:


I found some Aqaba from Gravestone Artwear on-line in York Harbor,Me., but it was thicker than what I had before years ago. I have been using calligraphy paper in the meantime. It worked pretty good.
So, at least Gene has something to start with, but do any of you have more experience at this?  Any recommendations?

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Comments

With my well known fascination with cemeteries, I've got a few headstone rubbings lying around. I've always used newsprint for the rubbings. It's lightweight, so you get a good imprint, you can get it in rolls, pads or by the box (Amazon or Staples carry it). I buy the bleached version, it's a bit lighter than the standard unbleached. I use a relatively soft natural graphite from Derwent for the rubbing, but I've also tried some colored pastels that can yield some interesting results.

Hope that is helpful!
Cyndi L said…
Very helpful!! Thank you June :-)