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 Papermaking just before the rise of the modern paper industry. Paper was made of cotton and linen rags that had been cleansed from dirt and dust, cut into small pieces and ground into pulp. This sort of job was mostly done by women and children. The pulp was mixed with water in vats in which it was stirred. This `pulp' then went into a tub in which a mould, consisting of a frame of woven copper thread, was dipped and shaken, until a sheet of paper was formed. A number of sheets was subsequently put under a press to extract any further moisture.