I remember growing up that my mother (who wrote ALOT of letters), would always use this nice, thin paper and insert a thicker, paper (with heavy black lines) under the one that she was writing on. So the horizontal lines were only visible while writing. When you pulled off the sheet, there were no lines on the paper. Is this type of paper still available? It made for beautiful letters.

Onion skin paper would work for what you're describing but is no longer being made -- you have to find old stock. You can still find it on Ebay, at thrift stores and at yard sales. I happend to like it myself. Some vellum papers might work too and they are still being made.

There seems to be some at the Paper Mill Store right now:
http://www.thepapermillstore.com/product.p...9304&page=1

If it's the lined paper you're looking for, it seems that easier than looking for it would be to set it up in a word processing program and print it off your computer. Then you could customize the spacing and the weight of the rules, too.

Pads of unlined Clairfontaine writing paper still come with a separate sheet of guidelines.

Southworth still makes three kinds of onionskin paper; look in office supply stores. You can also buy onionskin writing paper from a couple of places online. Google "onionskin writing paper" and see what you come up with. For example:
paper.com/Catalog_C/OfficePaper/Premium_Colors/Premium_Colors.html
www.thepapermillstore.com/pages.php?pageid=65 (Esleeck Papers -- selling off the last of their onionskin stock, so if you want it, don't wait around to order)

You might also be able to find onionskin from European sources -- my guess is that Spain would be a good bet.

Onion skin? Sure it is.

Google Search Results

The Papermillstore also has 17 lB recycled Paper Vellum available:

Paper Vellum

-Bruce

OK. I'll check the Clairfontaine and see what I come up with. It must be pretty thin to be able to see the lines in the sheet behind it.

Air Mail pads also used to have the dark-lines sheet under the plain paper.

I concur. This is what I do. With a word processor you have infinite control over the line spacing and the width of the lines, and I find that heavy black lines from a laser printer show through pretty well on most any kind of paper. You don't need onionskin.

With today's new postal requirements, if you write a long letter you might be better off with onion skin or face the surcharges for exceeding 1/4 inch of thickness......

-Bruce

Most likely they were dropped as a cost cutting measure by those who no longer include them. If you need such you can always stick a sheet of lined paper under the paper you are writing on.

My local grocery store out in the semi-boonies carries writing paper pads with the lined insert! It's not the best of paper for fountain pens (not as good as Clairefontaine paper which my pens really like) but it's serviceable. It's made by Mead, is 6" x 9" (15.2 x 22.8 cm) and fits No. 6 3/4 envelopes.

But the idea of making your own lined guide is good because you can then use the guide/rule with your good paper.

I also agree with this, and I have done it.

You don't need onionskin, as mentioned. It will work with a lot of writing paper - all but the most opaque. Any 20-24# cotton content writing paper will usually have enough show-through that you can see the lines underneath. Granted, you might need to be sure your bottom sheet has a nice dark line - which is another reason to set it up yourself so you can make sure the lines are dark enough without distracting.

Onionskin is one way to lower your letter weight, but it has the downside that you can't use both sides due to the showthrough. So if you have 9# onionskin, and you need to use 2 sheets then the equivilent is 18#. Better would be to use a #16lb paper (which can be found sometimes) and use both sides. Even better would be Gilbert 25% cotton 13# paper. It has enough opacity to write on both sides successfully, so it is the lightest letter-paper out there. Unfortunately, it was discontinued about 10 years ago. When my wife and I were first dating we lived in different cities for about 6 months - I went through a ream-and-a half of that stuff.

John

On second thought, looking at the Papertec Inc. Website and their listing of paper grades:



Hmm... I wondered why Old Griz has been ordering so much Onionskin. . .


John

Or visit http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/ where you can set up and print your own lined paper. Look towards the bottom of the page. Change the line thickness, change the spacing, change the colour. Very cool.

Rick

If you print out lined paper using your word processing program, be sure to hit bold for every line, and also set the print settings to darkest.

Voila! lined guide sheets are yours.

Hint: If you're using an inkjet printer, especially on a humid day, let it dry for about 10 minutes to avoid any rub off from the darker printing to the back side of what you're writing on. Some papers with certain printer inks just require it.

You can also set up your own lined paper by underscoring a page. Just hold the underline key down for a little slice of forever. Then set the line spacing to what you'd like for your guide sheets.

I'm thinking some people just like the way onionskin looks and feels, and the sound it makes when you unfold the letter. Maybe it reminds them of letters they received years ago from loved ones far away. Or of the paper they used to write letters on when they were young, the world was a much bigger place, and they didn't know about life what they know now. Proust and that cookie ... Postage rates and practicality don't have much to do with liking.

Thanks for the link, Rick. Lots of great downloads. Way cool!

I found this today:

http://bibliophilebullpen.blogspot.com/2007/04/freebie.html

a premade template for a line insert card for Moleskines.

Yes, that is what I am talking about. Thanks for that post.

I made my own for some heavyweight note paper I purchased (32# I think) by going over the lines of regular old college-ruled notebook paper with a black Sharpie marker. The lines are thick and dark enough to show through even the heavy stock.

I agree with what others have said about making your own. I've made a number of different guides, including a couple for envelopes. Makes things much easier!

If you'd like a stiffer backing, you can print onto cardstock or, in my case, I used a transparancy so it wouldn't get so frayed looking after a while. Holds up very well.

There is a type of paper made for airmail letters by Crane ("Air Mail"?), very light and opaque. It was designed to save postage/weight/space and was a staple during the years proceeding WWII, through the war years and even through the 60's. It comes in a box or pad and is most likely what your mother used. The "line" sheet can be made using any of the the methods/suggestion made in the other responses. I made mine using 90lb cover stock and have done so with a laser printer and before that--a copy machine and even an electric typewriter!

Yes, yes, yes. Thank you, Bill the Editor, for clueing us in that The Paper Mill Store had onionskin paper available again. I had actually checked that online store off and on over the winter and they did not have any. Here is the link again: http://www.thepapermillstore.com/gsearch.p...ring=onion+skin

I ordered some after I saw your post last week and it arrived today. Beautiful, sheer paper that is soft in texture yet crackles with importance when handled. Fountain pens love onionskin paper. I am very pleased to have a healthy supply of this paper now. Thank you again,
---Rena

Glad it worked out. It's a shame that finding such nice paper takes months, but how special the letters you write to people on it will be!

Wow, thats awesome..

They just need to make another for Moleskine's smaller notebooks..

In the UK, Basildon Bond (est. 1911) still produce their books of watermarked writing paper, complete with guide sheet and blotting paper, at a reasonable cost.