United States Declaration of Independence on hemp paper
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Hemp is one of the oldest cultivated plants and used to play an important role. But from the beginning of the 20th century, it was squeezed out of the market - and eventually fell into disrepute as a raw material for drugs.
Hemp was the world's most widely cultivated crop from the first millennium BC until the second half of the 19th century. In the 13th century, hemp as a raw material for paper came to Europe.
In 1455, Gutenberg printed his first Bible on hemp. Columbus brought hemp to America.
The first drafts of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence signed in 1776 were written on hemp paper.
With industrialization, the decline of hemp use began. Hemp processing was still manual labor and therefore laborious and expensive. Other raw materials were now cheaper and easier to process.
The paper industry found a new, cheaper raw material: the mass-produced wood of the forests.
Hemp as a rediscovered crop
Gradually, however, the displaced useful plant hemp is reappearing.
The raw material of hemp fibers can be used to produce insulating materials, and hemp is the basis for numerous textile and paper products.
The protein-rich hemp seeds can be used to make cosmetic preparations and foodstuffs.
In contrast to paper made from wood, hemp paper has a much higher value and durability: it hardly yellows at all.
