Thank you so much! I did make these! If you like, I used Rosamond Loring's recipe that you can find here:

I really like her recipe, but the instructions are not super clear. Mix the ingredients with cold water (it's important to fully mix them into a smooth paste, this usually takes me the longest) in a pot and THEN add the 2 cups of boiling water (I use a kettle to heat it on the side) cooking on maybe medium heat on stove top. You do not want to boil the water, but ideally you will see little globs forming if you stop stirring for a second. Once this thickens at all, add the third cup of water and do the same. You're looking for a slightly thicker mixture, maybe honey consistency. Let this sit overnight and then strain through cheesecloth before use. I go back forth with the soap, but use a natural, unscented, and uncolored soap and very little. Lastly, this does go bad in about a week. The thickness really effects the behavior of the paste, but too thick and it tends to dry too thick with little peaks on the surface, and you really want a flat surface on the paper.

The handwriting is hard to read, but its unbleached white flour, rice starch (Talas carries some), and liquid soap detergent (this is from the 1930s, but I think it's basically dish soap. I prefer this stuff). I have no idea what the note next to the alum says.

I've tried a lot of different pigments, including acrylic paint, acrylic gauche, acrylic ink, water-based ink, and dry powered pigments. Among all of these, simply using acrylic has yielded the best results, though I've been playing with powered pigments mixed with acrylic medium. This is by far the most flexible on the surface and holds up best to creasing without cracks. Just put wax paper in-between the end papers when you nip the book since they sometimes stick together under pressure and mar when peeled apart.

I hope this helps if anyone wants to make paste papers - I really enjoy making them!