History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c36.s2.13

v1.c36.s2.13

Nearchos (4th century B.C.), an admiral of Alexander’s fleet, has first mentioned that the Indians used to write letters on well-beaten cotton cloth (Buhler, p. 20). Cloth was made smooth and non-porous with the application of a thin layer of wheat or rice pulp on it. It was further polished with a conch-shell or stone after the same was dried and letters were written on it with black ink (Pandey, 1952, pt. 1, p. 72).