Stitched cloth instead of a page

Why the background is mended

The page is not paper, it is cloth that has been patched: several indigos of different age, different weaves, joined with running stitch that is left visible. Repair is the whole argument, since a mended surface shows its own history and does not pretend to be new. Against that, the type is deliberately formal, wide gold serif capitals with an italic line under them, and one red seal stamp acts as a signature. Colour stays inside indigo, ecru, faded gold and one terracotta, the range natural dyes actually give. Chinese tea belongs on this surface because the good ones are also valued for age and handling rather than for being fresh from a factory, and pressed cake wrappers have carried stamps like these for a century. On the white pages the same idea returns as block-printed leaves, so the cloth is implied rather than shown.