As part of the Library’s reflections on its environmental impact, the staff have been looking at the ecological costs of printing – and its past and potential links with the natural world.
This exhibition includes the world’s first algae-printed book, ink made on-site from Kentish oak galls, and a rare example of Victorian ‘nature printing’.
![](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_0228-01.jpeg)
The nature-printed British sea-weeds: a history, accompanied by figures and dissections of the Algae of the British Isles
WG Johnstone & A Croall, (London, 1859)
The nature-printed British sea-weeds: a history, accompanied by figures and dissections of the Algae of the British Isles
WG Johnstone & A Croall, (London, 1859)
![](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_0233-01.jpeg)
Boulder Guide Book
patagonia, (Boulder, CO, 2019). Printed with algae-ink. With thanks to D&K Printing.
![](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_0236-01-1024x683.jpeg;)
![](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_0244-01.jpeg)
Origins: a sustainable print production primer
D&K Printing, (Boulder, CO, [n.d.]). With thanks to D&K Printing.
Origins: a sustainable print production primer
D&K Printing, (Boulder, CO, [n.d.]). With thanks to D&K Printing.
Iron oak gall ink with goose quill.
![](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_0256-01-1024x683.jpeg;)
This ink was made on-site in a workshop lead by Sara Charles where students and Library staff tried their hands at making medieval-style iron gall ink and learned about its place in medieval bookmaking and manuscript culture.
![The oak galls, ferrous sulfate (or vitriol), and gum arabic ready to be made into iron-gall ink.](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240124_140954-1024x1024.jpg)
![The oak galls, ferrous sulfate (or vitriol), and gum arabic ready to be made into iron-gall ink.](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240124_140954-1024x1024.jpg)
![The oak galls have been crushed in a small cloth bag and have had hot water added to them to begin to release their pigment.](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240124_143510-1024x1024.jpg)
![After the crushed galls have been heated in water for around 20 minutes, they are strained to remove the gall pieces from the liquid.](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240124_152004-1024x1018.jpg)
![The strained liquid from the galls is dark brown in colour.](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240124_152417-1024x1024.jpg)
![Adding ferrous sulfate, or vitriol, reacts with the tannic acid from the galls to achieve a black ink.](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240124_152449-1019x1024.jpg)
![Gum arabic can be added to improve the consistency of the ink and help it flow better from a quill nib.](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240124_152834-1024x1024.jpg)
![The finished result is a deep black ink that binds incredibly well to parchment and paper.](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240124_153124-1024x1018.jpg)
Curated by Dr Matthew Shaw, College Librarian
With thanks to D&K Printing.
Explore more of our exhibitions
![Portrait of Sir Joseph Williamson made in oils](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/williamson2-CD3-23.jpg)
Joseph Williamson and the establishment of the transatlantic slave trade
![](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/20230801_111329-rotated.jpg)
Shakespeare’s Books
![](https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/6453c2044acb8.jpg)
The Bodies of Shakespeare’s Contemporaries