There is evidence that tablets covered in wax, that already existed in ancient times, were being used throughout the Middle Ages as a support for writing, in addition to papyrus, paper and parchment.
It was very easy to use these tablets: the wax, mixed with other substances, was poured over lightly hollowed out ivory tablets. A metal stylet was used to write in the wax. The exterior tablets, of which one side was sculpted, served as a cover; the other side was smeared with a thin layer of wax.
Most often three, four, five or six tablets were inserted between these sculpted ivory tablets. They were fixed one to another by means of strips, strings, pieces of leather or a band of parchment and formed a kind of "book" consisting of several pages. People carried them in a leather holster fixed to their belt.

Provenance: antiquarian bookseller Jan Dirven (Antwerp)
antiquarian bookseller Jan Dirven (Antwerp)