Lecture from Julia Miller

Thursday April 26, 2012

6:00 pm

North Bennet Street School, Boston

This lecture is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers and North Bennet Street School.  Please register online at nbss.edu so we can prepare an appropriate space for the number attending.

Drawing from her study of 350 scaleboard bindings in library collections, Julia Miller explores the variety of structural elements and material combinations used on American imprints bound in scaleboard.

Scaleboard, also known as scabbard, is thin wood that was used for bindings in Europe and Britain until around 1600 (and much less so thereafter). The material was incorporated into American bindings as early as the 1680s (and probably earlier) and was used through the 1840s. Scaleboard was used in place of paste or pulpboard long after those materials were widely available in America and Boston is considered the center of early scaleboard/scabbard use based on the number of Boston imprints that survive in scaleboard bindings. Through her research and presentations, Julia aims to increase awareness of these bindings and increase the identification and description of these bindings in research collection cataloguing.

Introduction to Scaleboard

A hands-on seminar with Julia Miller

Friday and Saturday, April 27-28, 2012

North Bennet Street School, Boston

Please register online at nbss.edu.

The first day of the workshop focuses on building a solid understanding of the variety of structural elements encountered in collections of scaleboard bindings. The day includes a presentation by the instructor, hands-on examination of historical binding examples, discussion and descriptions done by students in teams. During the bench portion of the workshop, students create a cutaway model of a full leather scaleboard binding. Students also create a set of structure and material samplers to use as aids when working with Americana collections.

A workshop with Karen Hanmer

March 10-11, 2012

North Bennet Street School, Boston

In this two-day workshop, students make two styles of flag books and experiment with adding text and images. For both styles a sample is made from kits provided by the instructor. A more finished book with students’ imagery and hand written text is made in one or both styles as time permits. Students explore different spine and page dimensions, direction of motion and the selection of images that are most successful for flag book styles. Students have the opportunity to experiment with complementary and contrasting text and images and learn a tidy, non-adhesive method of covering boards and using a jig to facilitate quicker, more precise assembly. Before creating books using their own text and imagery, we review and discuss books by other artists and the importance of prototype construction and critical thinking at the onset of a project. While this is not a computer class, digital printing and using Photoshop templates for pages, covers and spines will be demonstrated.

Please see nbss.edu for more information and online registration

40-inch wooden bed board shear made by Hobbs Manufacturing in Worcester MA.  With a back center slide gauge and a drop-front gauge for $2,000.

October 5-29, 2011

The New England Chapter exhibition opened at the Bromfield Gallery last Friday evening in conjunction with the Guild of Book Worker’s annual conference.  The opening was well attended… which is quite an understatement as those in attendance can attest.  We hope you all can make it over to see the exhibit before it closes on October 29, but there are two other options.  The bindings will travel to San Francisco this winter to be displayed at Chronicle Books (specific details will be posted on the chapter blog, of course).  And whether or not you see the exhibit at one of the exhibits you will want to purchase a copy of the catalog!  The catalog is available from blurb.com for $32.

deFINEd BINDINGS by New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers | Make Your Own Book

We would also like to announce the prizes awarded for a few of the bindings.  We had hoped to award these at the opening reception but the crowd was overwhelming.  The prizes were sponsored by Chronicle Books and North Bennet Street School.  Chronicle offered three awards for design: 1st prize to Patty Bruce, 2nd prize to George Sargent, and 3rd prize to Deborah Howe.  North Bennet awarded Mark Esser a prize for “exquisite craftsmanship” and offered a prize to Sonya Sheats for “best binding structure.”  The North Bennet Street School awards were beautiful handcrafted candle boxes which should make nice tool boxes for the winning binders.  The Chronicle awards were generous gift certificates for Chronicle Books.  Congratulations to the winning binders and all those in the exhibit, the feedback about your work has been phenomenal.  And we would like to once again thank all of the binders who submitted work for consideration.  Space limitations forced the jury to eliminate many wonderful bindings and we hope to see many of those exhibited elsewhere in the future.

Come to Peabody’s Leather Worker’s Museum on Oct. 29 from 9 AM to 1 PM.

205 Washington St.
Peabody, MA 01960

Free admission & refreshments.

See Master leather artisans work on their craft.

Enjoy the work of artist Joseph Pechinsky.

View an array of artifacts from local tanneries including leather factory equipment.

Help honor the men, women & children that helped build Peabody and the surrounding communities…

Contact: Kelly.Turner@peabodyhistorical.org

Title of event: Bookbindings in the era of Father Matteo Ricci, SJ
Brief description: Over fifty books from the Burns Library’s Jesuitica Collection are on display in the O’Brien Fine Print Room and the Thompson Room from March 21st through October 31st, 2011 as part of the exhibition, “Binding Friendship: Ricci, China and Jesuit Cultural Learnings”. In a complementary event, the Burns Library conservator Barbara Adams Hebard will give a presentation about Jesuitica Collection bookbindings dating 1582-1610.

Location: Boston College, Burns Library Conservation lab, Bapst Building

Admission Cost: free, but limited space, please RSVP

Contact person: Barbara Adams Hebard

Contact email address: barbara.hebard@bc.edu

Contact phone: 617 552-8847

Date of event: October 20, 2011
Time: 11:00 am -12:00

Directions to Boston College:

http://www.bc.edu/a-z/maps.html

As has been previously noted, there is an opening reception for the New England Chapter’s bookbinding exhibition, deFINEd BINDINGS at the Bromfield Gallery on Friday October 7.  6:30-8:30 p.m.  Free and open to the public.

At the conference hotel: The vendors area is free and open to the public, on Thursday October 6 from 12 – 5pm, Friday October 7 from 8am – 6pm, and Saturday October 8 from 8am – 4pm.

Please come see the vendors if you’re in the area.

Akkra, Inc.

www.bonefolder.com

American Academy of Bookbinding

www.ahhaa.org

Bindery Tools, LLC

www.binderytools.com

Bookbinders Workshop

www.bookbindersworkshop.com

Cave Paper

www.cavepaper.com

Chena River Marblers

www.chenarivermarblers.com

Colophon Book Arts

www.colophonbookarts.com

Deena Schnitman Designs

www.deenaschnitman.com

Harcourt Bindery

www.harcourtbindery.com

Harmatan & Oakridge Leathers

www.harmatan.co.uk

Hiromi Paper, Inc.

www.hiromipaper.com

J. Hewit & Sons, Ltd.

www.hewit.com

The Japanese Paper Place

www.japanesepaperplace.com

MacGregor Handmade Paper

kmpaper@myfairpoint.net

MarbleSmith Paper

shirinne@windstream.net

Marbler’s Apprentice

www.marblersapprentice.com

North Bennett Street School

www.nbss.edu

Paper Connection International

www.paperconnection.com

Pergamena Parchment

www.pergamena.net

Shepherd’s Bookbinders

www.bookbinding.co.uk

An exhibition of remarkable and unexpected artists’ book from the Boston Athenaeum’s outstanding collection.

The Boston Athenaeum
10 1/2 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108

Artists’ Books: Books by Artists

October 12, 2011 – March 3, 2012

Gallery Hours:

Monday & Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

This exhibition is organized by the Boston Athenaeum with generous support from Anne and David Bromer and Ann And Jerrold Mitchell.

Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College (Neilson Library, 3rd floor)
Fall 2011 events

Mon, Sept 19, 4.00 pm    Didier Mutel: this extraordinary book artist
and master printmaker from Paris will conduct a workshop on his Jekyll
and Hyde and Horla projects and talk about the 18th-century atelier he
now directs.

Thurs, Oct 13, 7.30 pm    Redwood & Wildfire: Andrea Hairston’s reading
from her acclaimed novel will be accompanied by Pan Morrigan performing
original blues and bluegrass compositions. (sponsored by the Friends of
the Smith College Libraries, in the Neilson Library Browsing Room)

Thurs, Oct 20, 4.00 pm    Women’s Studio Workshop: Tana Kellner and Ann
Kalmbach, book artists and founders of WSW, will give a talk and gallery
walk for Hand, Voice & Vision.

Thurs, Nov 10, 4.00 pm   Kathy Walkup: the director of the Mills
College Graduate Book Arts Program, speaking on women printers, past and
present.

Ongoing though December

Remembering 9/11: An exhibition of artists
books in commemoration of the 10th anniversary (curated by Barbara
Blumenthal)

Hand, Voice & Vision:
artists’ books from Women’s Studio Workshop (curated by Kathy Walkup)

For more information       413.585.2906

All events free and open to the public

Posted on behalf of:

BARBARA B. BLUMENTHAL
Rare Book Specialist, Mortimer Rare Book Room &
Administrative Assistant, Book Studies Concentration
Neilson Library, Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063
T: 413-585-2906  F: 413-585-2904
bblument@smith.edu