A Look Back // Events from 1980 – 1989

The first decade of the New England Chapter was filled with social gatherings at various institutions and member’s studios. The following is a list of events during 1980 – 1989, all sourced from the GBW Newsletter.

1989
– Timothy Barrett spoke about his research in Japanese and Western paper at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, MA

1988
– after a tour of the conservation lab at Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University members walked through the exhibit Eccentric Books, which included antiquarian and modern work with movable parts, revolving discs, cut-outs, flaps, pull-tabs, “pop-up” books
– Sue Baughman hosted a meeting at Clark University’s Goddard Library, where Dorothy Minkowski spoke about the collection in the rare book room including examples of fore edge painting
– Peter Geraty gave a workshop on Oriental book strucutres
– two workshops with Hugo Peller: “Pop-Up Boxes” and “Gold Tooling & Leather Decoration Techniques”
– John Dreyfus, a British typographical historian spoke about the connection between printing and the invention of spectacles
– a teacher at the Rhode Island School of Design, Janet Sweig, talked about contemporary artists’ books

1987
– during a meeting at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, members were given a tour of the storage facilities and conservation lab to view an extensive conservation project of 1,000 logbooks treated by Robert Hauser
– members Carol Blinn, Suzanne Moore, Joe Newman and Don Glaister participated in a panel discussion at the reception for the National Guild’s Exhibit Eighty Years Later
– North Bennet Street School hosted a meeting for members, where Mark Esser gave a tour of the new bindery facilities and special guests Don Glaister and Fritz Eberhart discussed their approach to design binding with a slide show presentation
– a film viewing of Robert Baart’s “Gold Beating: The Making of Gold Leaf” was screened at Harcourt Bindery followed by several demonstrations by Daniel Kelm (presentation on the “Mythology, Alchemy and Magic of gold”), Joe Newman (different techniques for gold tooling on trade and fine bindings), Peter Geraty (edge gilding) and Suzanne Moore (laying gold for illumination)
– tour of Carriage House Handmade Papers studio followed by a slide show presentation by Elaine and Donna Koretsky on making paper in Burma

1986
– Third Annual Book Workers Olympics
– Mr. Niyazi Sayin gave a lecture on Turkish Ebru
– Daniel and Babetta Gehnrich gave a talk on the German apprenticeship system with examples of their work at the Boston Public Library
– Hugo Peller offered two workshops, one on edge decoration at the Northeast Document Conservation Center and a second on vellum techniques at the Creative Arts Workshop
– Ole Olson taught a workshop on paste paper techniques at David Bourbeau’s studio in Easthampton
– members met at the American Antiquarian Society to critique and discuss bindings from an exhibit
– Roderick “Rocky” Stinehour, Chairman of Meridan-Stinehour Press and a well-known printer in New England, gave a lecture on the history of printing at Wellesley College (co-sponsored by Wellesley College, The Society of Printers, The Letterpress Guild of New England and the New England Chapter of the American Printing History Association)

1985
– the Boston Athenaeum hosted a meeting with 38 members with a tour followed by a special viewing of an exhibit at the Houghton Library Harvard University on the work of Arno Werner
– Sue Allen gave a slide show presentation on Victorian Publisher’s Bindings

1984
– Kathryn Gerlach hosted a meeting with 28 members at The Old Mill in Shaftsbury, Vermont. She set up her studio with a display of bindings in various stages of completion and showed several books that had been bound by her and her husband, Gerhard. Kathryn gave a short slide show of work they had completed discussing their experiences as binders.
– a meeting was held at the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut with host Mother Agnes Shaw. Members were gathered to hear the Office of Sext (5th century Gregorian chant) followed by a presentation by Mother Agnes on cut leather, a technique dating back to the 12th century.
– Don Glaister and Suzanne Moore hosted the 2nd Annual Book Workers Olympics in Westhampton

1983
– a talk on the history of binding from the 19th century to the present was given by Julie Stackpole using slides images on collections from the Bodleian Library
– Bill and Elaine Streeter of Heraldry Bindery host the 1st Annual Bookbinding Olympics in Easthampton

1982
– at a summer meeting Don Glaister spoke about his bindings

1981
– Northeast Document Conservation Center hosted 30 members for a meeting where Sherelyn Ogden gave a slide presentation on a book treatment done at the center followed by a tour of the facilities
– a meeting in the fall took place at the Rare Book Room of Smith College

1980
– a meeting at One Cottage Street included slide shows and tours from Carol Blinn, Claudia Cohen, Daniel Kelm, Gray Parrot and Alan Robinson
– Don Glaister hosted a pot luck dinner for members to meet with Danish Ole Olsen who gave a slide show presentation