Tackets, Overbands, Lacings and Buckles

Tackets, Overbands, Lacings and Buckles: a lecture by Katherine Beaty on early Italian stationery bindings of Harvard’s Baker Library

When: Friday November 17th, 4-5pm
Where: 90 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge, MA 02138

This lecture is free and open to the public. Seating in limited, so please arrive early!

The Harvard Business School’s Baker Library houses the largest collection of early Italian business records outside of Italy. It includes 150 account books and day books of the Medici Family, 81 volumes from the Barberini Family, and many more. Presenter Katherine Beaty will talk about the use and structure of early Italian stationery bindings that were observed during recent conservation projects of the Medici and Barberini collections. These unique limp vellum bindings include unusual structural features, such as overbands, decorative alum-tawed lacings, spine and endband tackets, and different fastenings types, including ties, loop and toggle, and buckles. This lecture is presented in conjunction with a workshop on Italian tacketed stationery bindings hosted by the New England Chapter of the Guild of Bookworkers. For more information on the workshop and to register for one of the few spots remaining in the workshop, click here.

Presenter Katherine Beaty is a rare book conservator in the Weissman Preservation Center for the Harvard Libraries. For the past 10 years, Katherine has been treating rare books from the Harvard library collection, with a special interest in parchment, Islamic and non-western books, and investigating historical book structures. Over the last four years, she has been conserving early Italian account books from the Harvard’s Business School’s Baker Library Historical Collections. Katherine earned her M.A. from the Buffalo State College Art Conservation program with a specialization in book conservation.

 

Workshop: Italian Tacketed Stationery Bindings with Katherine Beaty

Workshop: Italian Tacketed Stationery Bindings with Katherine Beaty

During this workshop, we will explore the structure of early Italian tacketed stationery bindings based on the Medici family account book collection at Harvard Business School’s Baker Library. From the 14th through the 19th centuries, tacketed stationery books were used for day, letter, and account books. These books were designed for daily use and had to live up to the task. In this 2-day workshop, we will construct the most common style of tacketed stationery binding: a limp vellum binding with laced overbands and a fore-edge flap. The textblock will be sewn over split thongs, which will lace through the front cover and be secured under the overbands. The cover will be reinforced with stiff leather overbands, secured to the cover with decorative alum tawed lacings. During this workshop, we will discuss terminology, binding variations, and examine images from the Medici collection.

Participants should have previous bookbinding experience, and be comfortable using paper, parchment, and leather.

When: Saturday – Sunday, November 18th and 19th
Where: Third Year Studios, 369 Congress Street, Floor 6, Boston, MA 02210

Cost: $125 for GBW members, $175 for non-members

Additional materials fee of $65 due to Katherine on the first day of the workshop.

Katherine Beaty is a rare book conservator in the Weissman Preservation Center, Harvard Library’s special collection conservation facility, where she has worked for the past 10 years. Prior to her appointment at Harvard, Katherine interned at the Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the Harry Ransom Center. Katherine received an MA in art conservation with a specialization book from the Art Conservation department at Buffalo State College. She has taught workshops for the North Bennett Street School, for local chapters of the Guild of Bookworkers in New England and New York, and presented at the Guild of Bookworkers Standards of Excellence. Katherine has spent the last four years working on collections of early Italian account books at Harvard Business School’s Baker Library.

The workshop will be accompanied by a lecture given by Katherine: Tackets, Overbands, Lacings and Buckles: early Italian stationery bindings of Harvard’s Baker Library. The lecture will be open to the public.

Friday, November 17th. Location and time TBD.

Any questions regarding the workshop can be directed to Kate Levy at newgbwprograms@gmail.com.

For registration click here: https://gbw.formstack.com/forms/italian_tacketed_stationery_bindings_with_katherine_beaty