Category: book conservation

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Historic Book Structures for Conservators 2015: One month, seventy-two books, seven students, and one tired instructor

historic structures class 2015
L-R: Jeff Peachey, Emilie Kracen, Catherine Stephens, Fionnuala Gerrity, Katherine Le, Diana Avelar Pires, Amber Hares, Valeria Kremser
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Cat Stevens spokeshaving an alum tawed skin. You need a very sharp spokeshave, modified for leather work, to tame this abrasive material.

 

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Katherine Le ploughing on a vintage Hickock “Amateur or Small Size” press and plough. Oddly, in a catalog ca. 1940 the regular and small size are the same price. I would be happy to trade my small one for a regular size!
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Fionnuala Gerrity using a low angle block plane to shape her wooden boards. She is using a  Lee Valley Veritas Apron Plane, which is a great value at less than $100.
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A model of a ca. 1500 Italian long stitch book made with guest Instructor Maria Fredericks.
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Elissa O’Loughlin giving a demonstration of semi-traditional Japanese paste making. Wait, how did she get into this class?!?
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Val Kresmer carving some channels in her wood boards. In front of her are some of the bookbinding, woodworking and metalworking tools for the class.
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Amber Hares sewing a primary end band with a back bead on a 16th C. German model. This will later be covered with a secondary two color front bead.

 

diana cutting boards
Diana Avalar Pires cutting through pasteboards with a reproduction 18th C. pointe for her full calf French model.
emily fraying slips
Emilie Kracen fraying and pointing slips.
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The Importance of Extra Binding

“I pity those who call themselves cultured and with fine art taste who cannot take from their shelves some few specimens of first-class modern extra binding … giving to their possessors every time they handle them finer feelings and sweeter ecstasy of pleasure than many more costly objects of art they possess.”

-William Matthews Modern Bookbinding Practically Considered. New York: The Grolier Club, 1889. (pp. 94-95)

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Mi-type

The Mechanics’ Magazine, Museum, Register, Journal, and Gazette. No. 1051,Saturday September 30, 1843, 265.

I recall hearing that most type is about 50% redundant if the only consideration is legibility. If so, I’m interested in why mi-type, or something like it, never caught on. If the entire history of print was reduced by half the material costs—assuming it was just a legible— this would have been significant in labor/ cost/ carbon reduction.