We have uploaded a new calendar of events to our website. Please check it out!
Here are some details about the events:
March 9
Tour of the National Gallery of Art Exhibit
In the Library: Marks of Ownership
Presented by: Yuri Long – Exhibit Curator and Rare Books Specialist, National Gallery of Art Library
12:30 – 1:30 PM
East Building, Ground Floor, Study Area
Once the introduction of movable type allowed the printing of exact copies, book owners needed a way to identify the works in their possession. Stamps, handwritten notes, and special bindings with embossed coats of arms were all used, but it was the bookplate, introduced around the time of Gutenberg’s press, that became the most popular means of marking ownership. Early styles of bookplates, or Ex Libris (From the Library) emblems, ranged from simple initials to ornamented heraldic plates; from designs reflecting an owner’s personal interests to warnings against theft or damage; and from pastoral scenes to stacks of books. This selection from the National Gallery of Art Library’s rare book collection showcases how collectors over the centuries marked their books, with an emphasis on highly artistic examples of bookplates from the 19th and 20th centuries.
The exhibition is on view in the East Building, Ground Floor, Study Center, and open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
March 17 & 18
Drum Leaf Bindings and Edge Decoration Workshop
Presented by Karen Hanmer
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring, MD
Karen Hanmer’s work intertwines cultural and personal memory. The work is often playful in structure or content, and may include social commentary. She exhibits internationally, and her work has won numerous awards, most recently the Jury Prize for Binding at the Helen Warren DeGolyer Awards for American Bookbinding. Hanmer’s work is included in collections ranging from The Getty Museum and the Library of Congress to Yale University and Graceland. She is a leader in the book arts community, serving on the editorial board of The Bonefolder and the Guild of Book Workers Journal, and as frequent exhibition curator. She offers workshops and private instruction focusing on building a solid foundation in basic binding skills. A complete catalog of Hanmer’s work is online at www.karenhanmer.com.
April 13
Traveling Texts: What Bookbindings Tell Us About Early-Printed Books
Presented by: Scott Husby
5:30 PM
Folger Shakespeare Library
Scott Husby has been a conservation bookbinder since the 1970s, much of that time in private practice. He has worked as a book conservator on projects at the Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Freer and Sackler Galleries at the Smithsonian. From 1996 through 2007 he was the rare books conservator at Princeton University. He is now an independent scholar working on a census of bookbindings on 15th-century printed books in American libraries.
Scott will speak about the nature and scope of the incunabula bookbinding census, and share some of the historical patterns and discoveries that have come to light from the project.
May 19
Paper Making Workshop
Presented by Gretchen Schermerhorn
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring, MD
Gretchen Schermerhorn is the Artistic Director, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center. Her prints, books and paper works have been exhibited nationally and internationally in such places as New York, Boston, Santa Fe, and Phoenix. Her work is in public and permanent collections including the San Francisco Public Library and Amity Art Foundation. Her current body of work consists of a body of printed paper garments and deals with ideas of socialization versus biology. Other issues that her work explores include political and social themes such as human and animal rights, sexuality, and environmental abuse. She teaches various classes including Papermaking, 2D Design, Mixed-Media, Printmaking and Drawing. Ms. Schermerhorn received her MFA from Arizona State University in 2004, with a specialization in Printmaking and Papermaking. She has completed artist residencies at Columbia College Center for Book and Paper and California State University.
June 12
Tour of National Library of Medicine
Presented by: Stephen J. Greenberg
6:00 PM
National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD
The tour will include highlights from the Rare Book collection and an opportunity to view National Library of Medicine’s current exhibit.
Stephen J. Greenberg received his doctorate in Early Modern History from Fordham University with a dissertation on early printing and publishing. After teaching for several years, he returned to school and earned his library degree from Columbia University, specializing in Rare Books and Archival Management. Since 1992, he has worked in the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine, where he is currently Coordinator of Public Services. His papers and publications span a number of fields, including the history of printing and publishing, medicine and surgery in early modern Europe, and the history of medical librarianship. Dr. Greenberg is also an adjunct professor at the College of Library and Information Studies at the University of Maryland (College Park) where he lectures on the History of the Book, and is currently the president of Archivists and Librarians in the History of the Health Sciences, the only national organization devoted solely to that field.
July 14 & 15
Washing & Drying Workshop
Presented by: Renate Mesmer
9 AM – 5 PM
Folger Shakespeare Library
Renate Mesmer is the Head of Conservation at the Folger Shakespeare Library and the former Director of the Book and Paper Conservation Program at the Centro del bel Libro in Ascona, Switzerland. She has a Masters in bookbinding from the Chamber of Crafts of Palatinate in Germany and gained experience in conservation during ten years of work as head of the conservation department at the Speyer’s State Archives in Germany.
August 18
Summer Party
Hostess: Linda Rollins
5:00pm – 10:00pm
Silver Spring, MD
Details to be announced at a later date.
September 19
Evening Session: Tips and Tricks
5:30 PM
Folger Shakespeare Library
October 12
Gold Tooling Lecture
Presented by Peter Geraty
6:00 PM
Folger Shakespeare Library
October 13 & 14
Gold Tooling Workshop
Presented by: Peter Geraty
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Folger Shakespeare Library
Peter Geraty began bookbinding in 1975 at Unicorn Press in Greensboro, NC where he worked as a printer, typesetter and binder for several years. He moved to Boston, in 1977 and continued working as a binder at various places including; library binding at the New England Bookbinding Company, conservation at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University and over four years at Harcourt Bindery ending his time there as shop manager. In 1984 he began working as an independent binder and in 1985 moved to Easthampton, MA. As owner of Praxis Bindery, he has focused on conservation, fine binding and binding of editions and presentation materials for publishers and artists. Peter is intrigued by the challenge of combining design, structure, and materials to present someone’s text or art. He continues to study, practice and learn. The name he chose for the bindery, Praxis encompasses his ongoing desire to hone his craftsmanship and deepen his knowledge.
November 10
Miniature Books Workshop
Presented by: Christina Amato
9 AM – 5 PM
Folger Shakespeare Library
Christina Amato writes, illustrates, prints and binds limited editions of miniature books, often dealing with the theme of bookbinding and miniature books. She is a graduate of the bookbinding program at North Bennet Street School in Boston, Massachusetts and has worked in the field of book conservation for several years. She is currently a member-at-large of the Miniature Book Society, and serves as secretary for the Potomac Chapter board for the Guild of Bookworkers. Examples of her work can be seen at http://christina.birdseyecrafts.com
December 13
Annual Meeting and Holiday Party
5:30 – 8:00 PM
Location to be announced.
