shackled in bookspace

It’s hard to believe that thirty years ago this month I was learning how to turn paperbacks into hardbacks and to do really cheesy periodical bindings prior to taking the helm (such as it was) of the bindery at the Haverford College Library.

Summer of 1978 I got a call from my good friend John VickRoy telling me that he’d seen an ad in the Philadelphia Inquirer for a bindery assistant at Haverford. When I found that Haverford was about 45 minutes north I went up for an interview. At the time, the only binding experience I’d had was owning a copy of Philip Smith’s New Directions in Bookbinding and having covered a book (badly) in (bad) leather for a Halloween prop. When I got there I was told that the assistant’s job was part-time. Not a possibility. But, they said, the binder’s job is available. Turned out that the qualifications were essentially ten fingers and a willingness to work for the rather slender salary. But it was an opportunity, so I went over to the bindery and talked to the then Associate Librarian Dave Fraser. Other than mad enthusiasm I really don’t know what he saw in me, but about a week later I got an acceptance letter. Over the month of August Dave showed me what the previous binder had shown him and I and my assistant (also new) Jim Pollard slowly began to acquire the skills we needed. When the semester started things got even more interesting; I had six students with ten hours each to manage, most of whom had been working in the bindery for several years. But, over time things smoothed out. And about a year later my then wife Pam and I began to take classes with Trudi Eberhardt and I was able to start my real binding education, which is still a work in progress.

My eight years at Haverford were very special, and I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to work with such a great group of people in such a  memorable setting.

Sometimes when Max takes her morning constitutional, one of the porch cats accompanies us. This is Junior.

It’s taken a while to get back to posting. Last week Rachael was here for the Cloth Conservation class. She was able to perform half a dozen treatments, from a couple of simple rebacks to the most extensive: a Complete Works of Shakespeare in one volume. For this she pulled and resewed 77 signatures. The original boards were retained, and made into a new case in the German style. The new spine cloth was toned and applied and the original spine was reused. It was a good, inconspicuous job. On Friday she built a clamshell box for one of her treatments, and only had the inner linings to do at home.

Rachael, Elaine & I went out to supper one evening, as has become a School tradition; this time it was the Arena Bar and Grill. Good food, good beer, good company.

Due to unforeseen circumstances I had to reschedule the Leather Restoration class. So, barring more unforeseen circumstances, Rachael will be back the end of August along with Hollis and Rebecca.

Getting ready for next week’s Cloth Conservation class, followed by a week of Leather Conservation.

And work they did. GBW stalwarts Andrew Huot and Cara Schlesinger put in many hours of extra work during last week’s (6/16-6/20) Full Leather Binding class. The class is geared to producing one full leather binding from scratch; so Andrew bound three textblocks and Cara bound two. We spent the better part of Monday on endsheets and text prep; sewed and consolidated spines on Tuesday; boards, top edges colored and endbands Wednesday; leather prep and covering boards and sides Thursday; turnins and board infill on Friday. Since everything went pretty well and they both got their several books under weight late Friday afternoon, Cara started after supper on a set of blank sheets and had it sewn, rounded and backed by Saturday morning.

Andrew’s three bindings: one tightback over raised cords, one tube over raised cords and one smooth spine over a tube. All full goatskin bindings with goatskin inner joints.

Cara’s bindings: the top is sewn over four cords and one tape; the bottom left is a tube with false bands and the bottom right is a tube over raised cords. Again both full goat with goatskin inner joints.

In spite of their having next to no free time, we were able to do supper at the fairly recently opened Thai Thai in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Then, of course, it was back to work…

Good job, you guys.

*Lord John Whorfin

next week Cara and Andrew will be attending the Full Leather Binding class. It should be really good; I’m looking forward to it. And hopefully the weather won’t be too oppressive.

if:book is a very interesting blog promulgated by the Institute for the Future of the Book, which I found through the (unrelated) futureofthebook site. It is, however, very much oriented toward a post-book mentality; and for some bizarre reason this morning it prompted something much like an allergic reaction in my brainthing. The result is a poem, which is something I never, ever, do. In spite of any remnant of good sense, here ’tis:

Across the Web,
the True Believers decry
the fetish of the codex book.
The Acolytes anticipate
their Rapture which is:
the Death of Print.

Summer.
I lay in cool shade with
my old dogeared copy of
Galactic Patrol
(the Pyramid Books paperback with the
Schoenherr cover, bought in high school), and
can only say to the True Believers:

Hey.
Bit Heads.

Bite me.

A couple of additions to the slowly growing roll of blog. Conservator and toolmaker Jeff Peachey posts really interesting stuff at Jeff Peachey. And Tara O’Brien, who attended a couple of workshops I taught in Philly is now working at the Historical Society of PA. She and coworkers Cathleen Miller and Natalie Whitted are documenting their procedures and observations working with a major collection at Processing the Chew Family Papers.

Well, the hiatus is over. It’s hard to believe that it’s been three and a half weeks since Linda Cunningham and her boon companion Norman arrived from Calgary for the Foundation and Case Binding classes. Being the only student meant that we were able to cover a lot of material: since Linda has been making artists’ books for some time, as well as being an accomplished fiber artist, she did the scheduled first week’s projects in three days. This left her time to cut a linoleum block, set type and print 100 bookplates,

produce three case bindings and a simple clamshell enclosure,

and cut the pieces for a four flap portfolio to be finished after returning to the Great White North. And everything turned out exceedingly well.

Here you can see Norman Bear communing with Dr. Szirmai’s Archaeology of the Medieval Book .

In spite of Linda’s brutal class schedule we were able to take her out to eat a couple of times; she spent a weekend in New York; she took us to our first hockey game (we jinxed the local team, the Penguins); and after the end of the second week of class she drove down to Maryland to the Sheep and Wool Festival and then back up here to catch her flight home. I get tired just thinking about it…

It was a great couple of weeks. And now that Linda has expanded her range of techniques, expect to see some outstanding work from her. And check out her blog over at lasquetipress.blogspot (it’s on the blogroll here).

______________________________________

*Anybody recognize the obscure (to some) reference?

The good folks at Boxcar Press, originators of the Boxcar Base and polymer platemakers to the world, have just unveiled their redesigned website and new blog. Check them out.