Volume2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Table of Contents Reading by Hand: The haptic evaluation of artists books, by Gary Frost Diagramming the Book Arts, by Johnny Carrera Beyond Velveeta, by Johanna Drucker All Shook Up: Interplay of image and text in the flag book structure, by Karen Hanmer 2 Molded Paper Spine, by Donia Conn The Mystery of the Wire Loop: A query for investigation, By Eric Alstrom Tying up with Velcro, by William Minter Practical Press, by Charles Schermerhorn Edelpappband / Millimeter Binding Bind-O-Rama Publication Review William Anthony Fine Binder Advertise in the Bonefolder Submission Guidelines 3 7 10 12 25 29 31 32 36 43 46 47

Terra Australis: The artist book as philosophical approach to the world, by Tommaso Durante 34

On the cover, Karen Hanmers Destination Moon, 2003.

Editorial Board: Publisher & Editor/Reviewer:
Peter D. Verheyen: Bookbinder & Conservator / Special Collections Preservation & Digital Access Librarian, Syracuse University Library, Syracuse, NY. Full information on the Bonefolder, subscribing, contributing articles, and advertising, can be found at: <http://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder> To contact the editors, write to: <[email protected]>

Editors / Reviewers:
Pamela Barrios: Conservator, Brigham Young University, Orem, UT. Donia Conn: Rare Book Conservator, Syracuse University Library, Syracuse, NY. Chela Metzger: Instructor, Kilgarlin Center for the Preservation of the Cultural Record, School of information, University of Texas at Austin. Don Rash: Fine and edition binder, Plains, PA.

The masthead design is by Don Rash

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The Book Arts Web / Philobiblon.com 2004 The Bonefolder (online) ISSN 1555-6565

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Reading by Hand: The haptic evaluation of artists books By Gary Frost
Johanna Druckers article, Critical Issues/Exemplary Works, The Bonefolder, 1:2, 2005, has provided a great environment for evaluation of artists books. She has suggested models of critical review in related fields of literature and art, mapped the taxonomy of types of artists books and used carefully chosen terms. Much of Johannas attention is on the project set by the artist and measurement of just how the work transforms, develops and presents this project. She has also emphasized the urgent need to establish methods for critical evaluation of book art. Are there any additional approaches that will assist evaluation of artistic works in a book format? I suggest that there is an additional topic that could propagate additional tools. This topic is the aesthetic consequence of a work of book art in the hands of the reader where tactile qualities and features of mobility are appreciated. This is a haptic [pertaining to the technology of touch] domain where the study of touch as a mode of communication is at work. Such evaluations call up deeply embedded perceptions and sensory skills where the hands prompt the mind and where the readers understanding can be far removed from the intentions of the artist. With all books, a large portion of the meaning is downstream. Each reader wishes the book to act out a bit of personal theater and I suggest that book art is special in this regard. This personal possession of the book experience would help to explain the persistent, low threshold of entry to the practice of making artists books since the reader is well equipped to qualify anything quickly. Twenty six million people making hand made scrapbooks with artistic intentions know how to read an artists book. But how can we provide effective description for a more critical experience of the corporeal book? We can lift it, open it and turn a page. Is it docile or springy on opening, solid or tentative on closing? Is there a live transmission of forces through the structure or is it crippled? What instigates the readers ergonomic of comprehension and how are haptic features consequential to the evaluation of book art? It follows that haptic features are consequential for considering the often unconventional and experimental formats of artists books. After thirty years of distribution of her flag book format, Hedi Kyle is still probably the only skilled reader of this acrobatic format. Meanwhile, the work of Susan Joy Share, featuring her brilliant performances of mobile and audible book structures, continues to present an immense challenge of understanding and assimilation for the book arts. Susan is the avatar of reading as dance. The haptic concern also follows from the peculiar essence of the book as hand held art. Books are only read at arms length and are notoriously intractable in gallery display. This is a legacy of writing as a picture of speech and its early use as a handheld prompt.(1.) And the codex echoes its own legacy as a folded letter inviting unfolding and re-foldings.(2.) The whole environment of this experience is tactile, manipulative, confined, tricky and surprising. If critically pursued, the consciously hand investigated book could induce a greater appreciation of artists books. Models of review A community of specialists should be acknowledged when considering the description of haptic and kenetic attributes of artists books. This is the community of book conservators and other taxonomists of collections of material culture. George L. Stout, pioneer of descriptive terminology for art conservation, categorized the book as a corporeal, built object.(3.) This primary corporeal nature, both as an analogy to human anatomy and as a hand-held object, provides a primary descriptor of the physical book. The built qualifier is useful as well. Book making is highly sequential in accord with Johannas emphasis on process. Entrancing descriptions of the anatomy, built nature, mobility and mortality of books are provided by book conservator Chris Clarkson. His descriptions achieve a level of critical appreciation of books and convey the deep historical perspective that Johanna recommends. Who would imagine that the graceful actions of early archival long-stitch binding could be expertly qualified as an artistic achievement or that any violation of its exemplary mobility could be expertly dismissed as a crippled pastiche? (Modern book artists using non-adhesive long-stitch structure should be challenged!) And who would imagine that much of the aesthetic attribute of the early archival long stitch book derives from tactile qualities? A large measure of the very pleasant handling qualities of this limp vellum long-stitch binding is supplied by the supple character and velvet finish of the manuscript fragment used for the cover. The ease and good flowing action of this volume has much to do with a superb long-stitch technique. This is not at all easy to achieve Chris Clarkson(4.)

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Mapping taxonomy Knowing that the critical regard is out there is reassuring, but lets suggest some further steps. To profile the haptic nature of artists books perhaps we should first focus on a fundamental shared orientation of the body and book. This first feature is a curious simultaneous bilateral symmetry and asymmetry; a fantastic attribute that is deeply embedded in both book and body. can twirl. We should have special regard for books that move and tumble on their own. A self moving book exploits the leverage that the reader applies to the boards of the cover. This transmitted board leverage is at work to open and close the book. An excellent book artist will not waste this energy, but transform it and, so, intervene in the actions of reading. The haptic legibility or manual readability of book is evaluated by touch, force and dwell. Some book surfaces adhere to the skin and feel warm producing an immediate pre-reading. Some books expel air on closing, others will not expel air between the leaves. Such responses can be subtle. Meaning is conveyed by the sigh of a closing Bible as well as by the yawn of a pop-up pictorial. Some artists books provoke a quick manual inspection while others impose a longer dwell. Pace of manual reading is linked to haptic legibility with meaning in both quick and slow passes. Ultimately, there is a question if artists books can be read primarily as works of pliant sculpture. I suggest that some artists books can be read that way and most will benefit from such a reading as an accessory to overall evaluation. Evaluating overall legibility of artists books is a challenge. It can be difficult to assess them as literature and it can be difficult to assess them as art and many readers despair before trying. If artists books are not particularly or critically regarded as literature or art, they should at least make statements and perform the somersaults that make them a book. A book is the one art object known to everyone. Clear terms and tabulation Clear terms improve the description of artists books. But this truism may not fully apply to crucial evaluation of haptic features of book art. In fact the hands prompt the mind using nonlinguistic data. Historians remark on the lack of documentation of the hand skills. The needed realization is that dexterity itself is a medium of information. Imagine perceptions that can exist without words attached. This is equivalent to reading books which lack words or pictures, which, of course, we can. At a further stretch it is saying that books predate reading, which, of course they do. But the real shift here is that all books are art in a world of subtle and critical manual evaluation. If we could delineate it, a manual evaluation or haptic criticism would lay out a physics for book art criticism, using words. To tabulate haptic quality and evaluate given works a standard recording card is needed. This provisional card has three sectors; anatomy, action and handle. Anatomy describes the corporeal structure , action describes qualities of performance and mobility of that structure and handle describes evidence of haptic fabrication, use and function. The

Our unique right or left handedness is the progenitor our crucial neural asymmetry of the brain.(5.) The asymmetry of the symmetrical codex is just as fundamental, but with a special twist. As the leaves change places with each other the right page becomes the left page as the clock of content goes forward. Two hands, each acting alone, hold the book and turn the page. This initially simple circumstance of symmetry/asymmetry of the body and book is opened to endless permutations of artists books. I want to position features of simultaneous bilateral symmetry and asymmetry of the book at the start. Asymmetries of the weights and pliancies of inner and outermost components of the book are sometimes striking and occasionally disconcerting. I would measure proportions of bilateral symmetry and asymmetry in books to tag classical types and eccentricities of artistic production. I would observe the asymmetrical fingerings of small books and the symmetrical arms length approach needed for a large lectern book. I would particularly admire artists that engage both body and book and I would highly regard books that consciously interplay symmetries and asymmetries. Next I would address and qualify mobilities. Many artists books have a rag doll mobility that does nothing to inform the curiosity of the hands and most artists books lack the engineering that provides direct response to the leverages of handling. Especially likely to be crippled is the cover-totext attachment. Have you ever encountered a book quick to open its covers, but reluctant to open its contents? This haptic conflict says something. What about a docile, flat opening almost defying the books presence, or the possessed springiness of a vellum or polypropylene cover, or the stately, deep drape of a truly thick, fluffy book? Handling alone is a great way of reading books with such qualities. The range of mobilities can be considered, from the motions needed for a single sewing stitch to the trajectory and impact of a thrown book. Is the book really portable? How does it act in a high wind? Does the book move extremely slowly as adhered materials cup, warp and torque? The immobility of libraries is striking. Only the artists book has the opportunity to overcome conventions of the stacks. It

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

check-off boxes can be marked to document the observed presence or the observed absence of any given quality. Anatomy (6.) Symmetry/Asymmetry: [ ] static, mostly symmetrical [ ] balanced [ ] falling over, mostly asymmetrical Structure: [ ] classical [ ] hybrid [ ] experimental Folds: [ ] crease [ ] set [ ] jut [ ] yawn Stitch tension or fan splay: [ ] consistent [ ] erratic [ ] broken Action (7.) Mobility: [ ] stiff [ ] mechanical [ ] tumbling and wily Transmission of leverage: [ ] inert [ ] crippled [ ] gymnastic Opening: [ ] docile [ ] cranky [ ] springy Leafing: [ ] syncopated [ ] sporadic Closing: [ ] conclusive [ ] tentative [ ] given to gape Tossing: (8.) [ ] bounce [ ] no bounce Handle (9.) Evidence of hand craft: [ ] lean [ ] moderate [ ] rich Evidence of use: [ ] pristine, un-touched [ ] read, habituated to use [ ] possessed, consumed by passionate use Evidence of function: [ ] bewildered [ ] vernacular or liturgical [ ] poised, practical The use of such a card must be validated with many recordings of actual books. It will also be necessary to monitor manipulations associated with each measurement. The books must be actively read as the hands prompt the mind. An elegant expression of this process is provided by Adrian Johns. (I have inserted the term (artists books)) The reading of a book is no less skillful, and no less local, than conducting an experiment. To understand the transformation of science (artists books) into an apparently universal culture, then, we need to create a history of the reading practices surrounding scientific books (artists books) as detailed and intricate as the appreciation we already have of the experimental practices surrounding scientific instruments. Adrian Johns.(10.) References (1.) Chapter two, The Written and Spoken Word, Martin, Henri-Jean, The History and Power ofWriting, discusses this relationship. (2.) The conjecture here is that circulation and copying of epistles among sectarians of late Antiquity is associated with the development of the papyrus codex. The impositions and securing ties of folded papyrus letters is suggestive of the early, single quire codices. See Papyrus, Parkinson, Richard and Quire, Stephen. (3.) I recall this characterization of the book from a 1972 lecture. It is in early AIC PrePrints. (4.) The Conservation of Early Books in Codex Form, Clarkson, Christopher, The Paper Conservator, Volume 3, 1978. This graceful manifesto of the early book as the exemplar of past craft skills and sensitivity provides a basis for haptic evaluation of any book. (5.) This precept of connectivity between asymmetrical use of the hands and subsequent neural distinction of the hominid brain is presented in Wilson, Frank R., The Hand, Pantheon, 1998 and Calvin, William H., The Throwing Madonna, McGraw-Hill, 1991. Of all the known lateralizations, sequential muscle control seems most central to the others, such as language. And what could have resulted in sequential muscle control residing primarily on one side of the brain?Well, an important muscle sequence involving primarily the opposite side of the body, rather than both sides equally or alternatively. Say, hand writing or throwing or grooming or tool use. Surely handwriting wasnt the first. William Calvin (6.) Taxonomies exist that organize the structure of books, but these will lap other metadata entries and interrupt the receptive state of mind needed for haptic evaluation. (7.) The tools here could possibly be augmented by models from choreographic notation or dance description. (8.) One strange evaluation of mobility involves toss testing in which the book must be thrown. This method is deeply embedded and goes all the way back through the hominid series where it is associated with the behavior of projectile predation since the book is a projectile thrown across time and cultures. In the 1970s and 1980s I often demonstrated the essential strengths and character of limp vellum bindings, and how vulnerable parts of the book were protected, by throwing model structures high in the air and letting them bounce on the floor. Introduction to 2005 Reprint of Limp Vellum Binding, Chris Clarkson. (9.) No artists book is as rich in handle as the demonstration copy that the artist uses in explanation. Think of a carpet salesmans swatch book or a limited edition binders dummy. This charm has little to do with the bibliographic topic of the materiality

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

of the text which examines the physical book in culture contexts, but it does cross over with the bibliographers interest in provenance where evidence of use is primary; a fundamental attribute of a book. (10.) P.48, The Nature of the Book, Johns, Adrian, University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Gary Frost is an educator in book art and book conservation. He has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia University in New York and the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently the Conservator for the Libraries at the University of Iowa. For more see <http://www.futureofthebook.com/>. He can be reached at <[email protected] >

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Diagramming the Book Arts By Johnny Carrera
I was recently a panelist at what I thought was a greatly thought-provoking ABC: Artists Book Conference held at Wellesley College. During the course of the Conference, a key imbalance came up between Book Artists who are dissatisfied that their Book Art has not made it into the fine art sphere (commanding more substantial art prices and greater coverage) and the library curators, still the main market for Artists Books, who contend that they cannot afford higher prices and that Artists Books should best be housed with books. During the ensuing wildcard discussion, frustration over the dearth of scholarship on Artists Books also came to the surface. The talk by Johanna Drucker that appeared in the Spring 2005 Bonefolder is a great start to conceptualizing the field for more intelligent discussion. But for the visual artist, it seems that a visual aid might be a good addition. I am indebted to Richard Minsky for showing me the genius of using the term Book Art to distinguish books made by artists from the greater sphere of Book Arts. Hopefully a better visualization of the distinction will help ease the division between many Artists and Curators and might help further the discussion of Book Art. This framework of the field should give some peace to Fine Presses while giving direction to the artists who wish to have their work regarded as part the larger art world. This is illustrated by Venn diagram below. Book Art integrates and develops the three elements making up the realm of Book Arts; Image, Word, and Book Structure. I placed the subtext of narrative (one might substitute sequence) in the Word sphere as there are many Artists Books that have no text, but develop as the reader turns the pages or navigates the structure. Similarly, concept is added to Image, as the art of a book might be conceptual in nature. Fine Press books that are beautifully bound printings of celebrated literature are wonderful books, but should only be considered Book Art if the artist has created a binding or designed the printing in such a way as to enhance the reading experience to a greater degree, or integrated imagery in such a way that not simply illustrates the text, but makes it into something more. Often, offset books/ democratic multiples employ a simple binding, but as long as the content is developed in a strong sequential and visual manner, or literary and visual manner, they are also Book Art. Many childrens books are such clever/beautiful combinations of the three spheres that they should also be included in the Book Art subset. The distinction between Book Arts and Book Art parallels the distinction between general fiction

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

versus great literature, or illustration vs. artwork, and it is up to the individual artist in many cases through use of the artist statement to make the case that her work should be considered Book Art. Books in which the artist or artists have developed only the visual and book elements are surely part of the shaded Book Arts, but they lean more toward traditional conceptions of visual art. Many of these books lend themselves beautifully to exhibition. This is why I label this subset of Book Arts as Exhibition Books. Designer or Fine Bindings can surely be seen as artwork but have always seemed outside of the Book Art subset as they are only about the art of the binding - though they may respond to the content of a book, they rarely create content. By applying the need to develop the three spheres, most Designer Bindings dont merit the further distinction. The same applies for most, but not all, Livres DArtistes. Just as a great work of fiction by Shakespeare is not an Artists Book, a book only filled with great original prints by Picasso is not an Artists Book. There are many Artists Books that are mainly collections of marks or images and so have no narrative or development. Based on the criteria of the three spheres this type of book should be categorized with the Exhibition Books. Some collection books, such as Alphabet Books, might be thought of as visual reference books. While their sequence might not have any development, the correlation to a book type may allow one to make the case for some of them to be Book Art. This Book Art distinction may be artificial, but it is an effort to corral Artists Books employing the three elements of book structure, language and visual art to understand (if only momentarily) What is an Artists Book? Of course, the Book Art Realm is rife with book artists, myself included, who test the boundaries between books and art. It may be a subtle distinction in many Artists Books whether it is a static or sequential object, or whether it is a beautiful book or a commentary on beautiful books; necessitating a more conceptual discussion of our work if we wish it to be considered by the art world at large. Though I have recently been working in the Fine Press tradition, I perform the tasks of designer/author/printer as an artist. Though I consider it to be of the highest order of Art, much of my Book Art is still best suited for libraries. (Perhaps Im still in the thrall of the conference which was focused primarily from the librarians perspective.) But the ABC Conference reminded me that though our books are locked in Special Collections, a host of wonderful curators are getting as many people to see and handle our books as possible. (And this is the goal, isnt it?) However, some of my work has such a high conceptual or visual element I want it to be appreciated by an art audience. But, Book Art does not display as well as Exhibition Books which suggests that I may need to present my books differently, or develop innovative methods of display to interest galleries if my work is to make the leap. If I want my work to span both worlds, I will have to learn to play at both games. (One effort I have made to this end is always leaving a book unbound for wall displays to accompany the bound copy that becomes a Book Object in a glass case.) Max Yela made a fascinating comment in the Librarians panel about criteria for collecting artists books.Yela stated that as a librarian he is trying to be representative of what is being done thinking in terms of archiving a movement to preserve culture for future generations. Seeing our books as archival specimens rather than pieces of artwork may seem insulting to the artists, but Yelas comments are completely on target as a Librarian. Libraries are not supposed to be making artistic judgments as much as preserving what is meaningful to our society. And, as long as libraries have the money to buy the majority of what we make (according to their collection criteria) we cant really complain. It is too bad they cant pay us art world prices, but it is much easier selling this way than selling work in a gallery. Perhaps this easy library market is the reason why Book Artists have not broken into the craft/fine art universe more. It is wonderful that our books can be seen by people visiting library collections, but if we want the art world to see our work, it is our responsibility as artists to promote our work just as artists have throughout time. Libraries have no incentive to do so. We need to drum up excitement from the public. We need to get newspaper articles written, and expose new, vocal audiences to our work - then the scholarship and exhibits will follow. I get frustrated that every newspaper article I see reads as if a Book Artist or show of Artists Books has somehow appeared out of a vacuum. The good news is that this IS happening. A public awareness is growing. More people are showing Artists Books and taking classes which will create a greater appreciation for the craft and the art. Hopefully this enthusiasm will lead to more galleries devoted to Book Art and Exhibition Books. The final truth is that anything elevated to a high enough level of thought and devotion and execution should be considered ART. (Perhaps my tongue-in-cheek definition of art as Anything that doesnt make money, might also be of solace to my fellow Book Artists.) The traveling shows of Automobiles and Motorcycles and Guitars in the Classic Art Museums is proof that society might someday accept the idea that anything can be elevated to art. Until that time, for the academics and those who need guidance, perhaps definitions and diagrams will be useful.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Johnny Carrera graduated from the bookbinding program taught by Sally Key at the North Bennet Street School in 1996. He has performed book repair, book conservation and taught Book Arts and bookbinding technique at Oberlin College and elsewhere. His Artists Books include Putrefatti, with Sam Walker, created for the Science and the Artists Book exhibit; Get Me the President! with Martha Kearsley; A Walk Through the Woods, and the forthcoming Pictorial Websters, an Artists Book in the Fine Press tradition. His books are included in library special collections, art libraries, rare book libraries, print departments of museums, and in private collections. His website is at <http://www.quercuspress.com>. He can be reached at <[email protected]>.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Beyond Velveeta By Johanna Drucker
Asking for critical study in the field of artists books is akin to calling for a capacity to distinguish between Velveeta and real cheese. If you cant tell the difference between a yellow-pseudo-cheese-food substance and a gorgonzola, cheddar, or fresh mozzarella, then you can likely be happy in the amateurish mind set of everybody-loves-everything that eschews critical thought as if it were a form of S&M or final Judgment. Maytag Blue may appeal to a different palate than does Aged Goudaand doesnt everyone prefer a good, ripe Brie to a flavorless bad one? Critical discourse provides a language for such distinctions. For instance, Gary Frosts proposal puts idea of the haptic into play. He calls for attention to dynamics and mobilities. Books are physical objects and our tactile experience of and with them is part of their multi-dimensional potential to effect meaning. We wouldnt want to confuse the literal physical book with the virtual phenomenal work. The haptic could tend towards a literalist conflation of the object and the experience. But Frost knows whereof he speaks in calling for attention to the active, dynamic properties of books as meaning-producing-instruments. The devil is always in the application. His principles beg to be demonstrated in a case study. If I were to pick my this-weeks favorite new book object, Clif Meadors Tourist /Refugee project for Art Journal, Id be inclined to question whether the haptic does much after the initial location of the object in cultural space. The strength of this little gem, a quicksilver minnow of a book, is in the way it quickly, succinctly sets up its terms and makes use of them in an intelligent sequence of well-designed pages that make the most of the printing and paper choices that constrain the work (photographic, sepia and silver, positive and negative echoes and inversions, and then shifts scale in the final openings so that the images of those caught persons dissolve into halftone close-ups, mute, trapped, circumstantial). The mobilities of this are conceptual and phenomenal, rather than literal, and the dynamism of its workings are at a level of cultural discourse, not just material fact in production terms. My response to Johnny Carerras diagram comes directly from my enthusiasm for Frosts emphasis on mobility and dynamism. The diagram is too rigid and too reductive. It suggests an inside and outside of the realm of artists books. It also depends on the vague categories of craft, word, and image as the foundation of artists books. These categories float. They are abstract, without any relation to specific cultural traditions or material practices. Many books lack words and many more lack images. And craft? Again, I point to Meadors Refugees and suggest that debates about whether or not it comes from a craft tradition would just polarize discussion to no useful end. Rather than a rigid, reductive scheme, we need an appreciation of the many traditions on which artists books draw. These should be the traditions of publication and production that all contribute to contemporary book arts, not always all in equal measure: calligraphy and illumination in manuscripts literary publishing fine press livre dartiste photographic albums documentary works tabloids zines journals and diaries exhibition catalogues performance records conceptual work minimalist work pop art and multiples graphic novels etc. Looking across this field of fields, we are struck by the number of different concepts, design decisions, and production methods that can make a book work as a book. These traditions dont all share their same attitudes with respect to what matters. Where do we get hold of the basic distinction of conception values and production values on which critical purchase can be made? How are we going to talk about basic relations in books like sequence, turnings, openings, juxtaposition, flow, rupture, graphic organization, image and/or textual substance. Contemporary book arts properly belong to and draw on all these traditions. They also are often painfully remote from any educated relation to literature, art, or criticism. Amateur art may sometimes succeed by originality or imagination. Suggesting the entire field of artists books can retain its innocence by ignoring critical discourse is as preposterous as suggesting were all outsider artists. Amateur criticism is just ignorant. Criticism is not a school-yard game of whos in and out. Criticism is a meta-language for talking about works of art. For instance: If you think colored paper cut-outs make a great artists book, then you ought to be able to develop an argument that places them in relation to the one (arguably only) such work, Matisses Jazz. That argument should also demonstrate that the work in question is distinguishable from the elementary school classroom projects these craft-based paper sculptures tend to resemble.

10

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Popular acclaim is not sufficient to make a work important. If it were, then Grifn and Sabine would be THE great artists book of the late 20th century and Your Co-Worker Could be a Space Alien, Nurse Duck, The String Book, and L.A.A.I.R. would be losers. We need to educate ourselves. The whine of undergrads who find any reading too difficult is no excuse for abandoning our educational responsibility. The complaints of grad students who find critical reading too hard is a failure of pedagogy. Puff and fluff pieces are not criticism. Criticism attempts to articulate principles from cases, not raise praise souffls of empty publicity. Critical writing asks: what is the project of this work? What are its premises and principles? And answers by addressing whether or not the work succeeds on those terms, but also, were the terms worthwhile and interesting to begin with. Conception values and production values are always in dialogue in a work of art. How? The metadata outline Ive proposed to structure the ABsOnline project contains no field for ratings. No stars, half-stars, thumbs up or down, no place to write this book stinks or is the greatest thing since whatever anywhere. So I find the fright taken by a community of artists at the idea of filling in a form about their own work quite amusing. Does being asked to say something about the aesthetic tradition in which you are working really scare you off like bunnies fleeing sparklers at a backyard bar-b-q? I invite anyone interested to take a look at the data structure and see what it will allow us to learn about the field of artists books. A community of artists that wants their work taken seriously must begin by setting serious terms for understanding their own work.

in special collections in libraries and museums including the Getty Center for the Humanities, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Marvin and Ruth Sackner Archive of Visual and Concrete Poetry, the New York Public Library, Houghton Library at Harvard University, and many others. Recent titles include Narratology (1994), Prove Before Laying (1997), The Word Made Flesh (1989; 1995) The History of the/my Wor(l)d (1990; 1994), Night Crawlers on the Web (2000), Nova Reperta.(JABbooks, 1999), Emerging Sentience (JABbooks 2001), the last two in collaboration with Brad Freeman. A Girls Life, a collaboration with painter Susan Bee, was published by Granary Books in 2002..
Editors Postscript Ms. Druckers original article in Vol.1, No. 2, of this journal unleashed a number of responses, two of which are published in this issue of the Bonefolder, as well as a very spirited discussion that took place on the Book_Arts-L listserv and on several classroom blogs. As may be inferred Ms Druckers article touched a nerve, especially regarding the issue of criticism and distinctions among the types of works and groups producing those works, but also about the need to be able to describe and explain ones work. A core aspect of the article is the Artists Books Online metadata project in which an xml based schema is being developed to help describe artists books holistically from the process of creation to the item in hand. When implemented, this will provide a very rich database facilitating research and the deeper discussion of artists books as a genre and artform. As the online discussion developed, it was interesting to see artists themselves begin to describe their work and adapt the schema to a simple template which would accompany works when sold or exhibited providing information vital to the proper description of these books in library catalogs and other descriptive tools. It is the editors hope that this discussion continues to contribute to the greater understanding of the book arts. These discussions can be found in the June 2005 archives of Book_Arts-L listserv, using among other subject lines such as Drucker Article, Druckergate and Druckers Gate, and ultimately in July of 2005 under Artist Book Information Sheet. References Artists Books Online <http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ collections/projects/abonline/index.html> Book_Arts-L <http://www.philobiblon.com>

11

Johanna Drucker <http://www.people.virginia. edu/~jrd8e/> has published and lectured extensively on topics related to the history of typography, artists books, and visual art. She is currently the Robertson Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia where she is Professor in the Department of English and Director of Media Studies. Her scholarly books include: Theorizing Modernism (Columbia University Press, 1994), The Visible Word: Experimental Typography and Modern Art (University of Chicago Press, 1994); The Alphabetic Labyrinth (Thames and Hudson, 1995), and The Century of Artists Books (Granary, 1995). Her most recent collection, Figuring the Word, was published in November, 1998, (Granary Books). In addition to her scholarly work, Drucker is internationally known as a book artist and experimental, visual poet. Her work has been exhibited and collected

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

All Shook Up: Interplay of image and text in the ag book structure By Karen Hanmer
My first flag book, Letter Home (Figure 3), pairs a family reunion photo with a young Navy wifes letter written from 1950s Italy to her family on the farm. A second brief narrative details the womans reinvention of herself.

12

Figure 1, All Shook Up, 1998. The foundation of the deceptively simple flag book structure is an accordion folded spine. Rows of flags attached to opposing sides of each of the spines mountain folds allow the artist to fragment and layer a number of complementary or contrasting images and narratives. When read page by page, the viewer sees disjointed fragments of image and text. When the spine is pulled fully open, these fragments assemble a panoramic spread. This transformation is accompanied by a delightful flapping sound. The spine and covers provide opportunities for additional imagery.

Figure 3, Letter Home, 1998. After I had learned to better take advantage of the flag book structures many surfaces, I updated Letter Home by adding more of the family reunion photo to the inside covers and spine, a photo of the woman in Florence to the outer covers, and a view from her apartment in Naples to the outside of the spine (Figure 4).

Figure 2, View from above showing page attachment on opposing sides of accordion folded spine. Philadelphia book artist and conservator Hedi Kyle created the first flag book, April Diary, in 1979. I first saw a flag book, Susan Kings 1983 Women and Cars, in an introductory artists books class at Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts. Women and Cars layers autobiographical narrative, vintage photographs, and literary quotes from various sources. I had never seen anything like this simple structure that could function as a traditional codex, a sculpture and a puzzle; that could both reveal and conceal its richly layered content.

Figure 4, Letter Home (III), 2004.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

VARIATIONS This article will present two variations of the flag book structure. For lack of existing terminology I will refer to them as the stepped style and the consolidated style. The stepped style is the more common, and has been pictured in the Figures above. When the book is pulled fully open, the panoramic image is assembled as a series of overlapping fragments. In the consolidated style, pictured below in Figure 5, the flag book pulls open to assemble a complete picture with no overlapping. Direction of assembly When I assemble the book, I have a choice of attaching the top and bottom rows of flags to right or the left side of the first mountain fold of the accordion (see Figure 2). The center row will be attached to the opposing side of that fold. This choice can alter the emphasis of the photo. Figure 7, top, focuses on Nixon admiring Elvis cufflink. Figure 7, bottom, places more emphasis on the man observing the meeting.

13

Figure 5, Consolidated style flag book. IMAGE CONSIDERATIONS The rough prototypes below illustrate some of the issues I would consider when creating a new flag book. Figure 6, left, is an archival photograph as I downloaded it from the National Archives website. Cropping of image Figure 6, right, is the same image as I will use it, cropped tightly around the Figures. Note that I am splitting the photograph into three rows of flags of unequal height, using an architectural element and the desk as dividing points. I could, but I am not, fragmenting the Figures vertically. Figure 7, The same image assembled in opposite directions can alter the emphasis of the image. The direction of motion can also be altered. The Wright Flyer appears to be moving to the left in Figure 8, top, and moving to the right in Figure 8, bottom.

Figure 6, Archival image (left), and image as cropped and separated into rows for use in flag book (right). Figure 8, The same image assembled in opposite directions can alter the direction of movement.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Width of spine A spine with wider accordion segments will open further, giving a broader spread to the panoramic image. But wider accordion segments cover more of the rear of the flag to which they attach, leaving less room for text or image. Compare Figure 9 with its 2 inch wide spine segments to Figure 7 with spine segments only 1 inch wide.

14

Figure 9, Flag book with wide accordion folded sections, compare to Figure 7 (bottom) with a spine half as wide. Choice of image In general, choose an image that conveys motion or emotion, is simple, and is graphically strong. An interesting structure will not save an uninteresting image. One of my current interests is women aviation pioneers. Their photographs are compelling, and the accomplishments of the women are impressive, but the flag book may not be the best to structure salute them (Figure 10). I experimented with different structures and instead settled on a pop up book for the women aviators. Fragmented faces may work better on an iconic image such as All Shook Up (Figure 1).

Figure 11, The same image used in consolidated style (top), and stepped style (bottom) flag books. Sculptural concerns Flag books need not contain imagery. The structure offers much opportunity for experimentation with shape and color. The model in Figure 12 is an experiment with nesting shapes.

Figure 12, Sculptural possibilities DIMENSIONS Select a size that feels appropriate for your content, and has proportions that work with the images you want to use. I sometimes test the size and shape of a prototype for new book with several people to see how comfortably it fits in different sized hands. The width of the flags should be no wider than the width of the boards, so the flags will be fully concealed inside the covers when the book is closed. The amount of separation between the rows of flags should be small enough to keep the images somewhat connected, and large enough that the flags will not catch on each other and interfere with pulling the book fully open. A quarter inch separation is a good starting point for the stepped style. An

Figure 10, Fragmented face on unfamiliar image, compare to iconic image in Figure 1. Which style better fits the image? This is mainly a matter of personal aesthetics. Experimentation is a good way to become familiar with the structure, and working intensely with any image will always yield ideas for future projects. Figure 11 illustrates the same photograph used in the both the consolidated and stepped styles.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

eighth of an inch gap should be adequate for the consolidated style. Each page of the flag book requires two folded segments of the accordion, plus two additional segments for attachment to the covers. (Refer again to Figure 2 for an illustration of the flags in relationship to the spine.) One inch wide spine segments are a good starting point. Thus for a typical flag book of seven pages, this would require a 16 inch wide spine. (2 segments @ 1 inch x 7 pages) + 2 segments for board attachment @ 1 inch = 16 inches LAYOUT, STEPPED STYLE I have been using Adobe Photoshop to lay out both my text and image pages. Quark or Adobe InDesign would provide increased control over text formatting. Image layout By hand: When I begin new book, I measure and trim the pages by hand for my first few prototypes. I print seven copies of the image, and measure and trim the first page to 5 inches wide, then divide the remaining portion of the image into six equal sections, as shown in Figure 13.

15

Figure 14,Preparation to trim seven flag book pages to the correct width Covers and Spine: The layout of the covers and spine require no special preparation, just size the images as desired. I label the cover pieces inner or outer and front or rear to avoid confusion during assembly. With Photoshop: The image that creates the panoramic spread when the flag book is pulled completely open can be landscape or portrait format, but the width of the image must be equal to or greater than the width of the books covers. First format the image to the correct height. This may require some cropping, stretching or other finessing of the image so that it separates into the desired number of rows of flags without a break at an awkward place. Although three rows is common, a flag book can have more or fewer rows, and the rows need not be of equal height. For the purposes of this article, assume a book of seven pages, 5 inches wide. Each page will be split into three rows of flags.

Figure 13, Manually dividing an image into pages. I will cut each page progressively wider, then take all seven trimmed pages, jog them up to the cut edge (Figure 14) and cut the stack to 5 inches wide.

Figure 15 is a Photoshop screen shot showing layout for image pages: Set up horizontal guides (a feature in Photoshop on the View menu) to show where each text page will be cut into individual rows of flags. Now the image must be divided vertically into seven pages, and each page saved as a separate file.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Measuring from the left of the image, make a vertical guide at 5 inches. That first 5 inches of image will become the first page. Now measure the remaining portion of the image, and divide that into six equal sections. I add an additional vertical guide at each of these breaks. These guides are equivalent to the hand drawn tick marks in Figure 13.

16

Figure 16, Cropping to create a file for image page 4. Text layout I begin with pencil and paper, experimenting with how I might edit the text and split each passage across seven pages. Then I lay out both text passages in a table in my text editing program, the two columns representing page spreads in the flag book (Figure 17). Figure 15, Photoshop file used to create pages for panoramic image, showing horizontal guides for separation into rows of flags and vertical guides to denote right edges for each of seven image pages. Crop to the first 5 inches and save the file, with the file name Page1. Type Undo to revert to the entire image. To make pages 2-7, march along with the crop tool, measuring a 5 inch wide swath that ends on the right at each successive vertical guide (Figure 16). Crop, rename the file with the successive page number, type undo and crop and save again until you have created all seven page files.

Figure 17, Two text passages laid out in a table to represent page spreads. Next I begin to feed the text page by page into a Photoshop file. The first page becomes a template for successive text pages, and for future flag book projects of the same dimensions. Figure 18 is a Photoshop screen print of this page file.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

17

Figure 18, Photoshop file for text pages, showing vertical guides for margins, and horizontal guides for centering text and dividing page into rows of flags. I create horizontal guides corresponding to the guides on the image pages to show me where each text page will be cut into individual rows of flags. A second set of horizontal guides marks the center point of each flag to further placement of the text. I add vertical guides to show me the right and left text margins for each flag, keeping in mind that a portion of the imagery on each flag will be obscured in the area where it attaches to the spine. Reference numbers 1a, 1b, 1c will help me attach the flags to the spine in the right order. Numbers 1-7 will denote pages, letters a-c will denote top, center and bottom rows. Place the reference numbers in the zone that will be covered by the attachment to the spine. I often add an image on the text side of the flags, with the opacity set low enough that the text is easily legible. LAYOUT, CONSOLIDATED STYLE The consolidated style requires only one image page, the width of the spine paper minus its first and last folded segments. These two segments will be used for cover attachments. Cut this single image page into flags. Each flag should be as wide as two of the spine segments. Figure 19 illustrates these proportions. When laying out text or image for the rear of the flags, keep in mind that half of each flag will be obscured where it attaches to the spine. Figure 19, Image layout and flag proportion relative to spine for consolidated style book. MATERIALS AND TOOLS For boards I use Dark Grey Pamphlet Board or Grey/ White Archival Board from Archival Products. Both are very thin and lightweight, but also very dense and stiff. The book will open with a much more satisfying snap if the flags are made from heavier stock than the spine. Since I do my printing digitally, I use an inkjet coated paper for the flags, Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Duo 316. It is coated for inkjet on both sides, has a matte finish, and is relatively heavyweight. I use 65 or 80 lb. Mohawk Superfine Cover for the covers and spines. For early prototypes of a new piece, I laser print onto plain cardstock designed to go through a photocopier. I use Scotch 415 tape to attach the flags to the spine and the spine to the covers. This double stick tape does not cockle the paper as a wet adhesive may, and it is somewhat repositionable if I make an error in assembly. Over time the tape cures to form a very firm bond. Grain direction of the various components is illustrated in Figure 20. It is essential that the spine be folded with the grain. As in a flip book, the book will snap open more nicely if the grain of the flags runs perpendicular to the spine. As usual, grain on the cover boards is parallel to the spine.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Once the spine is folded, reverse all the folds (fold them backwards) and crease again. This additional working of the spine folds will assure a book that opens easily and fully. Attaching flags to spine Cut each of your seven image pages into three separate flags, and stack the flags for each row (top, center and bottom) at the edge of your work surface. Attach double stick tape to the rear (not the panoramic image side) of each flag, but do not yet remove the release paper from the tape (Figure 22).

Figure 20, Grain direction for flag book components.

18

I prefer a Teflon folder to a bone folder because it is less likely to mar the surface of the paper. I use a C-thru brand ruler, (a clear ruler printed with a red eighth inch grid) because it gives me the choice of measuring in inches, or just counting the number of little boxes printed on the ruler between two given points. To facilitate neat and consistent assembly of the flags, I have made a jig of a lettersized scrap of book board. Two guides made of laminated stacks of board 5x2x1/8 are glued to the jig at right angles, providing a square corner for lining up the spine with the flags.

Figure 22, Applying double stick tape to flags. Flags arranged in stacks by row at edge of work surface. Use the jig to attach flags flush with the head (top) and tail (bottom) of the spine. Flags also may be positioned slightly in from the head and tail. However, if the book is exhibited, the curator (and viewers, if they are permitted) will likely stand the book up resting on its boards, spine and bottom row of flags. There will be less stress on the corners if the bottom row of flags is flush with the bottom of the boards. Set the spine in your jig square against the two guides as in Figure 23, and working from the top and back of the book (following page) remove the release tape and feed the flags into the spine, squared up against the top guide and the inner fold of the spine. Depending on whether the motion of your book goes from right to left or left to right, you may be placing the flag on the spine image side down, tape side up.

Figure 21, Tools and materials for assembly. ASSEMBLY Assembly of both variations of the structure are identical. Folding the spine Ive chosen a flag book of seven pages for our example because that is the number that can be accommodated by an accordion folded into 16 segments. To assure a tidy spine with folded segments of equal dimensions, do not measure, score, then fold each segment separately. Rather fold the paper in half, and continue to fold those segments in half (see Appendix A: How to Fold an Accordion). This method will yield a spine of 8 or16 segments, or any number that is a power of two.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Finally, set the jig aside and add the center row of flags. Eyeball the position of the first flag, and use it as a guide for placement of subsequent flags (Figure 26).

19

Figure 23, Attaching top row of flags to spine. Ease the next spine segment into place over the flag and rub with your folder (Figure 24). Figure 26, Attaching center row of flags to spine. Assembling covers The board covering method I use is also a Hedi Kyle invention. Cut two boards the desired width by the height of the spine, grain parallel to the spine (Figure 27).

Figure 24 Repeat with remaining pages in the top row, then with the bottom row (Figure 25).

Figure 27, Proper grain direction for cover components. Cut four paper covers to the following dimensions: The two inner wrappers should equal the width of the boards x the height plus 3 inches, grain direction parallel to the width of the board. The two outer wrappers should equal the height of the boards x the width plus 3 inches, grain direction parallel to the height of the board.

Figure 25, Attaching bottom row of flags to spine.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Center a board inside one of the wrappers (Figure 28).

20

Figure 28, Centering board in outer wrapper. Holding the paper and board firmly down on the bench, wrap one flap up and over the edge of the board and rub the edge, then the top surface with your folder (Figure 29). Figure 30, Flap of inner wrapper is inserted between outer wrapper and board. Tuck in the other flap snugly (Figure 31). Trimming the corners of the flap at a diagonal will ease insertion.

Figure 29, Folding outer wrapper up and over the edge of the board. Repeat with other flap. Remove wrapper from board and set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining three wrappers. Replace the outer wrapper around the board. Tuck one flap of the inner wrapper between the outer wrapper and the board, and position it around the uncovered side of the board (Figure 30).

Figure 31, Outer wrapper covers front of board, inner wrapper covers rear of board.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Repeat with other board.Attaching spine to the covers Attach a strip of double stick tape along the first and last segments of the spine, and remove enough release paper to fold a short tab towards the flags (Figure 32). APPENDIX A How to fold an accordion For a very precisely folded spine, do not measure, score, then fold each segment separately. This is likely to result in accordion segments of unequal width. Instead fold the spine paper in half, and continue to fold each resulting section in half again until you have the desired number of sections. 1. Take the page and fold it in half, with the grain, making sure that the top, bottom, and side edges all line up directly on top of each other (Figure 34). Crease the fold with your folder. You will to refer to this initial fold with each subsequent fold.

21

Figure 32, Folding back tab of double stick tape release paper in preparation for insertion of spine into cover. Tuck the spine into the cover, carefully remove the release paper while firmly holding the cover and spine in place (Figure 33), and rub with a folder.

Figure 33, Removing release paper from double stick after insertion of spine into cover. Leaf through your completed book, then enjoy the delightful flapping sound as you pull it fully open. Admire your craft and content and begin to plan your next book.

Figure 34, Making the initial fold. I am right handed. At this point, I orient the paper so that the initial fold is on the left. I will keep the initial fold to the left for the remainder of the process. 2. Fold the page once more, taking the top flap over to the initial fold, again lining up all three edges (Figure 35). Again use your folder to emphasize the fold.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

5. Line up this reversed fold directly above your initial fold and crease (Figures 38-39).

22
Figure 35, Folding the top section to the initial fold. 3. Turn the page over and repeat.You will now have a spine folded into four equal segments 4. Now reverse the top fold (the fold between the first and second spine segments) by turning it inside out (Figures 3637).

Figures 38-39, Bringing the reversed fold to directly above the initial fold. 6. Take the cut edge, line it up above the initial fold and crease (Figures 40-41).Your spine will now be folded into four small and two large segments.

Figures 36-37, Reversing the top fold.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

23
Figure 42, Using the bed of a Kutrimmer as guide for precise folding. APPENDIX B: Resources Supplies Dark Grey Pamphlet Board and Grey/White Archival Board are available from Archival Products in Iowa, <http:// www.archival.com>. Scotch 415 tape is available in several widths from Talas. Talas also carries Teflon folders. <http://www.talasonline. com> My source for Mohawk Superfine Cover is Dolphin Paper (877-868-0002). My source for Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Duo inkjet paper is Digital Art Supplies, <http://www.digitalartsupplies.com>. Flag Book examples The first flag book, Hedi Kyles April Diary is pictured online at <http://www.minsky.com/images/kyle-1.jpg>. PDFs of two flag books, Susan Kings Women and Cars and Ann Lovetts Relation, are accessible online by searching the archive of Womens Studio Workshop <http://www. wsworkshop.org/_art_book/ab_archive.htm>. Relation is still in print, and is available via this website. Julie Chens letterpress printed Listening has only two rows of flags and the text appears only on the spine: <http:// www.flyingfishpress.com/gallery_listening.html> Emily Martins Away is a consolidated style flag book: <http://www.lucidplanet.com/IWA/FeaturedArchive/ MartinE/EMaAway.htm>

Figures 40-41, Folding the final sections of the accordion prior to flipping it over to continue. 7. Turn the spine over, with the initial fold still facing left, and repeat steps 4-6. 8.You will now have a spine with eight equal segments. To fold your spine into 16 segments, repeat steps 4-7, always beginning with the next fold up from the initial fold, and working your way to the top of the stack. If the spine paper is very stiff, or when precision folding is crucial, I square up the spine paper in the bed of my Kutrimmer and do the folding there (Figure 42).

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Women and Cars and other classic artists books are discussed in detail in: Renee R. Hubert and Judd D. Hubert (1998). The Cutting Edge of Reading: Artists Books, New York, NY: Granary Books. The Oregon Book Arts Guild held a flag book exhibition in 2002. The catalog is a flag book, and has small color photos of the more than 50 flag books in the show. Catalogs are still available for $10 from Patricia Grass, 1928 21st Ave., Forest Grove, OR 97116. More of Karen Hanmers flag books are pictured online at <http://www.karenhanmer.com/flag/FlagP1.html> ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks to Donia Conn, Robert Hanmer and Craig Jobson for reviewing this article; Emily Martin for assistance with terminology; and Jackie Ropski for modeling. Thanks to Julie Naggs for showing me how to make a flag book and much more. Many of the photographs in the books presented here are courtesy of the Library of Congress or National Archives. How-to photography and all books pictured are by the author.

24

Chicago artist Karen Hanmers sculptural books and installations fragment and layer text and image to mirror the experience of personal and cultural memory. Her books are meant to be handled; the intimate scale, choice of materials, and posture and gesture required to view each piece evoke the experience of looking through a photo album, diary, or the belongings of a loved one. However, her works often take playful forms, and many include tongue-in-cheek text. She exhibits widely, and her work is included in collections ranging from Tate Britain and the Denver Public Library to Syracuse University and Graceland. She lectures and teaches workshops on book arts and digital printing. Hanmer holds a degree in Economics from Northwestern University and studies traditional binding with Scott Kellar. She is an officer of Chicago Hand Bookbinders and the Guild of Bookworkers, Midwest Chapter. A complete catalog of her work is available online at <http://www.karenhanmer.com>. She can be reached at <[email protected]>.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Molded Paper Spine By Donia Conn
University libraries strive to provide their users with access to as broad a selection of resources as possible. Since those resources may have originated in different eras and countries, and were thus created using different processes and materials, maintenance and conservation requires a wide stock of repair supplies. Possibly the most expensive repair material is conservation-quality leather; that cost means it is simply not feasible to rebind entire sets of leather-bound volumes. But the alternatives, traditionally, have been less than ideal. In most academic institutions, repair of leather-bound volumes, therefore, requires creative selection and use of treatment materials. The most common material used for recovering books is contemporary bookcloth, and even the beautiful linen-finished Japanese bookcloth looks too modern, sharp and out of place on a book printed before 1800. Because bookcloth is not moldable it ruins the aesthetics of books sewn on raised cords. It also stands out if used on one volume of a multi-volume set. A viable alternative for minor repairs is the Japanese paper repair technique developed by Don Etherington. For those books that need more extensive repair, a heavyweight, textured, moldable paper works very well and, when toned, is aesthetically pleasing on the shelf. Paper has been used in binding from as early as the 15th century. Early bindings in paper were simple wrappers on single or multi-section works. By the 17th century, heavier, case-weight papers were being made. This allowed for multisectioned books to be bound in limp cases. Later uses of the case-weight papers were to incorporate them into the foundations of case bindings. Limp paper bindings {note: as compared to the more common limp vellum of the previous centuries} typical of Italian imprints of the 17th and 18th centuries, were made from a single piece of heavy, or caseweight, paper. A German application of the case-weight paper was to use it as a bridge in the lapped case bindings of the 18th and 19th centuries. The German lapped cover consists of two boards bridged by a molded piece of heavy, case weight, paper which is then covered by a single sheet of paper, usually a pulled paste paper. Both the limp paper and lapped bindings have withstood the test of time well. Still, time takes its toll. Conservators strive to preserve the beautiful handiwork of those days gone by in the face of smaller budgets and higher costs than even a few years ago. Many articles have been written about creative, non-leather conservation treatments for leather-bound 18th and early 19th century bindings in both circulating and special collections settings. This particular treatment is not intended to replace these but to add to the body of book conservation knowledge. This technique was developed in the Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center conservation lab. It came about as a combination of several treatments and philosophies encountered. The treatments intent is to repair pre-1800 printed books in an academic research library in a manner similar to the original binding, but compatible, sympathetic and more stable. The treatment continues to develop as new applications are found and becomes more efficient the more treatments are completed. Because this technique is still developing, any comments and concerns are particularly welcome. Bindings of the period prior to the 19th century shared certain similar, recognizable characteristics; in conservation rebinding, the best characteristics should be retained to the greatest possible degree. Although by this time bindings were mass produced, they were still sewn on supports (raised or recessed) with some or all of these supports laced or attached to the binding in some way with a tight joint. Unfortunately, the thinly pared and poorly tanned leather on many of these volumes has failed. The lacing, subject to greater stress without the support of the leather, will also fail over time necessitating a more invasive conservation treatment. Another undesirable characteristic of these books is the excessive spine linings of small volumes creating stiff openings that often lead to the failure of the binding. Finally, the tradition of oiling or dressing leather has helped lead to the weakening of the spine folds, sewing supports and sewing thread. When confronted with pre-19th century volumes needing rebinding or recasing, the following treatment procedure has proven structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing.

25

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

FORWARDING: Remove the old covers and clean the spine. If resewing: pull, wash and deacidify if desired, sew, paste up, round, back and line with tissue and cloth hinge. (Continue to Attaching Boards) If not resewing, line the spine with tissue and paste. ATTACHING BOARDS: Cut boards of an appropriate weight for the shoulder to height, leaving excess at the fore edge.

26

Back corner the boards and bevel (sand) the spine edge if needed.

Make tipped-on endsheets. Fold single folios of an appropriate paper to match the textblock and of a sufficient weight. Adhere tissue stubs. Crease to the height of the shoulder on the side of the folio that the tissue was stubbed. Tip the endsheets onto the textblock with paste by adhering the tissue stub to the spine of the book rather than the shoulder. Trim the endsheets. Adhere the boards to the cloth hinge leaving a slight gap at the shoulder to prevent the attachment from being too tight. COVERING: Cut a piece of toned, heavyweight, textured, moldable paper (e.g. Iowa PC4 or Cave Paper heavyweight natural) sized appropriately for a quarter binding. (A full binding in paper can be done. If doing a full paper binding, measure and trim the fore edge of the boards at this stage.)

Sew or attach pre-made endbands. Adhere a cloth hinge to the spine with PVA. If the book has been sewn on raised cords, cut slits in the cloth the width of the spine or use a strip lining to prevent undue puckering at the shoulders.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Mist the center of the toned paper strip from the back not too wet or it will cockle then mold over the spine and place in a finishing press for flat spines or tying-up press if molding over raised cords. Let the spine piece dry in the press. If you wish to stamp a title directly onto the paper, do so at this stage. Make sure the stamping is done with the molded spine in the proper orientation. Cover the sides of the boards with marbled or paste paper or cloth. Adhere the pastedowns as in a standard case binding. Nip in the press to set and let dry under light weight.

27

To adhere the molded spine piece to the book, glue up the molded paper only where it will be in contact with the boards and adhere. This will form a hollow spine that has a molded shape when closed. Do turn-ins as usual. When dry, measure and trim the fore edge of the boards.

Set the joint. If the molded paper spine has not been directly stamped, labeling can be done using a printed paper or stamped leather label.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

WORKS CONSULTED: Baird, Brian J. and LeTourneaux, Mick. Treatment 305: A Collections Conservation Approach to Rebinding Lacedon-Board Binding Structures. The Book and Paper Group Annual, 13 (1994) p. 1-4. [An article on a method similar to this using cloth instead of paper] Cloonan, Michle V. Early Bindings in Paper. Boston: G.K. Hall and Co. 1991.

28

Frost, Gary. Conservation Binding Ideas. BookNote 1.5. 1997. Frost, Gary. Historical Paper Case Binding and Conservation Rebinding. The New Bookbinder, 2 (1982) p. 64-67. Rhodes, Barbara. 18th and 19th Century European and American Paper Binding Structures: A Case Study of Paper Bindings in the American Museum of Natural History Library. The Book and Paper Group Annual, 14 (1995) p. 51-62

TONING PAPER FOR RECOVERING: To tone the Iowa PC4, Cave Paper, or any other suitable paper with texture, mix acrylics with methylcellulose or paste. Make sure there is sufficient color to ensure a deep, even tone. Make a test strip and allow to dry if matching a specific leather color. Mist out the paper to relax and expand it. Apply the color evenly but not heavily with a brush. After brushing on the color, rub the paper with the flat of the hand or a foam roller, dab with a damp sponge, or fold paper in half and then rub. Doing this removes the brush lines and creates a more leather-like look. Let the paper air-dry. Experiment with this paper in other binding projects. The possibilities are endless!

Donia Conn was introduced to bookbinding through a required art class at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. While a Ph. D. student in Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin Madison, she started working with Jim Dast in the librarys book repair department. After taking bookbinding classes at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts she entered the Conservation Studies program at the University of Texas Austin. Donia has interned with Tony Cains at Trinity College, Dublin and J. Frank Mowery at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC and has worked as a book and paper conservator for various institutions across the US. Currently, she is the Rare Book Conservator at Syracuse (NY) University Library and a past Binder-in-Residence at Wells College in Aurora, NY. She can be reached at <[email protected]>.

The Bonefolder welcomes articles on new techniques and structures. If you have a new technique you would like to share please contact the editors at <[email protected]>.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

The Mystery of the Wire Loop: A query for investigation By Eric Alstrom
The Crime Over the last several years, books with a small wire loop have been found in at least three libraries across the United States. Initial inquiries found no satisfactory answer for their presence. Speculations ranged from some sort of security device (either to physically tie the book in place or as an early electronic detection system) or as a method of attaching a bookmark to the textblock. None of these suggestions seem plausible given the nature of the device. This is a query for more information about these devices. It is hoped that when other conservators have seen these loops or will in the future, they will forward this information to the author. This information will then be examined for an explanation and a catalog of books containing the loops will be created. A future report will hopefully reveal the solution to the mystery of the wire loop. Physical Description of the Culprit All of the loops seen thus far are similar in size and design. Both ends of the wire are inserted into a signature of the textblock near the head of the book.

29
The top half of the loop barely shows above the textblock, but it does not extend beyond the cover.

The wire is a medium gauge, about .5mm in diameter with no visible coatings. For more images of the loop, please visit the authors webpage (see following page). The Victims... thus far Below is a list of confirmed sightings of the wire loop. If your library has a copy of any of these books, please check to see if it has the loop as well. Alexander Wicksteed. Ten Years in Soviet Moscow. London: John Lane, The Bodley Head Ltd., 1933. (Last sighted at: Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.) Lord Edward Gleichen. A Guardsmans Memories. Edinburgh, London: W. Blackwood & Sons Ltd., 1932. Last sighted at: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (The same title at Yale University had not been looped.) George E. Boxall. History of the Australian Bushrangers. London: T. Fisher,1908. (Last sighted at: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.)

The wire is then twisted on itself for approximately 2 cm and ends in a small loop, approximately 5mm in diameter.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

There has been at least one other sighting in Arizona, but the title was not recorded. At the 2005 AIC conference, several people indicated they had seen the Loop in their Libraries, including Harvard, University of Texas and Duke. Stay tune for more information and sightings. The Investigation... Past, Present & Future To date, the books identified with these devices have been published in London by various firms between 1908 and 1933. Other than that, no definitive connections have been found. Further research needs to track factors such as printers, binders and the provenance of each volume. In one case, two different copies of the same book in different libraries did not both have the loop. The copy without the loop also showed no signs of ever having had one. Help with the Investigation If you see the loop in your library or any book, please let me know. Fill out the online survey <http://www.lib.msu. edu/alstrom>, email <[email protected]> or phone <517432-8828>. Thank you for your help in solving The Mystery of the Wire Loop.

30

Eric Alstrom received his MILS (Master of Information and Library Studies) at the University of Michigan, where he concentrated on archival management and interned at the Bentley Historical Library in conservation under the direction of James Craven. After graduation, Eric continued his training with Mr. Craven for several years. During this time he also worked at the Bessenberg Bindery, a small hand-bindery in Ann Arbor. After working at the University of Michigan Special Collections Library, Eric became the collections conservator at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. In 1998 he moved to New Hampshire to start the conservation program at Dartmouth College. While at Dartmouth, he designed the Colleges state-of-the-art conservation lab and taught in the Colleges Book Arts Program. In 2004, Eric returned to Michigan to head Michigan State University Librarys conservation department. Eric also teaches book arts and conservation workshops and exhibits his fine bindings in both nationally and internationally. He is a member of the American Institute for Conservation and the Guild of Book Workers, for which he serves as the Publicity Chair and Webmaster. His work can be viewed at <http://bookworks.tripod.com/>. His email is <[email protected]>.

The Bonefolder welcomes articles on unusual discoveries and structures. If you have discovered something unusual you would like to share please contact the editors at <[email protected]>.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Tying up with Velcro By William Minter

31

Heres a great idea for tying up books during rebacking. This method uses 2 wide Velcro straps. The hook portion is attached with double-sided adhesive to cloth covered boards (uncovered binders boards will delaminate after a short time); the boards are cut to extend over the screws of the press, but have a notch so that they will hang in position when the press is elevated on bricks (as in this photo). As in the above photo, the book is clamped between the Velcro boards as close to the spine as possible. When the original spine is in position, the Velcro is strapped across, being careful not to shift the spine while pulling, just as you would if using an Ace bandage to hold the spine down. The entire spine can be strapped, and the spine can be boned with little fear of crushing because of the soft-fuzzy nature of the material. Also, since it is a synthetic material, it rarely sticks with the adhesive. Then each strap can be individually undone to allow inspection and detailed boning of that area, and then the velcro is reattached. The amount of time to leave the Velcro in place is up to you.

Do you have a great idea or technical tip you would like to share? If so, please contact the editors at <[email protected]>.

William Minter began his binding career when he started working for The Cuneo Press, Inc. in Chicago, where he met William Anthony, noted fine bookbinder and book conservator. Following a seven-year apprenticeship with Anthony, Minter opened his shop in 1978 where he specialized in bookbinding and the conservation of rare books and manuscripts for university libraries, museums, rare book dealers, and private collectors. Occasionally he has executed a fine binding for commission or exibition. Since 1994, the business has been located in rural Pennsylvania. He can be reached at <[email protected]>.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Practical Press By Charles Schermerhorn, The New Leaf Bookbindery
While watching a major librarys conservation technician demonstrate the basic repair of a book clean spine, remove & replace cases stiffener, install new mull, end pages and headbands, then re-case using a standard finishing/lying press, I was impressed by the awkwardness of the process which included putting the press on a box to hold it, inserting the book, tightening the screws, etc. When I set up my own shop I decided to make a press which would incorporate a frame of galvanized pipe and woodworkers clamps raising the press up off the surface of the bench and allowing the use of both hands. The design of this press allows the binder to insert thick books horizontally by laying the press on its side, to stand the press upright (as depicted) for spine cleaning, lining, or backing, or to stand the press on end to allow for two-handed shaping of headcaps. The drawing and text for building and using the press have been shared with dozens of binders, and I herewith give permission for others to do the same. The costs for building this press amount to less than $25, and the design requires a minimum of sawing, assembling, etc. Mine has been used hundreds of times on all sorts of work, and find it one of the handiest things in my shop. A diagram and instructions for construction appear below. This version of the finishing press avoids the problems associated with traditional lying presses by holding the jaws above the surface of the bench, and permitting a variety of positions (on its side, or back) for ease of performing different tasks. The length of the 3/4 and 1/2 pipes is optional. In my case, I use 12 lengths for the uprights and 14 for the horizontals. It is not necessary for any of the pipes to be screwed tightly into their fittings, since the geometry of the press ensures stablity. The pipes are long enough to accommodate thick books with a backing board on each side. These can be loaded by turning the press on its back, tightening the clamping, and then returning it to upright for working. Standing the press on end, with the book fastened at an angle in the press and facing the worker, permits easy shaping of headcaps. The pipe clamps, in this case Pony Clamps are available at most good hardware stores. A hole is drilled in the face of each clamp to allow it to be secured to the wood. The part of the clamp with the locking plates sometimes cuts grooves into the pipe when clamped too tightly. These can be filed flat to prevent jamming. To release this part of the clamp more easily, press or tap the bottom end of the plates to loosen.

32

Notes on Constructing the Schermerhorn Press Design By Pamela Barrios

Admiring the simplicity and practicality of the design, I set out to make one. I found the parts readily available at Home Depot and Harbor Freight Tools, with the exception of the maple two by fours. Two by ones are available, though, in several hardwoods and can be laminated to make a more rigid press. I am not a woodworker, and I think the most difficult part of the process was drilling the holes at a perfect right angle without a drill press. I did not have a bit to put metal screws in the Pony Clamps, but find the press easy enough to control without them, although not so elegant as Mr. Schermerhorns diagram.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Images of the Schermerhorn press as built by Pamela Barrios.

33

Do you have a great idea or technical tip you would like to share? If so, please contact the editors at <[email protected] Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Terra Australis: The artists book as philosophical approach to the world By Tommaso Durante
The World Wide Web allows us to travel across the various latitudes and longitudes in an easy way, without a visa. The entire context of globalization influences the way artists think and act, and the art itself makes the world its own material. The artist, under certain conditions, becomes a nomad who, urged on by thousands of reasons, travels continuously inside the space, both real and virtual, and sometimes backward in time, looking for some signal that can show the way. I am looking for my way too, and work around knowledge and ideas of materials that cover and translate a wide range of experiences: sculpture-installations, paintings and artist books. by other authors, they exist independently and combine themselves with my work without aiming to explain it. Only in Visio Mundi, published in 1999, is the text mine. The artwork originated with the wish to interpret the page as a theatrum, a place of destruction and reconstruction, a place of meditation, a borderline between painting and writing. When my artists books are published in limited edition, I realize something very close to an exhibition. Books are a medium of unique visual expression that can reach people in contexts different from the gallery environment.

34

For me, artists books are artworks in the shape of a book. Books as sculptures, texts as objects, objects as narrative literature: these are examples of various strategies that can be used to make books, where shape and content become the function of the same goal. The book can be a purely iconographic work, in which the images, the structure and the materials are themselves frequently the content. Usually, I make books using traditional bookmaking methods to create conceptually provocative artworks. Artists books and paper sculptural books offer me the means to explore complex themes visually. They are also a philosophical vehicle for a very private approach to the world. Furthermore, they display creativity through the bidimensional and tridimensional aesthetic sensibility. Sometimes my artists books are hand-made (unique works), like sculptural paper, or they are printed in limited editions (occasionally in collaboration with philosophers, poets or scientists). When there are texts in my books

Terra Australis, my most recent artists book, was created in the course of this research, and describes my move from Italy to Australia. My approach to my new country was strongly influenced by the great contrasts of a land surrounded by the oceans with a big, empty, desert at its heart. As an artist, I was also strongly attracted by the light and the texture of the various materials that are all part of these contrasts. On several trips I collected digital pictures of the soil, the rocks, and the trees, and then I worked out all images through a digital painting process in order to express my feelings about this mysterious land, using these materials as the explorations starting point.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Tommaso Durante is a visual artist who has been producing paintings, sculptures, and artists books for 25 years. Before moving to Australia he taught history of art from 1997 to 2001 at the College for Classical Studies in Amalfi, Italy, and prior to that, from 1990 to 1996, visual art in several high schools. Recently his bookworks were exhibited in a solo show at the Cowen Gallery of the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia and in group exhibitions held in Noosa Regional Gallery, Noosa, QLD; Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, WA; MPRG, Mornington, VIC; Mission Valley Library, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Mechanics Institute Library, San Francisco, California; Department of Fine Arts, State University of California, San Luis Obispo, CA; Italian Institute of Philosophical Studies, Palazzo Serra di Cassano, Naples, Italy. His artists books are also included in the International Catalogue of Contemporary Fine Prints, the Year Book 2004/2005, published by Bartkowiaks Forum Book Art in Hamburg, Germany, in Books by Artists in Italy 1960/1998, and the general catalogue of Italian artists books, Piedmont Region, Turin, Italy. He can be reached at <[email protected]>.

35

Terra Australis is an artists book made of holes, stones and water, soil and air.
Every page opens on the edge of a measured visual abyss where the invitation to venture through the deep and impenetrable matter is both dangerous and real. Beyond the cold geography and frigid geometry it evokes, Terra Australis is an art work for the geographer of inwardness. The book is apparently engaged on the surface but it is an art work pervaded by a silent darkness in which something endless is hidden, or escapes the eyes. The book is also physically punched by holes that change their position in the pages and evoke the Southern Cross in the Australian night sky. Usually my translation of the world tries to destroy the imitation of ideas by transposing them into other ideas: sculpture-installations, paintings and artists books testify to a subjectivity that is creative, transitory, and not defined.

The Bonefolder welcomes articles on significant binding and artists book projects, oneof-a-kind or editioned. If you would like to share your project please contact the editors at <[email protected]>.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Edelpappband / Millimeter Binding Bind-O-Rama
Little known, what is referred to as the millimeter binding in North America, is a nobler version of the German pappband, or paper binding, hence the name edelpappband. The technique is based on the German case (Bradel) binding which is covered in paper. What distinguishes the technique is that cloth, leather, or vellum trim is added at the head and tail, foredges, and/or corners of the case for greater durability while making the book more elegant. This style of binding is well suited for smaller, thinner books, and with the right proportions, including very small squares and thin boards, creates an extremely elegant and precise binding suitable for editions as well as one-of-a-kind bindings. Full instructions to the technique were published in the prior issue of the Bonefolder (Vol. 1, No. 2, 2005) along with a call for entries. In Denmark, a variant with the leather trim running along the entire length of the head and tail is referred to the as Rubow binding after the librarian who suggested it. The edelpappband is distinctly different from the Danish millimeter binding which has the shoulders backed to 90, is made in-boards, and is covered with a full leather spine which is worked into the groove and is only visible for a few millimeters on the boards. Of the nineteen binders whose works are shown here, fourteen were first exposed to this technique through the earlier Bonefolder article. While the degree of precision varied with experience, it is exciting to see that these binders took up the challenge and hoped that they will continue to refine their technique and experiment. Unless otherwise indicated, first experiences with this technique were a result of the article published in the Bonefolder (Vol. 1, No. 2, 2005). Peter Verheyen, Exhibit Instigator Cathy Adelman, Malibu, CA, USA.

36

Franz Kafka, Josephine the Singer, Press Intermezzo. This millimeter binding is covered in paper designed by the binder, with leather trim at the head and tail of spine. Leather endbands, graphite edge, leather label, titled with foil. 20cm x 16 x 1cm. Introduced to this technique, along with 4 variations, by Edwin Heim at the Centro del Bel Libro. Adrienne Allen, Sydney, Australia.

Jack McClaren, My Crowded Solitude, MacMillan Company, 1990. This book is about a coconut plantation as is reflected in the cover design, made in Illustrator 10 and printed on pale yellow Caslon Print-On paper. The paper was sprayed with

David Peters, detail of headcap.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

inkjet color fixative. The edges of the boards are covered with pale blue bookcloth. The endpapers are a deeper yellow. 22 x 14 x 1.5cm. Bound 2005. Whitney Baker, Lawrence, KS, USA. Bruce Bumbarger, Haverford, PA, USA.

37

The New Bookbinder, 1986.

Tan goatskin trim along head and tail, tan goatskin label, Swedish marbled Hahnemuhle paper, sewn silk headbands. 28 x 22 x 1.2cm. Bound 2005.

Alvah Bessies Spanish Civil War Notebooks, University Press of Kentucky, 2002.
Paste paper covers (made by binder), orange goatskin trim at head and tail; laser-printed label on green Moriki, stuck-on commercial endbands. 21 x 13.5 x 2cm. Bound 2005. Lorraine Bates, Kin Kin, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Taught by Fritz and Trudy Eberhardt, Harleysville, PA Donia Conn, Syracuse, NY, USA.

B. A. St. Andrews, Learning from Renoir, Wells College Press, 2003. A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh. New endpapers printed with maps of the 100 Aker Wood. Covered in cream wallpaper with blue star motifs and Winnie the Pooh image (downloaded from Internet and printed on photo paper with inkjet printer). Whisky kangaroo leather trim at foredges, tail of spine, and title panel at head of spine. Title blocked in cream foil. Dark blue kangaroo leather headbands. 19 x 13 x 2cm. Bound 2005. Hand made paste paper with indigo Cave Paper staggered head and tail. Invisible foredge of indigo Cave paper. Mottled acrylic edge to match pochoir frontispiece. Indigo Cave Paper wrapped endbands. 28.6 x 17.4 x 1.1cm. Bound 2005.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Leigh Craven, Manlius, NY, USA. Lesa Dowd, Chicago, IL, USA.

38
Sample encapsulated volume sewn on linen tapes. Red elephant-hide endpapers. Rolled pastepaper endbands. Cover and onlays composed of various pastepapers (made by the binder). Purple Oasis goatskin at foredges, head of spine, and tail of spine. 19.5 x 18.3 x 1.3cm. Bound 2005. Anna Embree, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.

In Flight: Triennial Exhibition, Guild of Book Workers, 2005.

Endpapers same as text; pastepaper endband (same as cover) around thread core; goat skin trim at head/tail caps and along foredge; covered in handmade pastepaper. 26.5 x 15.5 x 1cm. Bound 2005. Soline dHaussy, Lawrence, KS, USA.

Flat-back case binding; pastepaper with brown goatskin trim along entire head and tail. 25.7 x 16 x 1cm. Bound 2005.

Ann Camp, Pen Lettering, Dryad Press, Leicester. Speckled paper covers (made by binder); black calf skin; gold lettering achieved with a Kwickprint; stuck-on commercial endbands. 22 x 14.5 x 1.4cm. Bound 2005.

Donia Conn, detail of asymmetrical trim.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Anna Embree (cont.) Ethan Ensign, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

39

Case binding; pastepaper with brown goatskin trim along entire head and tail. 20.6 x 15.7 x 1.3cm. Bound 2005. Janet Engle, Upper Sandusky, Ohio, USA.

Helmut Lehmann-Haupt, 100 Books About Bookbinding. Green Harmatan leather trim at foredges and endcaps, Swedish marbled paper on binding, paper label. 18.5 x 13.5 x 1.25cm. Bound 2005. Darren A. Fuller, Navan, County Meath, Republic of Ireland.

R.D. Barnett, Illustrations of Old Testament History, 1977. Zitkala-Sa, Old Indian Legends. Bound with black cloth trim at head, tail, and foredges, covered with red pastepaper and decorated with strips of torn and cut mulberry paper in the design of a dreamcatcher. 22 x 14.5 x 1cm. Bound 2005. The text is a British Museum catalogue of artifacts from the Old Testament period. Hand marbled endsheets; text sewn on tapes; hand-sewn endbands; black leather trim at head and tail; covered in marbled pink and gray paper, and over-printed with Medo-Persian design. Black paper spine label with gold colored foil titling. 24 x 16.5 x 2cm. Bound 2005.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Karen Hanmer, Glenview, IL, USA. David Peters, Leatherhead, UK.

40

Kitchen Note Book.

Text block of blank loose sheets oversewn; endpapers, 2 double folio 130 gsm Snowdon Cartridge sewn all along and hook/linked to oversewing and tipped on; case covered in handmade Pineapple paper with Nigerian goatskin top edge and spine piece with cane cored headband; title free-hand tooled in gold using Vivaldi script matching the lettering on the front cover which is an inkjet print on matte paper and depicting an early Caribbean Kitchen. 30.5 x 21.5 x 1.5cm. Bound 2005.

The Bedroom Companion, a 1938 compilation of naughty stories for men.

Bookcloth made by binder from fabric reminiscent of hipsters dressing gown. Goatskin trim at foredges, head and tail. Edges colored with acrylic to match paper label. 23 x 16 x 3.5cm. Bound 2005.

Don Rash, Plains, PA, USA.

Clark Ashton Smith, Planets and Dimensions, Arkham House 1973. Manuela Dunn, Saints, the Chosen Few. Gold goatskin trim along entire perimeter of case echoes gold edge on holy cards. Pale green Ingres endsheets and on case. Edges colored with gold acrylic. 23 x 19 x 2.5cm. Bound 2005. Marbled paper millimeter binding with black goatskin strips at head and tail. All edges graphite, Handsewn white silk endbands. Gray handmade paper endsheets. Cover paper marbled by the binder: graphite pigment on offwhite Hannemhle Ingres.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

This was a student piece done while studying with Trudi Eberhardt some 20 years ago, and thus has numerous flaws. Im still fond of the cover marbling, though, which seems appropriate to the subject matter. Gregory Santos, Queens, NY, USA. Peter D. Verheyen, Syracuse, NY, USA.

41

The Enchiridon of Epictetus, Press Intermezzo, 1997.

Endpapers of red Roma paper; top edge gilt; endband of pastepaper around thread core, vellum trim along top and bottom edges; covered in hand-made pastepaper; title in gold on front cover. 16.5 x 12 x 1cm. Bound 2005. Sewn on three linen tapes; endsheets of cream Fabriano paper; endbands of pumpkin-colored Strathmore paper around thread core; natural goatskin trim running vertically down center of spine; covered in Nideggen paper. 18 x 11.5 x 1.6cm. Bound 2005. Betsey Stout, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Fritz and Trudi Eberhardt, Rules for Bookbinders, The Boss Dog Press, 2003. Endpapers same as text; top edge in graphite and burnished; dark red leather endband around thread core; vellum trim at head/tail caps with invisible corners; covered in handmade pastepaper; title in graphite on front cover. Soft Ascona-style slipcase covered in paper to match book with title in graphite on spine. 18 x 12.5 x 1cm. Bound 2005. Introduced to the technique during an internship at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum and formal apprenticeship at the Buchbinderei Klein, Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Indische Miniaturen.
Light green harmatan leather trim on top and bottom edges, blue ingres paper and decorative paper inset on front and rear boards. 19 x 12.5 x 1cm. Bound 2005.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

The following use the same underlying structure as the edelpappband/millimeter binding, but because they have full leather spines do not fit the criteria of the technique. Sherry Barber, Frisco, TX. Carole Vanderhoof, Lonely Pine Bindery, Rifton, NY, USA.

42

Beethoven Piano Solos.

Covered in Harmatan goatskin and pastepaper. The headband is gold velvet ribbon. Leather was used for trim on the spine and foredges. 33 x 26.5 x 2cm. Bound 2005. My first instructor, trained in Stuttgart, Germany in the early 1930s, used this type of binding extensively.

Millimeter binding with French Chagrin spine and foredges, hand marbled papers by Catherine Levine on covers. 24.5 cm x 14.5 cm x 2.2cm. Bound 2005.

Bruce Bumbarger, detail of headcap.

Karen Hanmer, detail of leather trim at tail.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Publication Review Reviewed by Peter D. Verheyen
William Anthony Fine Binder, Lawrence Yerkes ed., Iowa City: University Libraries, University of Iowa, 2005.
William Bill Anthony (1926 1989) was arguably one of the most influential bookbinders and conservators in the US. His impact cannot be measured by his work alone but also by his legacy as demonstrated by all those he trained, many of whom are now leaders in the field in their own right. Lawrence Yerkes forward and Helen Ryans introduction to the catalog describe not only Anthonys life and work, but also the emotional bond they had with him and his spirit that touched so many. Anthony began his life as a binder at the age of seventeen when he served a seven-year apprenticeship with his father in Dublin, Ireland. He later worked as a journeyman binder in London, UK, studying at the Camberwell College of Art and exhibiting with the Guild of Contemporary Bookbinders, (the precursor organization of Designer Bookbinders). He emigrated to the United states in 1964, working first at the Cuneo Press in Chicago, then partnering with Hungarianborn binder Elizabeth Kner, and finally taking over the firm upon her retirement under the name Anthony and Associates. Anthonys last job was as conservator for the University of Iowa collections, where he continued to successfully train apprentices. The spectrum of his bookbinding work was broad, encompassing edition binding, fine binding, and conservation. To honor Anthony, the University of Iowa Libraries held a retrospective exhibition at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, April 15-July 31, 2005, in which not only the breadth and beauty of his creative work were shown but also examples of his conservation treatments. The catalog of this exhibition depicts 41 of Anthonys fine bindings which demonstrate his great technical skill and keen aesthetic sensibilities. While most of these works are executed in full leather with onlays, blind, and/or gold tooling, there are also several examples of his work in vellum. Though his background and training were English, it is clear from looking at Anthonys work that he studied, admired, and was influenced by the work of binders throughout Europe, blending their ideas with his to develop his own timeless style. Also depicted in the exhibit catalog are examples of some of his edition bindings and conservation treatments. Whatever style, his work was always technically and proportionately precise and polished. The continuing relevance of skills and design exemplified by Anthony in this catalog of his work is true even as aspects of the craft are slowly fading away those with the skills to teach at this level are retiring and no longer teaching. The time required to master the work is hard to fit into todays world of non-linear cafeteria-style learning and weekend workshops. This learning style has replaced the rigid apprenticeship models experienced by Anthony and his students, now master craftsmen and artists in their own rights. While the book arts have changed dramatically over the past decades, away from traditional craft-based bookbinding to artists books and more alternative structures, the skills and sense of design exemplified by Anthonys work remain as relevant as ever.

43

The exhibition catalog was designed by Julie Leonard and Sara T. Sauers with photography by Jill Tobin. It is a fitting tribute to Anthony and makes an exceptional addition to the reference collections of binders and bibliophiles. The catalog can be ordered online from the University of Iowa Bookstore at <http://www.iowabook.com/wianfibi. html> for $39.95 + SH.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

44

WheredidcARTalogcomefrom?ThecARTaloggrowsfromtheemptydrawersoftheUniversity
ofIowaLibrariesmaincardcatalog,whichwasretiredin2004.Asmallcommunityoflibrarystaff motivatedbybothnostalgiaandlibrarysubculturehascometogethertogivethecardcatalogcards themselvesarebirth,inordertocelebratetheroleofthishonorificiconwithintheworldoflibrariesaswellas theUILibrariessesquicentennial.Projectorganizerswereabletosalvageapproximatelyonlyonequarterof theUIscardcatalogforthecARTalogproject;theremainingcardswerehauledawaytorecycling.TheUI Librariesisonlyoneofseverallibrariesthathavesoughttohonorthewaningcardcatalogwithalasting monumentorceremony.

Whatisthehopefulgoal?cARTaloghopestofindasmanycreativeusesaspossibleforthesalvaged
cardcatalogcardsandgenerateasenseofcommunityamongthosewholovethecardcatalog.Thecard catalogmeansdifferentthingstomanypeopleandthecARTalogprojectembracesthisnotionbyencouraging anyoneinterestedinworkingwithoursalvagedcardstodoso.Participantsinclude: musicians librarians chefs artists(sculpture,mailart,bookart, historians calligraphers,photographers) storytellers educators&students(K12,college, graduatelevel) TheactivemembersofcARTalogareorganizinglargerscaleprojects,including: 1. cardARTintheschools(IowaCitycommunityschooldistrict) 2. MailArtprojects 3. anexhibitionofcARTalogprojectsattheUILibraries 4. permanentcardcatalogartinstallation 5. awebpagedocumentingthehistoryofcardcatalogsandthecARTalogproject

HowcanyougetinvolvedwithcARTalog?Youcangetinvolvedbyparticipatinginoneofthe
aboveprojects,orbycreatingyourown.Projectscoulddevelopoutofusingagroupofcardsorsimplyone. Youcanrespondtothecardsformat(sizeandmaterial)orcontent(booktitle,subjectwords,author).Youcan submitanddonateyourpiecetothecARTalogproject*foritsgrowingcollectionOR,ifyouchoosetokeep yourcardcatalogpiece,weaskthatyouprovideuswithdocumentation(writtenandphotographicifpossible) sothatwecandocumentandcredityourparticipation. Formoreinformation,ortoparticipateincARTalog,contactKristinBaum,UILibraries,319.335.5503or [email protected]

See <http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/pr/cartalog/> for more information Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

45

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Advertise in the Bonefolder
The Bonefolder is an international journal for bookbinding and the book arts, which through its association with the Book Arts Web has the potential to reach on average 1500 viewers per week. Publication of the Bonefolder will be announced prominently on the Book Arts Web, the Book_Arts-L listserv and other topically related lists reaching many thousands of readers.

46

Though published in an online format we will present the Bonefolder as a print publication with keen attention paid to layout, typography, and illustration. The Bonefolder will be published on a semi-annual basis with back issues archived online for continued availability. In order to make the Bonefolder freely available, we will offer advertising space for sale at competitive rates. These rates include publication of your advertisement in both numbers of a given volume. Full Page $300 US A4 or 8.5 x 11 vertical format Half Page $150 US A5 or 8.5 x 5.5 horizontal format 29.7 x 11.5 cm or 11 x 5.5 vertical format Quarter Page $75 A6 or 5.5 x 4.25 vertical format Full information on submitting your advertisement and payment is found at <http://www.philobiblon.com/ bonefolder/advertise.htm>.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005

The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist

Submission Guidelines
The Bonefolder welcomes submissions of articles for publication. Articles should relate to the fields of bookbinding, book arts, decorative techniques, education, exhibition reviews, tips & tricks, or book reviews. Articles that have not be published elsewhere will be given first consideration. The language of the Bonefolder is English, though it may be possible to work with authors in the translation of nonEnglish articles. Because the Bonefolder is published electronically we are able to reach a worldwide audience at minimal cost. Issues will be released as PDF files which can be opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Examples: Middleton, Bernard C. (1996). A History of English Craft Bookbinding, New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press. Etherington, Don and Matt Roberts (1982). Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: A dictionary of descriptive terminology. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. Files sent through regular postal mail on floppy diskettes or CD are also acceptable, provided they are in the PC format. If sending on disc, please write the editor for a mailing address.

47

Copyright:
Authors retain copyright of their articles and are free to publish them elsewhere. In submitting articles for publication, authors grant the Bonefolder worldwide distribution rights for their article as it appears in the journal. The Bonefolder uses the Creative Commons licensing/ copyright agreement. For more information see the Creative Commons FAQ.

Submitting your text:

Only completed articles should be submitted to the editorial review board. This includes proof-reading. Please indicate position of graphics in text by placing the filename of the image in brackets, i.e. [AuthorLastname-Image1.tif]. Articles may be included either as plain text in email letters, or as word processor files attached to email letters. Microsoft Word or WordPerfect are the preferred file formats. Formatting should be very basic with italics, bold, and other formatting used sparingly. Font should be either Arial or Times Roman. Images can be included in the JPG or TIF formats. Images should be sized to 1024 x 768 pixels if taken with a digital camera. If scanned or created digitally, save at 400 dpi. Line art should be saved as bitonal, b/w images as 8 bit (256 shades of grey), and color as 24 bit. DO NOT embed images in body of text, but save separately and attach. Files should be named as follows The article (if not sent in email message body): AuthorLastname-ShortTitle.doc Images: AuthorLastname-Image1.tif (.jpg) AuthorLastname-Image2.tif (.jpg)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Contact:
Email articles to: The Bonefolder, <[email protected]> Authors are normally informed of the publication decision within four to five weeks. Full information on the Bonefolder can be found at <http://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder>.

References:
* Any references should be included in ( ) following the text they refer to. If links are included, include the full URL.

Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2005