Spellbinding: Works of Magic in Fantasy Literature
They bought Harry’s school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with
The Mirror of Marriage
Have you ever wondered what advice to give young people about to get married? In the second half of the sixteenth century, the book market abounded with guidebooks about how to live – how to travel, how to write about travel, how to be a prince, how to be a
American Publishers’ Bindings at the Rare Book School
I was looking for someone, and I had been here before. Staring down the long aisle, I blinked hard, and looked at the slip of paper in my hand. A bunch of letters and numbers, written in pencil. A call number. I squinted at my own jagged vertical printing. “Is
A “New and More Perfect” Conservation Lab
Benjamin Franklin wrote his own epitaph as a youth while working as a printer’s “devil” (apprentice.) We’ve paid homage to this clever metaphor before, but it is worth repeating.
Samuel Mearne and Restoration Copyright
Samuel Mearne: Bookbinder and Copyright Enforcer A cursory search for Samuel Mearne (1624-1683) reveals an English Restoration bookbinder and publisher associated with the cottage (or cottage-roof) style of binding, which is characterized by ornate and colorful covers, often with a floral theme.
For All Time: The Victorian Gift Book
“Jo was the first to wake in the gray dawn of Christmas morning. No stockings hung at the fireplace and for a moment she felt as much disappointed as she did long ago, when her little sock fell down because it was crammed so full of goodies. Then she remembered
Japanese Bookbinding
Here is a brief sketch of the development of the Japanese book binding trade from its early development to its commercial beginnings and eventual industrialization written by Dana Gee. The word in Japanese for bookbinding is seihon. Papermaking was developed in China during the Han dynasty in the second century
A Brief History of Wove Paper
This week we have a guest feature from Marieka Kaye, Conservation Librarian and Book Conservator from the University of Michigan Library. In this article, she will be telling us about a book she’s recently been working on as a entry into exploring, briefly, the history of wove paper.