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
The Bookbinder’s Song
When bookbinders got together in the 18th and 19th century, they talked shop over a pot of ale, or several pots of ale. Sometimes songs resulted, often full of puns on bookbinding terminology, and always celebrating the craft that elevated printed words into something “improved.” Later, the songs were more likely
Explore the Prelinger Library
Take a look at this interesting article on our friends Megan and Rick Prelinger and their incredible collection of random discoveries. Discover their story here
Preservationist Restores a Chapter of Virginia’s Colonial Past
An interesting article that briefly outlines the process that a rare book conservator is taking in the restoration of a rare 2 volume botanical guide. The guide “Figures of the Most Beautiful, Useful Plants Described in the Gardener’s Dictionary,” written by Philip Miller and published in 1760, is part of the University
St. Bartholomew Day
August 24th is Bartlemas, the Feast of St. Bartholomew, a fascinating character who, among other things, is the patron saint of leather workers, tanners, shoemakers, and bookbinders. When Bartholomew converted Polymius, the king of Armenia, to Christianity, Polymius’s brother Astyages ordered the missionary’s execution: tradition has it he was flayed
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.
A Tale of Two Presses: Printing comes to Iceland
Gutenberg invented the printing press about 1450 in Germany. Although a technological revolution by all counts, it hardly spread like wild fire, even in Europe. The manuscript tradition continued strong for many decades. In the island territory known as Iceland, the advent of printing was even slower than in most
The Bindings of To-morrow
The Guild of Women Binders and The Bindings of To-morrow In an age largely given over to utilitarianism it is gratifying to find purposes and persons at variance with the conditions around them, and in no field is the discovery more productive of satisfaction that that of industry.[1]
Linotype
Linotype fans and mid-20th century-printing nerds should enjoy this video featuring the country’s last Linotype newspaper operation in Saguache, Colorado.