Traditional Iranian Hand Binding

A special thank you to Mr. Iraj Navidi for providing the content of this post. A Summary of the History of Iranian Traditional Hand Bookbinding Iranians learned to make paper from the Chinese, and started making paper in the city of Samarkand. Examples of Iranian paper include Samarkand, Khorasan, Tabriz

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The Journeyman Bookbinder

Just a Journeyman Binder of Books Working from town to town A craftsman old, of an ancient guild With graying hair and wrinkled frown.   He binds the books in leather and cloth, Tools them in letters of gold Some printed thoughts that come to naught, Others of priceless mould.

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Color Our Collections 2017

It’s that time again! It’s Color Our Collections week, a project hosted by the New York Academy of Medicine, in which museums, libraries, and archives around the world create coloring pages inspired by items in their collections. Officially it runs February 6-10, 2017, but really, you can print our pages and

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Floods and Disasters: 1966 and 2016

Fifty years ago last night, the Arno River in Florence burst its banks and flooded the city, reaching depths of 18-22 feet. Water raged through the streets at some 30-40 miles per hour, tumbling cars and even newsstands as easily as if they were children’s toys. Shops on the famous

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Book news

As Scotland heads to the polls this week to vote on independence from the United Kingdom, an antiquarian bookseller has drawn attention to the 18th century debate regarding the union of Scotland and England: expressed here in a book of poetry in support of the union.  Equally of interest is

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Penguin Bindings: A Short History

I love merchandise, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Especially if it’s book-related. Lately, I’ve found myself drawn to the plethora of items sold by Penguin that recall the nostalgia of their classic binding. You know which one I mean – the three horizontal stripes, famously orange, with the

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A Short History of America’s Oldest Private Press

The Private Press movement suffered a sharp decline during the 1930s, with many presses closing down due to Depression-era costs. A few, however, managed to keep going. One of those intrepid presses was the Trovillion Private Press at the sign of the Silver Horse, which at one point was the

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The Private Press Movement in Britain and America

The Private Press movement, an offshoot of the Arts and Crafts movement that began in Britain and then spread to America, is a fascinating period in the history of the book, and one of my favorites. At the heart of the private press is the core ideal of the owner

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A Day at the London International Antiquarian Book Fair : Starting a Book Collection on a Budget

A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune to be able to attend the London International Antiquarian Book Fair. My friend and fellow library student (Jill, for future reference) managed to secure tickets through her workplace. She and I are both rare books people, and I think it is

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