Exhibitions on pap

Papers and Porcelains: Two Recent Gift Collections Exhibition
The Folger Shakespeare Library
Washington, DC
July 15, 1998, through October 24, 1998

-The Folger Shakespeare presents two recent notable gift
collections: The Lada-Mocarski Antique Decorated Paper Collection
and The Babette Craven Collection of Theatrical Memorabilia from
July 15 through October 24, 1998.  The exhibition, Papers and
Porcelains: Two Recent Gift Collections, celebrates the passion and
dedication of the collectors of these two splendid additions to the
Folger Library.  On view in the Folger's Great Hall, hours are 10
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with guided tours daily at
11 a.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.  The Library is closed
Sundays and federal holidays. Admission is free.

In 1945, Polly Lada-Mocarski and her husband Valerian acquired a
large portion of their decorated paper collection during a visit to
Italy. The collection, a gift to the Folger from Champion
International Corporation, consists of 642 sheets some of them
dating as early as the seventeenth century.  It provides historical
documentation of the beauty and variety of the decorated papers used
in books over several centuries.   This portion of the exhibition
not only features the craftsmanship of these exquisite sheets but
its curators, Frank Mowery, Folger Head of Conservation, and Linda
Hohneke, Conservation Assistant, have illustrated their use in book
production.

"Decorative papers" comprise hand-marbled papers, those decorated
with the aid of a hand press, or those embellished in some way with
ornamental patterns.  These papers were created to resemble more
costly materials such as marble (marbled paper), gold and leather or
brocade (embossed or brocade papers), and printed cotton
(block-printed paper) but at a fraction of the cost and labor.  Most
were not created to be art objects themselves but to be used as
embellishments to books, boxes, and other objects.  However, the
makers of such papers were recognized and treated as respected
artisans. Mostly used by bookbinders, cabinetmakers, wallpaper
makers, and other professional craftsmen, decorated papers were also
readily available for purchase to the general public from local
stationers or vendors in the marketplace.

Babette Craven's was born and raised in Philadelphia.  Her father, a
lawyer, had a personal interest in the theater, and her mother
possessed a taste for and knowledge of porcelains.  Mrs. Craven
shared her parents' interests and, having married the British actor
Robin Craven, collected theatrical ceramics as she toured England
and America with her husband.   Her collection of eighteenth- and
nineteenth-century theatrical memorabilia is one of the finest
compilations of early English porcelains assembled by any collector,
and it complements the collection of Shakespeare memorabilia put
together by the Library's founder, Henry Clay Folger.

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:15
                 Distributed: Wednesday, August 5, 1998
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