Rare Book School

Rare Book School (RBS) is pleased to announce its Spring and Summer
Sessions 2005, a collection of five-day, non-credit courses on
topics concerning rare books, manuscripts, the history of books and
printing, and special collections. Classes will be held at the
University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA; at the Walters Art
Museum in Baltimore; and at the Freer/Sackler Galleries in
Washington, DC.

For an application form and electronic copies of the complete
brochure and the RBS Expanded Course Descriptions, providing
additional details about the courses offered and other information
about RBS, visit <URL:http://www.rarebookschool.org>

Subscribers to Conservation DistList may find the following Rare
Book School courses to be of particular interest:

H-60 History of European and American Papermaking
Timothy Barrett and John Bidwell
13-17 June 2005, University of Virginia

    Papermaking from its introduction in Europe through the
    Industrial Revolution, emphasizing changes in technology and the
    economics of the trade. Topics include: labor and management,
    the identification and description of paper in early books and
    manuscripts, and the revival of hand-papermaking in the c20. The
    course will include demonstrations of manufacturing techniques,
    and sessions in which students will date and localize early
    papers on the basis of watermark and other physical evidence.

    This course will examine the historical setting of early
    papermaking, its aesthetics and technology. The lectures will
    view (1) changes in technology in the light of documentary
    evidence; (2) the economics and organization of the paper trade
    (mostly in England, France, and America); (3) the relationship
    between the paper trade and the book trade; and (4) paper as
    bibliographical evidence.

    Timothy D. Barrett is Research Scientist at the University of
    Iowa, where he was the director of the Center for
    <URL:http://www.uiowa.edu/~ctrbook/>  the Book between 1996 and
    2002. His publications include the standard Japanese
    Papermaking: Traditions, Tools and Techniques (1983) and other
    books, articles and videos on the history, technique and
    aesthetics of both oriental and western papermaking.

    John Bidwell is Astor Curator of Printed Books and Bindings at
    the Pierpont Morgan Library <URL:http://www.morganlibrary.org/>,
    before which he was Curator of Graphic Arts in the Princeton
    University Library. He has written extensively on the history of
    papermaking in England and America.

B-40 Medieval and Early Renaissance Bookbinding Structures
Christopher Clarkson
27 June-1 July 2005, Walters Art Museum

    An explanation of the diversities of European bookbinding
    structures, up to and including the early period of more
    generalized practice and division of labor. Topics:
    identification (where possible) of the main types of binding
    structures; their dating and provenance; the recognition and
    recording of materials and techniques.

    This course is aimed at librarians, archivists, and art
    historians specializing in early books and manuscripts, and
    others who handle such material. The course will emphasize
    studies of the physical book and binding craft techniques of the
    period. It will proceed by means of lecture and discussion, and
    employ a considerable number of slides, diagrams, and samples.
    The structurally diverse products of the period will be explored
    by general descriptions and the use of certain carefully chosen
    case studies. The instructor will present for discussion his own
    methods concerning the interpretation and recording of such
    binding structures. In the face of the extensive losses now
    occurring to primary source material, problems of preservation
    and record photography will be mentioned. There will be a
    full-day field trip to a collection with major holdings in
    medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and bindings.

    In their personal statement, applicants should indicate their
    background, special interests and expectations from the course.
    The course presupposes a general knowledge of European history,
    but not of binding history. Please note that this course is not
    designed for practicing bookbinders (as such).

    Christopher Clarkson has held conservation positions at the
    Bodleian <URL:http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/>  Library, the Walters
    Art <URL:http://www.thewalters.org/html/home.asp>  Gallery, and
    the Library of Congress <URL:http://www.loc.gov> . An
    internationally renowned consultant on the care of medieval
    manuscripts and bindings, he is now in independent practice in
    Oxford. He was awarded the Royal Warrant Holders Association's
    2004 Plowden Medal in recognition of significant contribution to
    the advancement of the conservation profession.

Posted by Nathaniel Adams on behalf of Rare Book School
Rare Book School
114 Alderman Library
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4103
434-924-8851
Fax: 434-924-8824


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:37
                Distributed: Wednesday, February 9, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-37-008
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