Symposium and exhibit on 19th century American cloth bindings

"The Well-Dressed Book: A Symposium on Nineteenth-Century American Cloth
    Binding"
University of Maryland
March 14, 2008

Barely three decades after the advent of the cloth bound book, the
U.S. Census Bureau's report on manufacturing in 1860 noted that "by
far the larger proportion of all the books now published in the
United States are put up in cloth binding, which, in addition to its
cheapness and the rapidity with which work of that kind may be
turned out, possesses considerable durability and capacity for
ornamentation." Publishers' cloth bindings represented a major
transformation in the book, one whose study impinges on many
interests, including the history of art and design; the history of
business, technology, and labor; literary and book history; the book
arts; librarianship, curatorship, and collecting. The appreciation
and study of cloth bindings on the part of scholars, librarians and
curators, collectors, and others has grown substantially in recent
years.

On Friday, March 14, 2008 the University of Maryland Libraries will
host a daylong symposium featuring prominent scholars, curators, and
collectors exploring various aspects of the history and appreciation
of cloth bindings. Scheduled speakers include Michael Winship, Sue
Allen, Steve Beare, Jessica Lacher-Feldman, Robert Milevsky, Douglas
McElrath, and Randy Silverman.

The symposium accompanies the exhibition "The Well-Dressed Book:
Cloth Book Binding in the United States, 1830-1920," which draws
mainly upon the university's special collections.

For the program and registration form, see

  <URL:http://www.lib.umd.edu/mdrm/gallery/bindings/Symposium.html>

For further information, contact

    Doug McElrath
     dmcelrat<-a t->umd< . >edu
     301-405-9210

Bryan L.W. Draper
Collections Conservator
University of Maryland Libraries
McKeldin Library, Room B0213
College Park, MD  20742
301-405-9349
Fax: 301-314-9971


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:43
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