Volume 5, Number 1
Feb 1981

Folklife Center Sponsors Bookbinding Event

Library of Congress book conservators Thomas C. Albro and Robert Espinosa demonstrated traditional bookbinding skills on February 12 for visitors and staff of the Library. This event was one of a series of monthly noontime activities sponsored by the Library's American Folklife Center,

Over a two-hour period, working at bench-height tables in the middle of the Whittall Pavilion, they demonstrated five operations: sewing, endbanding, covering in full leather, gold tooling, and use of the plow. There was a good crowd, which included a few former students of both Albro and Espinosa. Exhibits had been set up at either side of the room. One included about 15 books illustrating the history of binding and the other featured a display of pictures with text.