Oak Knoll Books of Delaware has designated January as Book Arts Month with a month-long exhibition of book arts and book making at the Antiquarian Book Arcade in New York City. On Saturday and Sunday, January 13-14, book artists from the Center for Book Arts will be offering demonstrations at the Arcade. The Grolier Club, The Bibliographical Society of America and the American Printing History Assn. are among the organizations involved in the events. Oak Knoll will set up a computer work station at the Arcade that will give visitors a chance to browse the World Wide Web, Internet sites, and other computer-linked information related to books, publishers, booksellers and various book groups. The Antiquarian Book Arcade, 110 West 25th St., 9th fl. in Manhattan. Call Esther Fan for more information about the event: 302/328-7232. For information about the Arcade, call Myrna Adolph-Morris at 212/620-5627.
A Gentle Madness, Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes and the Eternal Passion for Books by Nicholas Basbanes (Henry Holt, & Co.) is currently the hotselling, popular book among lovers of books and book history, according to Oak Knoll Books. The author, Mr. Basbanes will be signing copies of his book on January 26 at the Oak Knoll bookfest described above. The Oak Knoll press release describes it:
"In his book, Basbanes, a former literary editor and now nationally syndicated columnist, writes and describes in depth, the history of libraries and book collecting, bibliophiles and bibliomaniacs, people so overwhelmed by their obsession for books, they risk whatever is necessary to fulfill their heart's desires in obtaining the books they want.
Basbanes begins with the origin of libraries in Egypt 2,200 years ago and walks the reader through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the twentieth century."
The Western Association for Art Conservation (WAAC) held its first meeting on January 25, 1975 at the Conservation Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Among the 18 founding members were GBW members Stella Patri and Margaret Lecky. Present membership of WAAC is 504 in 33 states and 13 countries.
As reported earlier, planning is underway for the Fifth Biennial International Forum of Les Amis de la Reliure d'Art in Montreal. The Conference will be held from 27-29 September 1996 and will be hosted by l'ARA - Canada.
This is the first l'ARA conference to be held in the Americas and promises to be perhaps even more ambitious than those held previously. A minimum of 300 attendees are expected to attend the conference, representing some dozen countries, including France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Spain, Germany, Holland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Estonia, Canada and the United States.
In addition to book-related activities, cultural site visits and panel discussions, a major exhibition of design bookbinding will be held. It will incorporate four categories, including professional bookbinding, independent artists, students (associated with institutions or schools of the book arts), and a selection of books which may be handled. A catalogue of the bookbinding exhibition will be published. An exhibition of "Fine Letterpress Printing" will also be included in the conference activities.
The conference is open to all interested in the art of the contemporary book, particularly professional bookbinders, artists, bibliophiles, librarians and book conservators, collectors, publishers, book artists, and "all who love the beautiful...willing to unite and share their ideas, imagination, experiences and knowledge".
The Fifth International Forum follows successful conferences in Monaco (1988), Basel (1990), Toulouse (1992) and Luxembourg (1994). The stated mission of Les Amis de la Reliure d'Art (Friends of Artistic Bookbinding) is "to make the public-at-large aware of the arts of the handcrafted book as well as to stimulate the creativity of individual artists of the book".
All regular members of the Guild of Book Workers are automatically members of l'A.R.A. and thus welcome to attend the conference in Montreal. U.S. participation in the conference and attendant international exhibition is strongly encouraged. More information will be forthcoming in future issues of the GBW Newsletter, or you may contact Paula M. Gourley, 2811 Sixth Street, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401.
This award, administered by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC), is offered annually to support continuing education or training for professional book and paper conservators. You must be a member of AIC's Book and Paper Group in order to qualify. The amount of the award will probably be about $500.00. Funds may be applied to attendance at professional meetings, seminars, workshops and other educational events. Deadline for applications is February 1, 1996. To obtain an application form, write to:
Carolyn Horton Fund FAIC 1717 K Street, N.W., Suite 101 Washington, DC 20006