The Potomac Chapter reports that they have rescheduled Steven Lowe, the binder and conservator in Baltimore whose talk had to be postponed because of the blizzard. The Chapter will look at a knife-sharpening video on Valentine's Day, and hear their president Martha-Lucia Sierra talk about her work on the Mass Deacidification Project at the Library of Congress.
The most ambitious undertaking of the chapter during the past year has been the planning of a book for the members to bind. The text they have chosen is a book of fables by Leonardo da Vinci, to be printed in Italian and English. The type for the text, 18 point Goudy 30, was delivered with the wrong capital "E". The foundry had a bit of trouble locating the correct matrix to solve this problem. There was also a delay in making the paper at Cranberry Mill in Ontario. Once all the elements were in place, the printer Cita Wheeler-Sullivan began working, but then fell ill. After a stay in the hospital she is getting her strength back, and publication is tentatively set for Spring, '96.
Fifty copies will be printed, in black with colored initials. About half of the edition has been purchased by Potomac Chapter members. The remaining copies are being offered for sale to members of the Guild. The price is $75 plus $7.50 for shipping and handling.
The New England Chapter heard their president Joe Newman talk at their January 27 meeting on Mary Crease Sears, the first American master bookbinder of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Boston. He was followed by an informal discussion with bookbinders and book artists featured in their recent Members' Exhibition, Created Space.
Their next meeting is scheduled for March 30 at NEDCC, in Andover, Mass., with a panel discussion on Ethics and Standards in Bookbinding. Panelists will be Nancy Schrock, Nancy Southworth, Paul Parisi and Karl Eberth. Sam Ellenport will be moderator.
They are planning a workshop in the spring with Betsey Palmer Eldridge teaching her numerous variations on supported and unsupported sewing methods.
Joe Newman, who has been Chapter President since 1992 will not continue for a third term. The Chapter is looking for nominations for the office.