Course on European bookbinding 1450-1820

"European Bookbinding, 1450-1820"
University of Ulster, Magee Campus (Londonderry)
15-19 June 2009:

Tutor: Professor Nicholas Pickwoad ACR, FIIC with examples of
bindings from the Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Library

The history of bookbinding is not simply the history of a decorative
art, but that of a craft answering a commercial need. This course
will follow European bookbinding from the end of the Middle Ages to
the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, using the bindings
themselves to illustrate the aims and intentions of the binding
trade. A large part of the course will be devoted to the
identification of both broad and detailed distinctions within the
larger groups of plain commercial bindings and the possibilities of
identifying the work of different countries, cities, even workshops
without reference to finishing tools. The identification and
significance of the different materials used in bookbinding will be
examined, as well as the classification of bookbindings by
structural type, and how these types developed through the three
centuries covered by the course. The development of binding
decoration will be touched on, but will not form a major part of the
discussion.

The course consists of ten 90-minute sessions, two each morning over
the five-day course, using Powerpoint (over 800 pictures will be
shown) and four afternoon sessions looking at books from the Derry
and Raphoe collection, leaving the afternoon session on the Friday
for discussion, further questions, etc.  The students are expected
to have a good knowledge of bookbinding terms and a basic knowledge
of the history of book production in the period under discussion.
The purpose of the course is to encourage an awareness of the
possibilities latent in the detailed study of bookbindings and is
thus aimed at all those handling books bound in this period, but it
has particular relevance for all those involved in the repair and
conservation of such materials.

Space is limited to 12

Course Fee: UKP450 (accommodation on-campus can be made available for
an additional fee; coffee and tea provided, but not meals)

For more information, or to register for this course, please
contact:

    Jennifer Jarvis
    Project Director/Chief Conservator
    Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Library Project
    Shantallow Branch Library
    92 Racecourse Rd., Shantallow
    Derry BT48 8DA
    +44 2871350791
    j.jarvis<-at->ulster<.>ac<.>uk


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