Volume 9, Number 6
Nov 1985

Events in the News

• Last year Timothy S. Farley ("Blues"), packing supervisor at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, spoke on his specialty at a meeting of the Princeton Preservation Group. This year, he appealed to readers of the AIC Newsletter for documentation of damage incurred during shipment of art works, for a study he is doing. His address is Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Box 7648, Philadelphia, PA 19101 (215/787-5470).
• On June 20, the Smithsonian Institution's Book Conservation Lab hosted Washington book conservators at a meeting in the A&I Building. John Hyltoft spoke on the "millimeter technique" of bookbinding, Maria Nugent showed a film produced by the Smithsonian, "Conservation Bookbinding," and the group examined examples of the bindings described, from Mr. Hyltoft's private collection.
• The Fourth Annual Seminar on Excellence in Hand Bookbinding took place June 28-29 in San Francisco. About 80 people from all over the U.S. attended, including, from the Los Angeles area, Mel and Bruce Kavin, Margaret Lecky, Joanne Page, Ruth-Ann Rohman and Griselda Warr. The seminar was divided into four parts, each focusing on a different hand bookbinding technique. Don Etherington demonstrated the paring of leather covers. Gary Frost demonstrated how to make a paper covered conservation binding. Sylvia Rennie shared with participants a style of vellum binding she has developed. Gerard Charriere and Michael Wilcox demonstrated different methods for gold tooling. (Adapted from Joanne Page's report in waac, the newsletter of the Western Association for Art Conservation.)
• In July, the Belgian Minister of Culture opened a new national paper museum in Malmedy, which will also serve as a folklore and craft museum. It will have a library, an archives, displays on both new and old papermaking, an atelier for hand papermaking (in cooperation with the "papierschool van La Reid," near Spa), seminars on paper technology, and a section on "filigranologie" or watermarks.
• In September the ICA Committee on Conservation and Restoration net and resolved to straighten out the terminology in their field of concern. Results will be published in the ICA Bulletin. (ICA stands for International Council on Archives.)
• On October 3 the Washington Conservation Guild had a program on 'Conservation in East Germany." Paper conservator Wolfgang Waechter (Chief Restorer, German Depository Library, Leipzig) was one of the speakers. Perhaps a report will appear in the WCG Newsletter. The group's next meeting will be on November 6 at the National Archives.
• On October 6, at the Netherlands Literature Museum and Documentation Center (Prinses Irenepad 10, 2595 BG 's-Gravenhage, Netherlands), the International Committee for Literature Museums held its 8th International Conference. The theme was "Literature Museums, the Community and Communications," which related mainly to literary exhibitions and their effect on the public. The conference lasted an entire week. No report has been received yet. Although this group has American members, it is not clear at this point whether the United States has literature museums at all, or whether it has them and calls them something else.
• On October 12 and 13, Sün Evrard gave a workshop in Oakland, California for the Hand Bookbinders of California, on "Finishing: Alternatives to Geld Tooling." Mme. Evrard is the author of La Reliure. She spoke on the 16th at the San Francisco Public Library on contemporary French bookbinding.
• In Quebec, November 9-10, Frank Mowery will give a workshop on making brass clasps by two different mold methods and by sculpting a brass plate. The workshop is sponsored by the Association des Relieurs du Québec, C.P. 637, Succ. Outremont, Outremont, Québec, H2V 4N6. Frank Mowery is Head Conservator at Folger Shakespeare Library and President of the Guild of Book Workers.
• In 1986, at the end of September or thereabouts, the British Museum plans to host an interim meeting of the ICOM Working Group on Training in Conservation and Restoration. Among the topics on the agenda are: Science in paper & book conservation programs, Visits to conservation training programs, and Training of conservation technicians.