Boxes of all kinds

At our group meeting yesterday, Joe Landry spoke to us about various box structures and presented a wide variety of samples from his collection.

Master bookbinder, Joe Landry, has been binding books since he was a little boy, seated at the bench in his uncle's bindery in Halifax. Joe received his formal training in England at the London College of Printing. Upon graduation, Joe studied conservation of rare books and manuscripts at West Dean College, University of Sussex, where he apprenticed with noted book and paper conservator Chris Clarkson. At Montefiascone, Italy, Joe taught conservation to students from all over the world. Since 1999, Joe has taught hundreds of students at NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has produced books for film and television, and has made regular appearances on the acclaimed History Network series, The Curse of Oak Island, to offer advice and expertise on book-related matters. Joe has had some very prestigious clients, including King Charles III, and examples of Joe's work are held in a number of collections internationally.

Joe showed us over twenty different box structures and book enclosures. These examples included many that he'd made as well as numerous historic examples that he has collected over the years. Joe shared his experiences working with and constructing various styles of protective enclosures and how they are used in library and conservation settings. Thank you Joe, for your knowledge, your time, and your stories!

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Submitted by Rhonda Miller

The Douglas Cockerell collection

The Nova Scotia Book Arts Group had a wonderful opportunity yesterday to view the Douglas Cockerell collection of books that are held at Dalhousie University's Killam Library.

Special Collections librarian, Karen Smith, introduced the collection by telling us about Cockerell's life and how the books came to be housed in this library. The short version of the story is that a friend of Cockerell's, William Morse, who lived in Nova Scotia, purchased these books from Cockerell and then later donated them to Dalhousie University. There is an online exhibit with photographs of each of Cockerell's fine bindings and information about Cockerell's life and work, available here for a closer look: Dalhousie Libraries Digital Exhibits.

Karen was kind enough to pull all of these books for us to see firsthand. Of course, complementing the fine leather bindings and elaborate gold tooling are several examples of beautiful Cockerell marbled papers.

Morse also purchased Cockerell's collection of historic bindings and these were also donated to Dalhousie University. This includes several historic bindings and are actually some of the oldest items owned by Dalhousie University. There are some wooden board bindings in alum tawed leather, wooden bindings in leather with lots of hardware like clasps and metal bosses, a bible that belonged to King James, other books with fore edge painting and other types of edge decoration, etc. These are books that Cockerell had collected for teaching and studying and also to practice conservation treatments.

Our thanks to Karen Smith and library staff for this rare opportunity to see these books up close.

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Submitted by Rhonda Miller

NSBAG Book Swap 2024

The Nova Scotia Book Arts Group is hosting a handbound book swap!

• What is a handbound book swap?
  Make a book, bring it to the meeting, and swap it for a book made by someone else.
• Who can participate?
  Anyone who is, or wants to be, involved with NSBAG. All bookbinding skill levels are welcomed and encouraged to participate, but of course participation is entirely optional.
• When will the swap take place?
  We will swap the books at our November meeting at the Halifax Central Library. (The specific date will be scheduled later.)
• What kind of book should you make?
  It should be a blank book with height and width dimensions somewhere in the 5" to 9" range (14cm to 24cm). You can utilize whatever bookbinding techniques you like and make something that you'd be proud to share! Please include a colophon or a note with your name and details about the binding techniques and the materials used.
• How will the swapping be done?
  The books will be swapped randomly and blindly with the other swap participants. Bring your book to the meeting in November. Everyone who brings a book will get a different book to take home. Please wrap your book in brown paper or put it in a bag before you come. The books will be numbered and then participants will draw numbers and take the corresponding package. Imagine the suspense!

Send us an email (novascotiabookarts@gmail.com) if you have any questions!