OPEN • SET Competition Winners

On February 5, 2017February 5, 2017 By American BoundIn Binders, Competitions, Events, ExhibitsLeave a comment

Nearly two years ago, I blogged excitedly about the announcement of OPEN • SET, a new international bookbinding competition.

Lots of bookbinding-related things happened between then and now: auctions, competitions, exhibitions, book fairs, awards, and even a few blogs posts. All that time, I was eagerly awaiting the results of the OPEN • SET competition judging. When the winners were announced, I tweeted and wrote about it on Facebook, but I failed to blog about the winners and exhibition locations and dates. Today I am correcting the omission. Continue reading “OPEN • SET Competition Winners” →

Go to New Haven

On June 17, 2016 By American BoundIn Binders, Catalogs, Collections, Exhibits, MiniaturesLeave a comment

Poet of them All

“The Poet of Them All”: William Shakespeare and Miniature Designer Bindings from the Collection of Neale and Margaret Albert

Wednesday, June 15, 2016-Sunday, August 21, 2016

Yale Center for British Art

I just got back from the opening of “The Poet of Them All.” It’s a must see. Whether or not you like miniature books, you’ll never see so many works by great binders on display in one exhibit. Fortunately, I’ve had the great privilege of handling many of the bindings in the past few years, otherwise it would have been totally overwhelming. Leave yourself plenty of time and buy the catalog. You won’t regret it.

Continue reading “Go to New Haven” →

Donald Glaister Eye Candy

On November 20, 2015November 20, 2015 By American BoundIn Binders, Catalogs, Exhibits, Eye CandyLeave a comment

Van der Marck catalog cover

Oak Knoll are my crack dealers. They brought Jan van der Marck’s The Art of Contemporary Bookbinding to the Boston Antiquarian Book Fair for me and, of course, I bought it. This is not your average vanity exhibition catalog. Jan van der Marck (1929-2010) was an art historian, both a university professor and probably the most frequently fired museum curator in modern history.

What really sets this exhibit catalog apart from most in my collection is not just the breadth of van der Marck’s taste, which is significant, but his introduction, his essay on each binder, and his brief commentary on each binding. As an art historian, his point of reference is significantly different from that of a librarian, a binder, or a collector who is not an art historian (most of us).

Donald Glaister was one of van der Marck favorite binders. He selected eight examples from his collection for this exhibition. Below are images of all eight, complete with van der Marck’s commentary. Continue reading “Donald Glaister Eye Candy” →