R A I S E D B A N D S - Canberra Craft Bookbinders Guild ... · R A I S E D B A N D S The NewsleTTer of The CaNberra CrafT bookbiNders’ Guild ... John Tonkin: The Wasp in a Wig

R A I S E D

B A N D S

The NewsleTTer of The CaNberra CrafT bookbiNders’ Guild

Volume 32, Number 2, april 2015 www.CaNberrabookbiNders.orG.au

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COVER IMAGE: John Tonkin: The Wasp in a Wig by Lewis Carroll. A chapter of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’ deemed to be too long and deleted from the original text.Full leather Simplified binding. The spine leather in rose coloured box calf has impression of strips of cane. The kangaroo leather boards have impressions of pieces of bark which have left a fine pellicle of the bark in the recess. 215mm x 140mm x 20mmFrom FINE: THE WORK OF JOHN TONKIN, Civic Library, Canberra, 1-24 April 2015.

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ContentsA Note from the President .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .4February Meeting Report .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .5Bind Challenge 2015. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .8London Strife (part 1) by Dominic Riley . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .9Manly Book Arts Award .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 16Postcards from Burnie . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 17Workshop: Coptic & Longstitch. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..19Workshop reportback: Dropside box .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..20Books .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 21Members’ News and Opportunities . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..23

Where we meetHughes Community Centre, Wisdom Street, HughesThe venue is easy to locate as it is alongside the Hughes Shopping Centre, with parking in the shopping centre off Wisdom Street. There is also disabled parking right at the front door of the centre.

When we meet Meetings are held on the second Thursday of every second month. Dates of 2015 meetings are therefore: 9 APRIL 13 AuGuST

11 JuNE 8 OCTOBER 10 DECEMBER

Meetings begin at 7:30pm and usually end around 9. If details vary, every attempt will be made to notify members by phone, email and/or the Guild website. Please keep your contact details up to date.

Next Meeting 9 April 2015At our April meeting, Guild elder John Tonkin will speak and demonstrate on the topic ‘Measuring and cutting accurately’. Not to be missed! We will also continue our year’s journey through structures of the book with pamphlet bindings. There will be a display of bindings and an offer of mentoring if anyone feels that they need help with their binding challenge work.


A Note from the President

Hello bookbinders Be bold... ‘Cut once and trust it darling’, a quote from Maureen Duke, internationally

known as a forward-thinking advocate of craft bookbinding.Or ‘measure twice, cut once’, a phrase I am more familiar with.

Mmm... what’s it to be? Come along to the April meeting and hear John Tonkin’s talk/demonstration

titled ‘Measuring and cutting accurately’. Exploring binding styles continues at the April meeting with Pamphlet

bindings. Their usefulness is often underestimated. There will be examples on display, to inspire creativity for the 2015 bind challenge.

There is a Coptic and Longstitch binding workshop on 16 & 17 May, at the Hughes Community Centre, details on p. 19.

The Connect and Participate Expo, a community event held at the Bus Depot Markets, Kingston, was on 28 March. Thank you to the Guild members who staffed the stall promoting the art of the handbound book. There wasn’t a slow moment from set up to pack up; people kept stopping all through the day, admiring the work on display, watching the demonstrations and asking questions.

Guild 15, our next members exhibition, is from 17 September to 12 October. All members are invited to submit works for the exhibition. uncertain about exhibiting? Have a chat to a committee member, take a look at the Guild 14 catalogue on the Guild website, or talk to a member that has exhibited.

How to punch holes neatly through the centre fold of a book section? A telephone book is a simple and easy on-hand solution for a punching cradle. It provides support for the section and the gutter of the phone book makes punching a dream. On my travels about town, I have seen new phone books being delivered. Your old one can soon start its new life as a punching cradle.

This method was well tested at our Binding Bee one Saturday morning in March. Three-, five- and seven-holed pamphlet bound books were made, 80 in total, for the Guild stall at the CAP Expo. Thank you to the team of seven volunteers, it was an amazing combined effort.

—Vicki Woolley


February 2015 Meeting

21 Members presentApologies: Caren Florance, Joy and John Tonkin

The President, Vicki Woolley, welcomed members to the first meeting of 2015. She introduced Victoria Pearce and Susan Hobbs who would be giving the evening’s presentation on their business, Endangered Heritage, which provides conservation services for a wide range of cultural and significant heritage items.

Following the presentation Chris Johnson gave a practical workshop on oriental stab bindings. This is the first of such workshops which will culminate in members binding books for the December ‘Stack of Books - Bind Challenge’ meeting. The President reiterated the committee’s hope that more members would feel encouraged to complete books for this event. She reminded members of the sale of bookbinding items donated by the late Bill Thorn’s family.

ENDANGERED HERITAGEVictoria Pearce of Endangered Heritage spoke on the services provided by a highly qualified team of conservators with local and overseas experience in a wide range of areas including textiles, ceramics, glass, paper, digital tapes, and sculpture. They also have the benefit of a range of consultants, including Guild member Robin Tait. Of most interest to those attending was what can happen to, and how to look after, objects such as books, artwork, photographs, paper, and what to do if they are attacked by moulds, insects or just the simple aging process such as acidity in card or tissue.

Victoria pointed out that despite our best efforts many early objects, including books, had long term problems with poor materials, such as newsprint and with newer materials such as plastics which may give off gases that over time contribute to deterioration of objects they may be meant to protect. She noted also that finger prints affect delicate patinas permanently. Clearly gloves when handling precious items are one answer and the guild has recognized that books, particularly for exhibition purposes should be handled in this way.

This presentation was full of information useful to binders I will list some of the dangers to books and similar objects that Victoria raised, these include: mould; buckling; peeling; humidity; moisture (silverfish will only eat moist paper); insect damage; shrinkage; desiccation of fibres. There were many more but these are the things which most affect books and paper, and Victoria was not all doom and gloom as with conservation interventions deterioration can be minimized.


December meeting, continued.

For example for insect infestation, freezing is carried out – I understand that scientific institutions such as CSIRO have adopted this practice in areas where insect damage of specimens is possible.

What is the response if you do have problems, say, in the case of flooding: decisions on how to treat the item is provided with triage support, emergency advice and dehumidifiers can be hired. Hopefully none of us will need triage support for our collections, however, Victoria had some good advice for our precious items: use gloves; boxes (insect proof and acid free); cotton tape; no naphthalene; wrap in acid free tissue paper. Her advice is to check carefully that what you have is acid free tissue paper – Australia has a very low standard on what constitutes acid free tissue paper! She is currently sourcing some from overseas.

This presentation was loaded with information and only a fraction of the information is recorded here. One final piece of information: carpet beetles come in through the ceiling, down through the wall cavity and in through the base boards. It seems it is hard to keep them out and if it isn’t beetle damage it is silverfish from under the floor.

The purpose of the meeting was to inform members what Victoria and the team at the shop can provide, not only in conservation services, but have for purchase to assist the public to minimize deterioration and conserve precious items. Victoria is particularly keen to have items which Guild members can purchase and is prepared to give advice on what is appropriate. Some of the items they currently have are Kremer pigments from Germany, binders such as rabbit or cow hide glue, shellacs, starch, parchment glue, parchment strips, gold leaf, agate burnishers, silk threads, linen threads, hand tools, and soon razor blades suitable for paring machines. This should whet any binder’s appetite to visit them at Shop 3/17 Dundas Court, Phillip or contact them [email protected]. Reports from members visiting the shop are highly complimentary.

Victoria and Susan were thanked for the informative presentation including display items.

PRACTICAL STAB STITCH WORKSHOPFollowing supper Chris Johnson took us through a practical workshop on Kangxi and Tortoise Shell binding styles. The workshop provided those who were familiar with the style with a reminder on how useful it was for single sheet binding and opened up binding possibilities to those new to this binding style. A pre-punched card with Kangxi and Tortoise Shell binding styles was provided including needle and thread so we were able to take home a practical reminder along with notes.


December meeting, continued.

Terence uren, who is well known for using Japanese stab binding to good effect on some beautiful bindings displayed a range of materials and threads he uses for his stab stitch books, including a Japanese screw punch, tips on template making and lining up holes, and using twisted paper strings for inner binding to secure the textblock in the event the stitching cords break. Terence mentioned he purchased Asian fabrics from Wabi Sabi Designs and KimoYes. The latter is located in Dundas Court, Phillip and close to Endangered Heritage – sounds like a blissful shopping area with Pepe’s still open round the corner and Eckersleys across the road.

It was great to see all of the wonderful books using stab stitch that members had brought in to demonstrate the scope of such a simple binding style. Thanks to Chris and Terence for their contributions to the evening.

So, we had all better get binding for the Challenge in December! – Wendy Taylor

Images from the recent binding bee


Bind Challenge 2015

‘A Stack of Books’This year we are setting a challenge based on binding. Each meeting a member will demonstrate a different binding. For those that want to try for themselves, you can make a sample. We are also happy to offer one on one instruction; let a committee member know so we can organise.At the end of the bind challenge you will have a stack of books, each with different bindings. The size, shape, stacking arrangements, content or no content is up to you. If you want to push the boundaries on the binding, please do, step outside the box and create.

We will bring the inspiration: come, listen and get creative. Your first binding technique is ‘Oriental Stab Binding’. Many of the books in the library have instructions and we will provide a printout of other sources on the Internet.

Your second binding technique is ‘Pamphlet binding’. A large number of examples have been collected and will be on display at the meeting so if you have any, please bring to add to the display.

Links for pamphlet bindings5 hole pamphlet binding: http://www.designsponge.com/2013/03/bookbinding-101-five-hole-pamphlet-stitch.html3 hole pamphlet binding: http://myhandboundbooks.blogspot.com.au/2007/06/alright-bookbinding-101.htmlSewing a soft cover pamphlet book: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Sew-a-Softcover-Pamphlet/Pamphlet binding with a hard cover: this video is on fast forward and may be hard to watch but she makes a pretty good speedy book despite the apparent lack of measuring. Nice French manicure! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=937rWn0YHfoPamphlet binding with a hard cover. 31 minutes but not on fast forward.Manicure not as impressive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Ru6bkfsqMFrench Door books are often made with pamphlet stitch but I can only find one reference on the internet, (thousands of references for repairing and installing French doors). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EoOubrxIIkLong and tedious but try fast forwarding to the 14 minute mark.

– Lee Kelly


LONDON STRIFE: The Great Bookbinding Strike of 1786 Dominic Riley

Most people think of the Tolpuddle Martyrs as the first to suffer for the principles of trade unionism, but in 1787 five bookbinders were sentenced to two year’s imprisonment in Newgate ‘in order to check the evils of combination’. This was forty-seven years before the Tolpuddle men became martyrs. The Guardian, May 24, 1940

It is a truth universally acknowledged that bookbinders have always been underpaid and overworked. In the 1770s, for instance, journeymen bookbinders were paid less than those in many other industries and worked fifteen hour days, working class artisans in a cut-throat trade.

Their employers (or “masters”), former journeymen themselves, worked their binders hard for meagre profits. Then, as now, few people got rich on bookbinding. The introduction of mechanization in the 1830s and ‘40s transformed the bindery substantially and by the time William Morris and Co. revived traditional craft bookbinding as part of the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1880s (thus, as the story goes, rescuing the Art from the encroachments of Economy), the trade had become substantially automated.

The working day had also become significantly reduced by then, and the work in the binderies organized along very different lines. However, it was not due solely to industrialization that labour relations had been fundamentally redefined, but also to the efforts of a determined band of eighteenth-century bookbinders who, during a period of revolutionary fervour that was sweeping Europe and America, risked their livelihoods to advance their working rights.

AN OFT-TOLD TALEI had heard of the Great Strike of 1786 whilst I was studying bookbinding at the London College of Printing in the late 1980s. All my teachers were union men and one in particular, John Vivien, would occasionally invoke the names of Fairburn

A typical eighteenth century bindery


and Armstrong during those bleak, union-crushing days of late Thatcherism. But I remained in the dark as to the details of the case until a few years later when I picked up the London Bookbinders by Ellic Howe (1950), which describes the binding trade in London from 1780-1820, and in particular tells the story of the strike of 1786.

Howe wasn’t the first to take an interest in the strike, however; indeed it seems that each generation has rediscovered the story and told it, in various forms, in the pages of the trade journals. The Book Finishers’ Friendly Circular (1845-51), was the first to give a detailed account, often quoting from elderly bookbinders who still had good recollections of the struggle. In 1860 T J Dunning, a bookbinder and journalist who was active in union affairs, wrote a lengthy article for publication entitle Trades; Societies and Strikes, for the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science. The subject was revised again in the pages of The British Bookbinder, (later The British Bookmaker), 1885-92, and a brief account is also given in The Story of the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper-workers by CJ Bundock, 1959.

THE EXTRAORDINARY MR JAFFRAY AND THE ASYLUM SEEKERSBut before we get to the tumultuous events of 1786 we must jump forward sixty years, to the moment when the full story of the strike was first told. In 1829 the Friendly Society of Journeymen Bookbinders of London and Westminster established the Bookbinders’ Pension Society, which in 1837 formed an Asylum Society to raise money to build an asylum or almshouse. This was eventually built in 1843 and provided a home for indigent bookbinders.

In the previous year a bookbinder by the name of John Jaffray was dispatched by the committee of the Asylum Society to visit towns throughout the country in order to drum up support for the scheme (a journey he undertook on foot). The following is a description of John Jaffray from the British Bookmaker of 1890:

No man in any trade could have been more earnest to impress his convictions upon his fellows, no more self-sacrificing and disinterested in the trade’s welfare; none more successful in his efforts to improve the institutions connected with the trade; an unquenchable thirst for trade knowledge, a spendthrift in acquiring it and a prodigal in dispensing it, quick of wit yet slow of speech, his shrewd observations were imparted mostly to others for oral delivery…No man living amongst us ever so much directed the current of events into a channel of improvement in trade matters as Mr. Jaffray.

London Strife, continued


In the course of his travels Jaffray struck up friendships with some of the older binders in the country, and entered into correspondence with a few of them concerning the dramatic events of sixty years before. His record of their recollections forms the basis of the important Jaffray manuscript. We learn from the manuscript that in 1786 five journeymen bookbinders were sentenced to two years’ imprison ment in Newgate Goal in London. These men, known thereafter as the “Martyrs”, became legends in the trade, and were celebrated at bookbinding society dinners well into the next century. They were: Thomas Armstrong from Northumberland, working for McKinlay’s in Bow Street; William Craig, also from Northumberland, who worked for John Jackson at Fountain Court in the Strand; Thomas Fairburn from Edinburgh, who worked for John Bell in the Stand; William (or Patrick) Lilburne, an Irishman who worked for John Wingrove in Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, and John Wood, from Oxford, employed by James Matthews in the Strand.

Their remarkable story, unknown to many binders today, is that of a heroic struggle during a time of great social change and political unrest, and the foundations, against all odds, of the first bookbinders’ trade unions.

A BINDER’S LOT IS NOT A HAPPY ONEFirst, a few statistics. In 1786 there were about two hundred and fifty bookbinders in London. Of these, fifty were masters, about a hundred were journeymen (who were indentured for seven years), and the remainder were women and apprentices. In 1772 a journeyman worked from six in the morning until nine at night, six days a week. Given that they were allowed an hour for dinner, this meant a working week of 84 hours. By 1779 this had been reduced (probably by strike action) to six till eight, with half an hour for breakfast and an hour for dinner. Women worked from nine till eight. It was not uncommon, however, during busy seasons, for

John Jaffray (1811 – 69)



journeymen to work from five in the morning until ten at night, in which case overtime was paid and bread and cheese provided.

The eighteenth-century bookbinder was a low-paid artisan, at the bottom of the chain of book production. Journeymen forwarders were paid 15 to 18 shillings a week; finishers were paid a guinea, and women received 10 shillings and sixpence. This was less than most other trades, including carpenters and joiners, bricklayers, masons and plumbers.

Work in the bindery was clearly demarcated. Women folded and sewed the sections, forwarders beat the sections before sewing and carried out the majority of the stages of binding, and finishers did all the gold work (titling and decoration), polishing, and putting down of endpapers. Most masters employed no more than a handful of people, and work was done chiefly for booksellers, some of whom had their own binderies in their shops.

The relationship between printer, binder and bookseller was much as it had been in the seventeenth century. The bookseller would take books in sheets from the printer and have some put into paper boards and some bound in leather, both for regular customers and for public sale. The binding trade in London at this time was strongly demarcated between the West End (Westminster) and the City (London). The former wore long black glazed aprons and did fine work for booksellers and private customers, the latter wore green flannel aprons and bound bibles and cheaper books.

THE RUMBLINGS OF REBELLIONIn 1779 the first society, (or lodge) of journeymen binders was formed in London – the Society of Friends, known as ‘the Dons’. They met in the One Tun pub in the Strand for “a social pint of porter on a Saturday night”. It was a member of this first society, John Lovejoy, who in 1783 first suggested that work should stop an hour earlier, bringing them closer to parity with other trades. As Dunning noted; “These long hours … when many trades worked from six to six … were felt to be an intolerable grievance, and became naturally the subject of conversation at the meetings of the society of ‘Friends’”. Indeed, Lovejoy’s proposition caused much discussion, and soon a second society was set up – the Society of Brothers, or the ‘Dirty Stocking Lodge’.

No progress seems to have been made with regard to ‘the hour’ until 1786, when a third society, the Coity Brothers (or Clean Shirt Boys – so called, apparently, because ‘on Monday morning few of them had one’) was established. Dunning reminds us that



‘these three societies do not appear as trade unions properly so-called … Nor does it appear, until the intention of getting off the hour was formed, that it was used, or intended to be used, for any other purpose than that of ‘social harmony’.Lodge members were charged between a shilling and a guinea membership,

depending on their status, and the weekly subscriptions of a few pennies went towards a strike fund. By this time Lovejoy had set himself up as a master binder and was no longer a member of the Society of Friends.

Discussion of ‘the hour’ continued and in March 1786 the three lodges decided to take action. Four journeymen volunteered to demand the hour from their employers, and were instructed to give a week’s notice if refused. The four masters did refuse the hour and gave immediate notice to the men. John Lovejoy, prime mover of the original scheme three years before, was one of these masters.

The journeymen reacted swiftly. Although some of them pocketed their guinea from the strike fund and went to the provinces to find work, the rest were enraged at their dismissal and called a meeting at the Green Man in Bow Street, where they resolved to strike.

The masters, meanwhile, having dismissed their men, claimed to uphold the honour of the trade, but they must also have been worried about their profits. However, a few of the masters granted the hour, most notably King George III, who was presented with the petition by his head finisher, John Palworth. The publisher and bookseller John Bell also granted the hour, and although the masters could do nothing to him they were to have their revenge on his finisher, Thomas Fairburn.

THE FIGHT IS ONBattle lines were drawn, with the Booksellers of London and Westminster coming down on the side of the masters. On 6 April they announced their support in the pages of the Morning Chronicle:

It is the determination of the booksellers to give the master bookbinders all the legal support in their power against this unjustifiable confederacy, by procuring for them every indulgence … until their journeymen are brought to a proper sense of their duty and interest, either by a due consideration of their folly and impudence … or by the interposition of the laws, which have widely provided suitable punishments for such offenses against order and good government.As soon as the journeymen came out on strike, the women were encouraged

to lend their support to their colleagues. William Hall, a member of the strike



committee, was sent to McKinley’s shop to strike the women there; I was sent to strike Black Jack’s women, I went at 1 o’clock to see Maria, his forewoman, who used to dine in the shop, she being single. I told her she must inform the other women of the injury they were doing us by continuing to work. If they were willing to serve our interest to leave their work, they should receive wages for doing nothing. If we gained our cause, they should be sure of employ and the advantages of the hour also. Coming downstairs I met Mr McKinley on the stairs. ‘Well, Mr Hall, are you coming to work again directly’ ‘If you will grant the hour’. ‘Come in here’, he says, going into his dining room, setting a large bottle of Holland for to give me a drink, taking one for himself. Pouring out another, pat-pat came our ladies downstairs. ‘What is all this about?’ he asked, ‘I was glad to make my escape’.

THE MASTERS FIGHT BACKA few days into the strike, a further eighty journeymen were dismissed, and the masters announced their intention to prosecute twenty-four of them for ‘unlawfully conspiring, combining, confederating, and agreeing … to take from, lessen and diminish one hour each day from the usual number of hours which they … were accustomed to work and labour.’ Among the masters taking the action were John McKinlay of Bow Street, employer of Thomas Armstrong; James Matthews, of 18 Strand, employer of John Wood; and James Fraser of St Martin’s Lane.

Another of these ‘Prosecuting Masters’ as they came to be known, was John Lovejoy, who it will be remembered was the originator of the scheme for the reduction of the hour, but who had in the interim came into some money and set up for himself. Dunning describes his new position:

His opinion on the subject … had undergone during the intervening period a complete change, but his energy sustained no diminution. As he had been when a journeyman among the most active in inciting the men to get the hour reduce, so he was now the most energetic among the employers in resisting, and inciting others to resist, the application of the men for its reduction. He discharged the whole of his men immediately upon receiving the notice and, it is highly probable, caused the other masters, who had entered into a combination themselves to oppose the reduction, to do the same.The masters had hoped to get the men behind bars before bail could be

procured. But they didn’t count on Old Nimmo, the journeymen’s spy. He had got notice of the indictment on 22 April, and informed the men, who immediately fled London. They met up at the Gravel Pits in Kensington and spent the night



at an Inn. Old Nimmo came there the next day with the list of the 24 indicted men. They returned to London and were bailed out, six at a time, by various supporters, including John Bell, the bookseller who had granted the hour, and John Withers, the landlord of the Green Man.

The indictment was served on 25 April at the Middlesex Sessions House in Clerkenwell. The men were fortunate in securing for their defence Thomas Erskine, a well-known advocate, whom the Prosecuting Masters had also hoped to hire. Erskine immediately had the trail venue changed from the General Sessions to the Court of the King’s Bench, presumably because being a more prominent court, it would attract more publicity. The trial, originally set for 3 November, was postponed until 17 February 1787.

TO BE CONTINUED, NEXT ISSUE

Dominic Riley studied binding with Paul Delrue and at the LCP. He spent ten years working in San Francisco, practising restoration and general binding and teaching at the San Francisco Centre for the Book. He has taught and lectured across the USA. On his return to England in 2001, Dominic set up a binder in Cumbria with his partner, Michael Burke. He is currently Vice-Chairman of the Society of Bookbinders.


This month’s tip: Tearing PaperKeith Smith’s book Non-Adhesive Binding Vol. 1 has a very good section on tearing paper (p. 48) so rather than re-inventing the wheel here is a brief summary. Ways to achieve a deckled edge:1. Lay a straight edge (metal ruler) where the paper is to be torn. Firmly hold it in place with one hand, while you tear against the straight edge.2. For a more exaggerated torn edge, use a wood ruler that has an inset metal edge. The metal edge is slightly raised so the tear will be more a fray than a tear. The higher the metal edge the more exaggerated the torn edge so try adding some tape or felt to the bottom of the ruler.3. The most extreme and perhaps the best imitation of the deckled edge is approached with a different method. Fold and crease the paper where you want the tear. Then reverse the fold and crease again. With a damp sponge stroke the folded edge. Don’t run the sponge up and down, more a dabbing motion. Open the paper and gently pull apart. The paper will fray more than tear, leaving an edge of hairy fibres. Or use a paint brush to make a waved line down the folded edge. Remember you only want to dampen the very edge, the tear will happen where the dampened area meets the dry paper.4. Run a Rapidograph (Precision technical drawing pen with a hard metal tip) filled with water along a ruler where you want to tear. Gently tear the paper down the damp line. If an area resists tearing, just scrape a blade over the area – scrape, don’t cut. – Lee Kelly


Manly Artists Book Award 2015

The biennial Manly Artists Book Award is well on the way to becoming one of Australia’s most prestigious book arts events. Two Guild members, Caren Florance and Terence uren, were among this year’s award finalists with Caren’s work selected by judges Helen Cole (State Library of Queensland) and Steven Miller (Art Gallery of NSW) for acquisition by Manly Library as part of its growing collection of artist books.

Caren’s work, The One Who Stopped, is an artist’s book using batik techniques on top of letterpress on a readymade Chinese folding book and a poem by Canberra poet Sarah Rice (who just won the Ron Pretty Poetry Award for 2015). It is one of three variant versions that were made for the Open Books Plus international travelling exhibition that showed at the uNSW Canberra Library in 2014. One copy stayed with the exhibition, another went to the poet and the third stayed with Caren and is now part of the Manly Library collection.

Terence’s work, Untitled, is a playful boustrophedon bind ing that has been shaped by memories of a childhood world of puzzles and games and the Australian Taxation Office’s e-tax Return for Individuals!

The Award Exhibition runs at Manly Library until Sunday 12 April. More infor-mation about the exhibition and the library’s artist book collection can be found at http://www.manly.nsw.gov.au/library/art ists-books-page/. – TU

Top: Caren Florance, The One who Stopped (poem by Sarah Rice)Above: Terence Uren, untitled.


Postcards From Burnie

Burnie Makers’ WorkshopLike much of Australia’s industrial heartland, the northern Tasmanian city of Burnie has gone through tough times recently. A vision of an alternative future for the city has been evolving over the past few years and is focussed on celebrating Burnie’s industrial heritage through the work of its art and craft practitioners. A key part of this vision is Makers’ Workshop, an eclectic group of some thirty artists working across a range of disciplines. Of particular interest to bookbinders and book artists are the group’s paper makers, paper engineers and mould and deckle makers and the not-for-profit Creative Paper studio. The studio is an impressive state-of-the-art facility that produces high quality hand-made paper using recycled fibre from a range of sources, including worn table linen; towelling and denim offcuts; neutralised apple pulp; and animal scats from a local wildlife park. The studio’s paper is available in a range of sheet sizes from A5 to Imperial and can be ordered online at http://www.creativepapertas.com.au/. More information on the paper artists based at the Makers’ Workshop can be found at http://www.discoverburnie.net/shopping/meet-the-makers/paper.html.

Burnie Print Prize 2015The Burnie Print Prize is a major national biennial art award that presents high quality contemporary printmaking from artists living and working throughout Australia. This year’s $15,000 prize money attracted a record number of entries from which 62 works have been selected for an exhibition at the Burnie Regional Art Gallery. The exhibition runs until 10 May and features much that would be of interest to Canberra book binders and book artists, including works by ACT

Paper maker Darren Simpson pulls four A4 sheets of archival quality art paper from the vat at Creative Paper.


printmakers and a number of artist books. More information can be found at http://www.burniearts.net/Whats-On/Exhibitions/Burnie-Print-Prize-2015.

Deidre Brollo’s Fathom, an artist book featuring archival pigment prints, embossing and papercuts. Edition of 7. Finalist in Burnie Print Prize 2015

Dianne Fogwell’s The Pollen Musica Continuum, a ribbon artist book featuring linocuts and perforations. Unique State. Finalist in Burnie Print Prize 2015.

Postcards from Burnie, continued

Bookarts Bind-o-ramaHave a look at the Book arts web annual online exhibition ‘Bind-O-Rama 2014’ which celebrated 20 years since going online: http://www.philobiblon.com/bindorama14/index.html


Workshop: Coptic and Longstitch Binding

Skill level: Beginners and others

The Guild will be holding a two day workshop teaching Coptic and Longstitch binding styles. These styles are non-adhesive bindings with attractive decorative spines. With the Coptic exposed spine, pages open flat, which is ideal for the artist, sketching, calligraphy, cartoons, and poetry. The longstitch book has a wrap-around cover to protect the pages. A book to take on your travels, in your backpack.

Students will need a basic tool kit. A list will be forwarded upon enrolment. Notes will be supplied.

Dates: Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th May 2015Time: 9.30 am till 4.30 pmVenue: Room 3, Hughes Community Centre, Wisdom Street, HughesCost: $135 ($90 for Guild members) includes all materialsEmail to register interest or to book: [email protected]: Vicki Woolley 6231 9688


Workshop Reportback: Drop-side Presentation Box

Bookarts Bindery 28th February – 1st March 2015

When I enrolled for this two-day workshop with John and Joy Tonkin I had no idea what an amazing learning experience this would turn out to be.

The bindery is perfectly set up for such a workshop with lots of great bench space, a huge board cutter and an ample supply of wonderful tools for we four participating students, whose aptitudes ranged from unskilled to skilled.

Our first task, if you could call it a task, was to select the materials from an array of cloth, leather and suede for creating the presentation box to complement the books we had chosen. Joy cut these to approximate sizes for each of us while John got us started on cutting and forming the trays for our box. We each had a set of

instructions and with John providing demonstrations of each step our boxes started to take shape in no time at all.

John has created a number of tools that make the process far easier by cutting down on quite a lot of otherwise time-consuming measuring. In addition he had a number of templates he had made to assist in this regard, like the spacer for the spine on the outer case.

A leather covering was applied to the ends of the sidewalls of our trays, which involved paring the leather with French paring knives. Not an easy skill to learn and not one I could pick up quickly. John was so patient with our efforts and I received considerable help in getting it finished.

Once our trays were completed we could proceed to make up the outer cases, using the board cutter to cut the heavier card before covering the case with cloth. At this stage the contrast achieved by using the leather covering on the sidewalls became evident.

Our morning and afternoon teas and lunch, sitting out in the garden basking in the lovely autumn sunshine sharing bookbinding conversation, were sheer heaven.At the conclusion of the workshop, with our presentation boxes completed, we were treated with Champagne and nibbles. What a magic way to end the event!

Our two days just seemed to fly past, as time does when you are thoroughly enjoying yourself. – Carol Perron


Books

La Trobe Journal, vol. 95, ‘Creating and Collecting: Artists’ Books in Australia’

The State Library of Victoria have just released their latest issue of this journal . It features essays by Doug Spowart, Helen Cole, Caren Florance, Sasha Grishin, Steven Tonkin, Peter Anderson, Marian Macken and Andrew Schuller. The editors were Des Cowley, Robert Heather and Anna Welch.

Copies can be purchased for $29.95 through Readings Bookshop at the State library or online: http://www.readings.com.au/products/19472179/la-trobe-journal-no-95-march-2015l

Limp Bindings from the Vatican Library and Bookbinding – Limp Bindings from TallinnMonica Langwe, from http://www.langwe.se/

Both books are only available from Monica Langwe, website above. The price is about $60.00 for each book plus postage and handling. The exchange rate for Euros as at today.

Limp Bindings from the Vatican Library begins with a potted history of the

Vatican library from the 13th century to the 21st century followed by information on the conservation department. Langwe has selected eleven books from the library. Each book is pictured, described and includes instructions and diagrams of the binding. The book finishes with 11 handmade books from various artists. The artists have taken inspiration from the Vatican library book. It is a small book, 69 pages, commercially printed then hand bound using signatures glued at the spine, presented in a loose cover.

A register by the Cannon Pace Pichi (overleaf ) records names of the priests who did not attend mass at saint Peter’s Church in 1540. It measures 31.8 x 10.5 x 0.5 cm. the text block consists of one section, 48 pages each. The cover is


paperboard covered with decorated paper.Limp Bindings from Tallinn has the same format as the Vatican book: old books studied and modern ones made from various artists. Eight books featured this time, with images, instructions and diagrams of the bindings. It is also a small book, 48 pages, commercially printed as a broad sheet ready for cutting and folding and binding, presented in a loose cover.

Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia and the Tallinn city archives contain documents from the 13th century.

– Lee Kelly

Books, continued


FINE ExhibitionA reminder that the Guild’s latest exhibition, FINE The Work of John Tonkin, at Civic Library’s Mezzanine Gallery is running until Friday 24 April. The Gallery is open 10.00am – 5.30pm Monday to Friday and 10.00am – 4.00pm Saturday. Closed Sundays and Public Holidays. The exhibition catalogue can be found by following the links from the home page of the Guild’s website.

Codex AustraliaImprint magazine (vol 50 no 1) has reported that Codex Australia is closed:

IMPRINT is sad to report that Codex Australia has announced its closure, despite a stellar year in 2014, including the wonderful Codex 2014 Symposium and Book Fair last March. It has been a great nexus for Australian book artists to meet each other as well as international book artists. We would like to thank Alan Loney, president, and all his helpers for their hard work for the Australian printmaking and book artists community.”

Electric Shadows Bookshop closingFinally defeated by Braddon’s relentless makeover, the EBS is closing down. Their final sale started on April 1, and they plan to have a closing party in the empty space on April 30. Follow them on Facebook for various cultural events

that will happen as the space empties. Catch a bargain and tell them how much they’ll be missed.

Artist Book Brisbane Event (abbe)July 16–18, Qld College of the Arts, Griffith university. Featuring key speakers Sarah Bodman (uK), Lyn Ashby (AuS) and Brad Freeman (uS), editor in chief of The Journal of Artists Books (JAB).There will also be an artist book fair. Register interest or register for early bird prices to Lynden Stone: [email protected]

Artspace Mackay Artist Book AwardIt seems that the Libris awards are no more. Instead, the Artspace Mackay Artist Book Award has become one of five categories of the Mackay Art on Show Awards. Total prize money for the artist book category is $1500, with entrants in this category also eligible for the $3000 ‘best in show’ Woollam Constructions Award. Entries for the award close on Friday 29 May. More information, including entry forms, can be found at http://artonshow.com.au/en/registration-form.

Colograph workshopCollograph workshop, with Jo Hollier at Strathnairn, Saturday 13 + 20 June (2 days): http://www.strathnairn.com.au/events/workshops/.

Members’ news and opportunities

CANBERRA CRAFT BOOKBINDERS’ GUILD MEMBERSHIP FORM

Guild Objectives1. To promote and exhibit the art of the hand-bound book.

2. To maintain traditional craft bookbinding skills

3. To seek to exert a progressive influence on the design and technique of bookbinding.

Membership ConditionsMembership for the upcoming year runs 1 July 2014 – 30 June 2015 and is $40. Membership includes generous discounts when attending Guild-organised workshops; that year’s issues of various publications: Raised Bands, Morocco Bound (Journal of the Australian Craft Bookbinders) and the newsletters of other Australian guilds; as well as various discounts. Raised Bands is predominantly an email publication although hard copies can be mailed if special consideration is requested.

Payment Methods

Electronic Bank Transfer(Please email the Treasurer [see inside cover] to inform them of the payment):Name of account: Canberra Craft Bookbinders Guild Inc. Bank: Commonwealth (Dickson) BSB No. 062 904 Account no. 10249149Reference code: M2014

ChequesPlease make cheques out to the ‘Canberra Craft Bookbinders’ Guild Inc.’

Name

Address

Phone/s

Email:

For membership please complete this form and forward with payment to:The Treasurer, Canberra Craft Bookbinders’ Guild, PO Box 4322, Kingston ACT 2604

Documents

R A I S E D B A N D S - Canberra Craft Bookbinders Guild ... · R A I S E D B A N D S The NewsleTTer of The CaNberra CrafT bookbiNders’ Guild ... John Tonkin: The Wasp in a Wig