, NY
-
Number
December S P S
clockwise, top left: From the hotel in the snow; Standards or-
ganizers Jim Reid-Cunningham & Nancy Lev-Alexander;
Jesse Meyer from Pergamena in the Vendor Room; Andy
Small (Iowa City), the new Standards videographer
The Guild of Book Workers Newsletter
Number


December
GBW
2004-2005 executive committee

officers and committee chairmen

President: Betsy Palmer Eldridge, Castle Frank Crescent, Toronto,
on m4w 3a3
h & w: () -; f: () -;

president@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Vice president: Mark Andersson, N. Bennet St. School, North Bennet St., Boston,
ma
w: () -;

vicepresident@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Membership: Cris Clair Takacs, Park Avenue, Chardon,
oh
, w: () -, f: () -;

membership@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Secretary: Catherine Burkhard, Santa Anita Dr., Dallas,
tx

; h & w: () -;

secretary@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Treasurer: Alicia Bailey, Box , Denver,
co
-
; p: () -; f: () -;

treasurer@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Standards: Nancy Lev-Alexander, 2927 Guilford Ave., Baltimore,
md
21218
; w: (202) 707-8844;
standards@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Exhibitions: Peter Verheyen, 8 Pebble Hill Rd North, Dewitt,
ny
13214, p: (315)-443-9756; f: (315) 443-2671;

exhibitions@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Journal: Signa Houghteling, Bay St., San Francisco,
ca

; h: () -; f: () -;

journal@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Library: Jane Meggers, Iowa Ave., Iowa City,
ia

; w: () -; f: () -;

library@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Newsletter: Jody Beenk, White Place, Brookline,
ma
h: () -;

newsletter@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Supply: Susan B. Martin, W. st St., Apt. , New York,
ny

; w: () -;

supply@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Publicity: Eric Alstrom, 2184 Iroquois Road Okemos, MI 48864 w: () -;

publicity@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net

chapter chairmen
New England: Jeffrey Altepeter, h & w: (617) 623-7344; newengland@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
New York: Anne Hillam, (212) 822-7365
Kelli Piotrowski, (718) 832-5915; newyork@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Delaware Valley: Denise Carbone, w: (215) 440-3413; h: (856) 784-7526; delaware@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Potomac: Mary-Parke Johnson, w: (540) 672-3026; potomac@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Midwest: Jim Canary, w: (812) 855-3183; h & f: (812) 876-1290; midwest@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Lone Star: Julie Sullivan, h, w & f: (214) 987-2234; lonestar@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
California: Alice Vaughan, h: (626) 794-0091; f: (626) 794-5573; california@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Rocky Mt.: Marnie Powers-Torrey, w: (801) 585-9191
Karen Jones, w: (303) 275-2214; h: (303) 458-5944; rockymountain@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Southeast: Anna Embree, () -; southeast@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Northwest: Paula Jull, () 282-4260; northwest@guildofbookworkers.allmail.net
Guild News 3
Noteworthy 10
Video Update 11
Standards Presentations 12
Marbling 17
Publications 17
In is Issue
Membership 18
Calendar 19
All photographs in this issue of the GBW Newsletter were taken by Catherine Badot-Costello, except
for the cover shot of Providence post-snow by Catherine Burkhard. e Newsletter staff is especially
grateful to the Catherines and the numerous North Bennet Street students who participated in the
December Newsletter.
The Guild of Book Workers Newsletter
Number


December
Guild News
presidents report
T
he th Guild of Book Workers Seminar on
Standards of Excellence in Hand Bookbinding
was held in Providence, Rhode Island, November
-, . With a full house of attendees, it was
a grand success. Held on the East Coast for the first
time in several years, it attracted many familiar faces,
which made it a particularly warm and friendly gath-
ering. e conference hotel was the Providence Bilt-
more, an historic landmark building that had been
comfortably updated; it looked across the central
square to the State Capitol building, appropriately
flag bedecked for Remembrance Day, and to the
church spires and red brick houses of the old part of
town. A sudden cold snap and a surprise inches of
snow made it a most picturesque view.
e opening reception was held ursday eve-
ning, across the way in the Providence Athenaeum,
another delightful historic building. In addition to
the wine and nibbles and a chance to catch up with
friends, everyone had the additional plus of see-
ing the New England Chapters exhibition, New
England Vignettes. e non-juried exhibition was
a varied collection of pieces, including calligraphy,
fine press work, fine bindings, and artists books. e
accompanying catalogue with large colored photos is
particularly handsome and worthwhile. It is a pity
that these Chapter exhibitions traditionally have
not traveled so that more people might enjoy them.
Along with the exhibition, there was a display about
Arno Werner and his students work as a precursor of
the Saturday night talk.
e tours earlier that day were particularly enjoy-
able. In addition to the historic walking tour, the full
day tour of the libraries in the area gave the group a
unique opportunity to visit those well-known collec-
tions. e enthusiasm of the keepers of those collec-
tions for their materials was remarkable and a special
treat for all.
Also on ursday two Foundation Sessions intro-
ducing digital photography were given by P.J. Saine.
On Friday and Saturday the five regular present-
ers gave their presentations: Mark Andersson on
Swedish Half-leather Trade Binding; Peter Geraty
on Edge Decoration Techniques; Kiyoshi Imai on
Japanese Four Hole Binding; Adam Larsson on
Swedish Medieval Limp Vellum/Leather Structures;
and Nancy Southworth on Conserving Parchment
Bindings. As usual, much was learned from them and
the many discussions that ensued. Brief reports will
be included in this issue of the Newsletter with lon-
ger reports to follow in future Journals. e sessions
this year were professionally videotaped in digital and
should be available relatively soon for loan or pur-
chase by those who were not able to attend. e video
collection of former presentations is now almost
complete and will be available as well.
e Friday Night Forum was a lively, informal
occasion with a half dozen attendees presenting
their ideas to a jam-packed crowd. is opportunity
to exchange ideas begun experimentally a few years
ago apparently continues to be popular, but its future
depends totally on the willingness of members to join
in and participate.
roughout the day from ursday afternoon to
Saturday afternoon, the vendor room was open and
crowded with shoppers. Every year as space allows,
a few new vendors join the stalwarts, adding variety
and interest. eir participation is greatly appreciated.
e vendors remain a prime attraction at Standards.
Late Saturday afternoon, a short Annual General
Meeting was held. Minutes of the meeting appear
elsewhere in this issue. At the end of it, Eric Alstrom
announced the results of the straw vote in the Logo
contest, pointing out the favorites from the
entries submitted. e current logo and even the
original logo were both popular, but so were several
of the new designs. e entire membership will have
a chance to vote in the future.
Saturday nights Banquet began with the presen-
tation of the Laura Young Award to Louise Kuflik
for her years of service, recording the activities of
the Guild as Secretary of the Executive Committee.
Second came the award of Honorary Membership
to Don Etherington in recognition of his many out-
standing contributions both to the field in general
and to GBW specifically. Once again the attrac-
tive award certificates were made by Nancy Leavitt
and David Ashley. e awards were followed by an
excellent talk by Daniel Gehnrich on Arno Warner
that sketched in wonderful detail his life as a binder
and the influence he had in Massachusetts. Hope-
fully it will be published; it was a superb example
of documenting our history. e night finished with
Bill Drendels traditional auction, which reached a
record high of more than ,, part of which will
go toward scholarship and part toward the Anni-
versary Fund.
e Seminar ended Sunday morning with a con-
tinental breakfast and a fascinating talk given by
The Guild of Book Workers Newsletter
Number
157
December
2004

The Guild of Book Workers Newsletter
Number


December
Roy Pettitt and Brian Skilton on the history of P&S
Engraving and the manufacture of bookbinders fin-
ishing tools. eir generosity was greatly appreciated.
For the man