MESSAGE FROM THE CHAPTER CHAIR

Hello Everyone!

Spring has finally sprung and we are as busy as ever! I saw many of you at our opening
of The Atlas Imagined at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia on April 10. Didnt the exhibit
look great? It was very exciting for those of us who
organized it because packages arrived nearly
every day leading up the deadline and every single
one was a wonderful surprise! Each participant
had their own way of interpreting their atlas and
the variety has made for a very interesting exhibit.
Many thanks go out to Madeline Lambelet and
Ruth Scott Blackson, our Exhibition Co-chairs.
They did a lot of organizing with the Athenaeum.
And I also want to thank Alice Austin who is
always helping me here with the many logistics
involved in managing this kind of project.
Speaking of projects, we are already on to our
next one! The Scott Memorial Library at Thomas
Madeline Lambelet and Ruth Scott
Blackson, exhibition co-chairs, working on
Jefferson University has offered the DVC some
the Atlas Imagined exhibit.
deaccessioned bound magazines that DVC
members will use to create books and other
artwork. The library has also offered to host an
exhibit, most likely fall 2015. We have chosen two
journals: Hygeia 1920s - 1949 and Scientific
American 1950 1979. They are filled with all
kinds of interesting illustrations and articles.
Members can take one or two volumes and start
working on their project. We had them at our
Annual Meeting and they will be available for pick
up at the Library Company. Please email me if you
would like to stop by during work hours to get one.
We have a workshop coming up! Please take a
look in this newsletter for the details. And speaking
of the newsletter, this one was put together by our new Newsletter Editor Becky Koch.
I asked for help with the newsletter at the Annual Meeting and Becky stepped forward!
I want to thank her for taking this on and jumping right in to work on this one so
quickly. She will be assisted by Jackie Manni. I also want to thank Jon Snyder for
designing the newsletter these past few years. Hes a busy guy and we were lucky to
have him!
Jennifer Rosner
Chapter Chair
Exhibit opening at the Athenaeum
photo credit Jon Snyder

IN THIS ISSUE
Six questions
Pages 2-3
Bowling
Page 4
Clasp Workshop
Page 4-5
Notable News
Page 5-6
Gerri Black
Page 7
Upcoming workshop
Page 8
DELAWARE VALLEY
CHAPTER OFFICERS
Jennifer Rosner
Chapter Chair
Alice Austin
Vice Chair, Treasurer
Rosae Reeder
Secretary
Denise Carbone
Programs Coordinator
Becky Koch
Newsletter Editor
Jackie Manni
Newsletter Assistant Editor
Valeria Kremser
Webmaster
Ruth Scott Blackson
Madeline Lambelet
Exhibitions Co-chairs
NEW MEMBERS
Peter Foster
Brookline MA
Jaqueline Manni
Collingswood, NJ
Melissa Tedone
Wilmington, DE
Renee Wolcott
Philadelphia, PA

Page 2 Delaware Valley Guild of Bookworkers

PRESSING MATTERS

6 Questions Dee Collins

1
2

How long have you been a member of the GBW?
2 years

Where are you from

originally?
I was an Army brat so
my early years were spent in
Austria, then I grew up in
Levittown.

When did you realize you

wanted to learn
bookbinding?
I was taking printmaking at
Moore when Sue White (a
Philadelphia artist) came to
our class to demonstrate some
basic bookbinding and I was
hooked.

What is your favorite book
structure these days?
Ethiopian binding

4
5

What are you working on right

now?
I am spending some time doing

some relief printing with artist
books in mind.

Tell us something about yourself

that might surprise us.
I went to school for hairdressing
in 1975

This November Dee and Eriko

attended the Ethiopian Bookbinding
workshop. In the evening they sewed
their books in their hotel bathrobes!

Spring 2015

Page 3 Delaware Valley Guild of Bookworkers

PRESSING MATTERS

6 Questions Eriko Takahashi

How long have you been a member
of the GBW?
I cannot remember...2000?

Where are you from

originally?
Tokyo, Japan

When did you realize you

wanted to learn
bookbinding?
During an internship at the
Center for Book Arts, New York
in 1994.

What is your favorite book

structure
these days?

Pop-up
( Thanks

to
Alice's workshop)

5
6

What are you working on right

now?
Cleaning my studio!

Tell us something about yourself

that
might surprise us.

In
1985, I worked at KFC Japan and
had to sell fresh Sunkist Oranges with
fried chickens for a healthy-
food(?)campaign.

Spring 2015

Page 4 Delaware Valley Guild of Bookworkers

PRESSING MATTERS

Spring 2015

Bookbinders, Beer and Bowling

By Jennifer Rosner
hough it had been cold and snowy in Philadelphia this
past January, it did not deter the DVC from gathering for a
warm and friendly night of bowling. We had our second
bowling party on January 13 and had a very good turnout. We
enjoyed pizza and beer and took over three lanes. It seems that
the bowling party is fast becoming The DVC Annual Bowling
Party!

Bowling scores
Val Kremser
150
Jennifer Rosner
106
Karen Lightner
78
Andrea Krupp
102
Alice Austin
60
Erin Malkowski
110
Eriko Takahashi
94
Frances Osugi
99
Ruth Scot Blackson 65
Amanda Bock
67 (lefty bowling righty)
Sharon Hildebrand 65 (righty bowling lefty)
James Engelbart
74

Clasp Workshop with Jeff Altepeter

By Madeline Lambelet

nyone who works with books has come across clasps, and
it is a safe bet that anyone who works on old books has
encountered the frustrating problem of a book missing
one of those claps. This is a constant headache at the
restoration studio where I work. Many of books we get in are old
Victorian family bibles, and the majority of these have missing
or damaged clasps. It is a bit heartbreaking to have to tell family
after family that we can do a lot for their book, but nothing for
those beautiful clasps they love.
Naturally, when we heard that the DVC was hosting a clasp-
making workshop at the Library Company, we all jumped on it.
A huge perk was who would be teaching it: Jeff Altepeter. I had
just gone up to Boston to tour North Bennet Street School and
was able to see Jeff in action with his students, so I knew we
were in for a fun and informative day. Fueled by only coffee and
almonds, Jeff led a fascinating workshop on January 17th, 2015
that took us from the basics of metalworking to the beginnings
of decorating our clasps.
We spent most of the morning learning about different metals and methods for working them, as
well as watching Jeff demonstrate the first few steps of making our clasps. He gave some valuable

Page 5 Delaware Valley Guild of Bookworkers

PRESSING MATTERS

Spring 2015

and interesting tips; such as it is not necessarily the thickness of the metal that is important but the
state of the metal. Also, just because a metal is easy to obtain does not mean it will be the easiest to
work with. For example, brass is readily available but is not always the easiest to work with,
although in the correct state even beginners can use it. Interestingly, copper alloy is the most
historically appropriate metal for clasp making. Jeff prefers to work with NuGold, which is a jewelers
brass from Rio Grande.
For this kind of clasp-work you will want dead soft brass. Dead soft means the alignment of the
crystallized structure makes the metal easy to work with, and then becomes hardened as you work it.
With continued work, the structure of the molecules shift, creating a more stable structure (which is
great as a finished product, but a nuisance if you are not quite finished yet). As Jeff made sure to
emphasize, it is best to be careful to not make any marks that you will have to take out later because
of this work-hardening process.
For this particular workshop Jeff decided to focus on strap clasps in the Gothic style. This is a
relatively easy clasp to start out on, while still demonstrating the essential elements of all styles of
clasps. Jeff had us start with a simple, rectangular catch plate with a pin. Normally as a beginner you
would want to start out with a large clasp since they are much easier to work with. However, due to
the size of the class and the time constraints, we started with clasps about the size of your thumb.
Surprisingly, the trickiest part of making our clasps was sawing it to the correct size and shape.
This took up most of the workshop for a fair number of us. Holding that tiny clasp on the table clamp,
then using a hand saw to slowly shape the clasp was much more difficult than Jeff's skilled hands
made it seem. Blades broke, thumbs ached, and people swore. We kept at it and after a while we all
started to get the hang of it. The lucky ones who managed to get their clasps put together correctly
were able to move on to the fun part: decorating the clasps. Because the brass was still so soft, it was
easy to use a variety of tools to mark the metal in intricate and beautiful designs.
While this workshop was only able to scratch the surface of clasp making, it was an invigorating
introduction. I left feeling a new level of respect for those long-gone bookbinders that spent hours,
days even, shaping those gorgeous clasps. As book workers, we know that it takes a village to create
a book. From leather workers to paper marblers to tool makers, we know every craftsperson is
important. But sometimes you need a glimpse into their specialization to truly appreciate how vital
every craftsperson is to these books we love so much.

Notable News
Nancy Nitzberg has a book and
a book design featured in the
SMU DeGolyer exhibit and
competition, as well as a book in
the New England GBW chapters
traveling exhibit Geographies:
New England Book Work.
As her role as Director of
Library Services at Gratz College
in Melrose Park, PA, Nancy is
also preparing an exhibit
entitled The Treasure of
Provenance: Books from Gratz
Family Libraries. What they
owned, and what that tells us
about them, and the times in
which they lived." The
exhibition is scheduled to open
this Fall, 2015.

DVC-GBW member Alice Austin gave a

presentation about her work at the
Library of Congress on June 11, 2015 to
a standing-room only crowd. The 20-
minute talk was followed by an informal
question and answer session and a
hands-on opportunity for visitors to see
some of Alice's books up close. Alice
was invited to speak by Mark
Dimunation, the Chief of the Rare Book
and Special Collections Division and the
Potomac Chapter of the GBW.
Photos and article by Jon Snyder

Alice Austin at the LOC

Page 6 Delaware Valley Guild of Bookworkers

Ruth%Scott%Blackson!is!currently!
showing!an!artists!installation!at!the!
Eastern!State!Penitentiary!entitled!No!
Trace!Without!Resistance,!which!will!
be!on!display!for!one!year.!!
!!!!Ruth!has!also!been!recently!awarded!
a!Percent!For!Art!Commission!at!The!
Philadelphia!International!Airport.!
This!will!culminate!in!a!permanent!
public!artwork!in!Terminal!E!in!2016.!!
!

!!!!!!

PRESSING MATTERS

DVC!member!Emily%Martin!has!been!
selected!as!the!visiting!artist!for!the!
Coffey!Residency!in!Book!Arts!at!the!
University!of!Florida!Libraries.!!This!
years!theme!of!the!artists!book!will!be!
inspired!by!the!universitys!unique!and!
abundant!Florida!Citrus!Label!Collection.!
During!the!sixVweek!summer!residency,!
Emily!will!interact!with!librarians,!
curators,!faculty,!and!students!across!the!
university.!
!!!!!Emily!also!has!her!book+Who+Gets+to+
Say+included!in!the!current!exhibit+An+
Ideation+Experience!at!the!Abecedarian!
Gallery!in!Denver.!!
!

Spring 2015

Alicia%Baileys!work!is!included!the!
Cascais!International!Book!Art!
Exhibition!opening!on!June!26!and!
on!view!through!July!10!in!Cascais,!
Portugal.!She!is!one!of!four!artists!
selected!to!represent!contemporary!
book!works!by!United!States!artists.!!
!!!!!Alicias!piece!Extinct/Extant!was!
one!selected!for!2015!Sheffield!
international!Artists!Book!Prize.!
!

A!rendering!of!Ruths!installation!in!Terminal!
E,!Reflections+of+Hog+Island.+
+

DVC!member!Lisa%Scarpello%is!
traveling!to!Puerto!Rico!this!August!
and!would!appreciate!any!suggestions!
about!book!collections,!book!stores,!or!
anything!else!book!related!in!San!Juan.!!
Who+Gets+To+Say!by!Emily!Martin!
If!you!have!any!suggestions!contact!
!
Lisa!at!lgscarpello@yahoo.com.!!!
!
!
!
Selected!works!of!four!New!Jersey!
Valeria%Kresmer!was!accepted!to!and! women!artists,!including!DVC!member!
will!be!attending!the!course!Historic!
Maria%Pisano,!are!featured!in!a!special!
Book!Structures!for!Conservators:!
invitational!exhibit!entitled!Crossing+the+
Bound!Books!1450V1850!this!July!at!
Delaware:+New+Jersey+Women+of+the+Book+
the!Winterthur!Museum!in!
at+Lafayette+College!through!this!
Wilmington,!DE.!!The!course,!
summer!in!Skillman!Library!at!Lafayette!
instructed!by!Jeff!Peachy,!will!teach!
College.!!!
the!theory,!making!and!history!of!
!!!!!Her!book!Colors!of!Memory!was!
bookbindings,!focusing!on!western!inV chosen!as!part!of!the!exhibit:!Readers+
boards!binding!ca.!1450V1850.!!!
Art:+Concealed,+Confined+and+Collected!V!
!!!
!!!
May!8V!July!26,2015!at!the!Minnesota!
Member!Sabrena%Johnson!has!taken!
Center!for!Book!Arts!(Minneapolis,!MN)!
miniature!book!making!to!a!new!level! !
by!putting!miniature!books!in!
miniature!bottles.!!If!youre!interested!
in!purchasing!one!for!yourself!you!can!
contact!Sabrena!at!
sabrenajohnson7@gmail.com.!

%%%

Colors+of+Memory!by!Maria!Pisano!

Extinct/Extant!by!Alicia!Bailey!
!

%
Andrea%Krupp!will!return!for!her!
third!round!of!visual!arts!residency!
in!Iceland.!This!September!she!will!
be!Artist!in!Residence!at!SIM,!the!
Association!of!Icelandic!Visual!
Artists,!located!in!downtown!
Reykjavik.!!During!the!month!of!
October!she!will!be!in!residence!
at!Gilfelagi,!in!the!North!of!Iceland,!
in!Akureyri.!The!first!week!of!
September!will!be!spent!doing!
research!at!the!National!Library!of!
Iceland.!!With!the!help!of!a!native!
speaker,!she!will!examine!19thV
century!manuscript!texts!in!search!
of!voices!from!the!past!that!are!
descriptive!of!place!and!experience!
in!the!midVnineteenth!century.!

%
Have you given a talk, published a paper, participated in an exhibit, or just bound a really great book? Or
maybe you had a baby, got married, adopted a dog, or done absolutely anything else you want to share?
We want to hear about it! If you have news to share please send it to: Becky Koch at blyne80@gmail.com

Page 7 Delaware Valley Guild of Bookworkers

PRESSING MATTERS

Spring 2015

Gerri Black, A Passing

By Jennifer Rosner
DVC member Gerri Black passed away on March 18, 2015 after a long illness. Gerri had been a
member of the DVC for a short time and participated in the Atlas project, mailing her box of maps
only a few weeks before she died. Below is an excerpt from her obituary:

Born in Alaska in 1952, Gerri moved
to Philadelphia as a child. She
graduated from the
University of Pennsylvania with a
bachelor's degree in English and a
master's degree in
Education. During this time, she
worked for the university as an
assistant to the dean of the College of
General Studies, office manager at the
Graduate School of Education, and as
advertising coordinator for University
Relations. She was a DJ for the radio
station WXPN, hosting the popular
Saturday morning program, "Sleepy
Hollow."
Upon moving to South Jersey, Gerri taught at Atlantic Cape Community College for over
twenty years as a professor of English. During her tenure at the college, she served as the
advisor of the college's literary magazine Rewrites. She was often recognized for her teaching
excellence, receiving the Faculty Pioneer Award, and Teacher of the Year twice. She was
awarded a fellowship to Princeton University in 2010-2011. In addition to teaching, Gerri was
a published poet and accomplished bookmaker. A member of the Great Bay Gallery poets and
the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers, she often had her work exhibited at
the Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts.

Page 8 Delaware Valley Guild of Bookworkers

PRESSING MATTERS

Spring 2015

Delaware Valley Chapter Workshop

Historical Bindings in Paper

A workshop with Bill Hanscom
Investigate the history and use of inexpensive and often temporary paper-covered book structures beginning
at the advent of the printed book in Europe and continuing through the industrial revolution of the nineteenth
century. Participants will create an array of models including wrappers, case binding variations, and the boards
binding, exploring historically employed sewing techniques and end-sheet constructions. Structure and decoration, alongside topics such as chapbooks and vernacular bookbinding, will be examined through images and
historical examples from the instructors collection and from the Library Companys collection. All materials
will be provided by the instructor.
Bill Hanscom graduated from the Book Arts/
Printmaking MFA program at the University
of the Arts in 2008 after earning his BFA in
Graphic Design. He is currently a conservation technician for special collections at the
Weissman Preservation Center at Harvard
Library, and coordinator and adjunct instructor for the Book Arts program at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA. His
essay on traditional Ethiopian bookbinding
practices and techniques will be published by
The Legacy Press in 2016.
July 25-26
9am to 4:30pm
The Library Company of Philadelphia
1314 Locust St. Philadelphia PA 19107
DVC Members: $200
Non-Members $225
All materials will be provided by the instructor. Materials fee will not exceed $40.
A check will hold your place. Please make your check out to The Guild of Book Workers. (Not the DVG)
No refund after July 15th (unless there is someone on the waiting list). Cancellation may be made by either
Name:_______________________________
Email:_______________________________
Phone#: _____________________________
Mail this form and your check to:
Jennifer Rosner, The Library Company, 1314 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107