No. 52: Introduction to Medieval and Early Renaissance

Bookbinding Structures

7 - 11 August 1995

An explanation of the diversities of European bookbinding structures, up to and including the early period of more generalized practice and divisions of labor. Topics include: identification (where possible) of the main types of binding structures; their dating and provenance; the recognition and recording of materials and techniques.

1. How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: Very. 3: Very useful, because there was a lot to learn before the course and during the classes there was a lot more to learn about the subject. 4: Very useful. Perhaps too much concentration on context and medieval history, where information overlapped. 5: Texts dealing directly with bindings were very useful. The general reading was non-essential, but very interesting.

2. Did your instructor prepare sufficiently to teach THIS course? Were the course syllabus and other materials distributed in class useful?

1: Yes, and yes. 2: Excellent. 3: Materials prepared for the course were very useful both in the class and outside. I will keep the materials for reference in my work. 4: Absolutely. 5: Yes (but see no. 4, below).

3. Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?

1: Yes. 2: Excellent. Very well tailored to the specific group of participants. 3: Does not apply. 4-5: Yes.

4. If your course had field trips, were they effective?

1: Yes, but unavoidably short. 2: Exceptionally valuable field trip, which served as the intellectual focal point of the class. The days before the trip were spent preparing us to get the most out of it; the days after were largely spent elaborating, clarifying, expanding on the substance of the field trip. 3: Yes; the field trip made good use of the materials we looked at. 4: Yes. But going on Thursday, rather than Wednesday, would have been more appropriate and it would have been easier, or more efficacious, I should say, for the students and the instructor to have had an extra day to prepare for the trip. 5: Useful to see real, live, 3-D books at the Walters. Changing the trip from Thursday to Wednesday meant CC had to rush through a large amount of material on Tuesday and then go over it again properly, later, which disrupted his planning of the course. Thursday would have been more efficient for the trip.

5. Did the actual course content correspond to its RBS brochure description and Expanded Course Description? Did the course in general meet your expectations?

1: Yes, and yes. 2: Yes. Actually, the class was more effective than I might have expected because CC was able to reshape the course content to accommodate the class makeup (mostly binders/conservators and a curator). 3: Yes; the description was what I expected. 4: I am very satisfied with this course. 5: a) Yes, as far as I can remember. b) Up to the high standardexpected from one as skilled, knowledgeable, and dedicated to his field as CC. Some more information on potential weaknesses and stresses in bindings, and safe handling, would have been useful.

6. What did you like best about the course?

1: Teaching style. Content and informational value. Visuals. 2: Depth and breadth of instructor's experience in the subject and his ability to cross-relate complex sets of data drawn from a wide geographic and historical range, and to connect those with technological and historical developments in other spheres. 3: Almost everything we did in class, but I liked best the structure of covers. 4: I was completely satisfied with every aspect of the course. The slides were great, especially those portraying the representation of books in art, but the trip to the Walters helped to bring everything together. 5: Instruction based on decades of practical experience, illustrated by slides unavailable elsewhere. Rare examples giving a sense of detail.

7. How could the course have been improved?

1: Lots of material to cover and little time to cover it. Perhaps an occasional evening session. But then again, maybe not. 4: Discussion of how individual components come together to affect the development of book structure. 5: See no. 4, above. A slightly clearer general structure of the course might help.

8. Any final thoughts?

1: A good night's sleep. Plenty of caffeine. A calm disposition. A deep appreciation of the lore of bookbinding, &c. Lots of laughs, if you're of the mind. 2: Do! 3: Anyone who is interested in binding should take this course. 5: Well worth taking for anyone wanting a real understanding of the subject. Most of this cannot be read in books!

Number of respondents: 5

Percentages

There were three conservators/binders/preservation librarians (60%), one full-time student (20%), and one rare book and manuscript librarian (20%).