No. 34: Book Illustration to 1890

Terry Belanger
No. 34: Book Illustration to 1890
29 July - 2 August 1996

1. How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: Absolutely essential. The Gascoigne book is dense but crucial. Read it in bits and pieces. 2: Very useful. 3: Very

although re-reading after the course will make more sense. 4: Very useful. 5: Important

I would have been totally lost the first day if I hadn't spent some time reading Gascoigne. 6: Very good. 7: Essential. 8: Excellent and essential. 10: Did not do the pre-course readings. 11: Useful, but it was not easy reading. I think the lectures helped explain what I did not understand from the text. Since we were studying prints, it was hard to understand differences in processes when the book used the same method to reproduce all the examples.

2. Were the course syllabus and other materials distributed in class useful (or will they be so in the future, after you return home)?

1: Very useful, clearly done 2: More than useful. I was very impressed by the diversity. An incredible amount of information. 3: Could the exit list be handed out on Monday

in BAP order and with space to make notes? 4: Yes. 5: The reading list is extremely important and will be very useful for building my own reference library on the subject. 6-7: Yes. 8: Yes

but the lists could have been listed in folder order, M, S, etc., as well as Gascoigne order. 9: Yes. 10: Somewhat useful in class; usefulness will be greater in the future. 11: Yes, very useful. I think the bibliography was exhaustive. I'll have materials to read for years and materials to use as quick reference. The bibliography is almost worth the tuition.

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

1-2: Yes. 3: Very. 4: Yes. 5: Content and delivery was brilliant. This was obviously as difficult on TB as the students. 6-10: Yes. 11: Absolutely. It was a wonderful course and extremely well taught.

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

1: Yes, yes, yes. 2: Yes

excellent. 3: Yes, yes. 4: Yes

exceeded expectations in applied segments of making prints. 5-7: Yes. 8: Yes. Excellent content and well taught. 9-10: Yes. 11: Yes, this course was exactly what I wanted and needed. I am excited to go back and attempt to put what I learned into practice. Though I feel I've gone from ignorance to stupidity, I realize it will take time and experience to feel comfortable using what I learned, but now I have the tools, the background, to try.

5. What did you like best about the course?

1: TB and the packets. 2: This course is very difficult to teach. The immense diversity of printing processes is overwhelming and complex. I greatly appreciated the flexibility and incredible facility for explaining clearly in a fashion both concrete and visual. I believe that I am going home with the tools for analyzing every illustration process. 3: The other people, TB and the students. 4: Inspection of production techniques of definitely identified uncommon and obscure print types. 5: 1) Ninety minutes on, thirty minutes off

very good for concentration. 2) We covered what was outlined in the pre-course information. 3) The number of examples was enormous and it greatly helped in understanding the various processes discussed. 6: Hands-on experience and the number of prints the class had access to. 7: The wide scope of topics covered, the depth of exposure, and the abundance of prints and books to examine. 8: Terrific examples. 9: I know so much more now! The organization of the course, with theory in the morning and practical work time (ie independent study) in the afternoon. 10: Real examples to examine. 11: Everything. I loved looking at the prints, studying them in detail. I also really enjoyed making our own prints. I also liked the time reserved for reading and looking at the prints on my own.

6. How could the course have been improved?

1: I can't imagine. 2: The only thing I see right now is the lack of space and time for the immense content of this course. I literally adored the class and hope to be able to take it again in five years. 3: I realize this is out of scope, but I would have liked a few more ad hoc comments about the historical/social/connoisseurship aspects of the books that once housed the prints. 4: If it were twice as long. 5: The room could be larger. 7: It is difficult to run a program and teach a summer class simultaneously. The classroom atmosphere could be more congenial if the instructor had sufficient help in administering RBS to be relaxed in class. 8: More space to spread out. 10: Higher tolerance for questions.

7. Please comment at will on the quality/enjoyability of the various RBS activities in which you took part outside of class, eg Sunday afternoon tour, Sunday night dinner and videos, Bookseller Night, tour of the Etext Center or Electronic Classroom, printing demonstrations, evening lectures, &c.

1: David Vander Meulen dull and long. Daniel Miller entertaining. TB excellent. I'd skip the Tuesday book trip and have another lecture on collecting. 2: I enjoyed DM and TB, DM for his youth and freshness and his enthusiasm; TB for his realism and his concern that the book community doesn't defend itself well enough. 3: I skipped DVM, but the other two were just right, a nice balance. Comments about the bibliographic state seemed to be about my library. 4: DVM was somewhat parochial; DM and TB were excellent. 5: Very good. Well prepared and delivered. 6: The lectures were fine. 7: DM's lecture was well presented and demonstrated the high quality of education available at UVa. 8: DVM did well with the subject

one step from a necrology. DM's talk was charming. TB was better than 1995. 9: A wonderful lecture from DM!! 10: Attended one lecture which was excellent. 11: Both enjoyable and high quality, the lectures were great. I also liked the receptions to meet and chat with people.

8. Any final thoughts?

1: This course is excellent and a must for the practicing rare book librarian, collector, and bookseller. 2: Stay alert and ready and do the recommended readings. 3: I'm overwhelmed at the moment and can't think. But it was a good week and I'm glad I was here. 4: Look at as many print types as possible, with Gascoigne in hand. 5: Be sure to do your reading. 7: Great course, worth taking. 8: Start to use Gascoigne from the back of the book. 11: I would recommend this course to anyone who wants a basic course in illustration identification. I can't say how enthusiastic I am about this course and what I got out of it. I would advise only to join the BAP before applying.

Number of respondents: 11

PERCENTAGES

Leave	Tuition	Housing	Travel
Institution gave me leave	Institution paid tuition	Institution paid housing	Institution paid travel
55%	52%*	44%*	53%*
I took vac- tion time	I paid tui- tion myself	I paid for my own housing	I paid my own travel
9%	48%	47%	39%
N/A: self- employed, re- tired, or had summers off	N/A: self employed, retired, or exchange	N/A: stayed with friends or lived at home	N/A: lived nearby
36%	0%	9%	9%

*The tuition, housing, and travel of two students (18%) were funded by grants; one student (8%) has not decided whether or not to use book money to fund tuition for the course.

There were eleven students: three antiquarian booksellers (27%), three rare book librarians (27%), one book collector/retiree (9%), one conservator/binder/preservation librarian (9%), one general librarian with some rare book duties (9%), one library fundraiser (9%), and one teacher/professor/conservator/binder/preservation librarian (9%).