Sue Allen

Publishers' Bookbindings, 1830-1910

12-16 July 2010

1. How useful were the pre-course readings? (Leave blank if you applied and were accepted late for the course, and thus did not get the list in time.)

1: Very useful. Several were written by the instructor! An even larger list of readings appeared in the packet and I will look those up too. I was unable to locate every article/book but that was not a problem. 2: Pre-course readings are critical to understanding the context of this material, and it's interesting so don't skip it! 3: The course readings laid a very helpful and meaningful foundation for the course. 4: The pre-course reading provided an essential context so we could jump right in to more detailed material. I am very glad I made the effort to review these materials before RBS began. 5: Incredibly useful. 6: Very useful, as they gave me a context for much of what SA discussed. 7: Useful, although some of the material was covered again in class, occasionally obviating the need for pre-course reading. 8: Very helpful and mostly necessary for a better understanding of the course. 9: Pre-course readings were very useful and, I thought, essential. 10: Very. 11: Very useful.

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

1: The timeline distributed on the first day and the colorful folded brochure distributed on the last day are extremely useful. The latter will be prominently posted in my shop at home. The former helped keep place all week. 3: Yes! SA has illustrated and distributed timelines of bookbindings, grains, and endpapers, giving us visual tools to take home for future use. 4: I appreciated the course packet with the bibliography, photocopies, or cloth grains, &c. and only wish it contained a list of common binders and designers with their marks. I was especially thrilled by the magnificent poster/timeline we were each given based on SA's forthcoming book—it's a treasure! 5: I love the timelines provided, both at the first and the last class. 6: There was not a great amount of material, but what there was will certainly serve me in the future. 7: Yes (especially but far from solely) the illustrated timeline that SA distributed the first day. 8: Yes, and they will be helpful as will several books in the bibliography that I will obtain. 9: Yes, particularly the bibliography. 10: The fold-out brochure handout out on the last day is fantastic. 11: There was no true syllabus, nor do I feel one was necessary. The handouts in class were excellent, and will provide good reference. The timeline we were given on the first day was the most useful for me. There was space to add notes all week. It ended up being a customized summation of the class.

3. What aspects of the course content were of the greatest interest or relevance for your purposes? Was the intellectual level of the course appropriate?

1: Learning to date publishers' bindings by patterned cloth, endpapers, colors, design trends, &c. over 80 years was what I hoped to get out of this class. And indeed, I now have a much better sense of the period and the artifact. 3: I especially found our trips to the McGregor room and the special collections library relevant because I could examine literary works of interest to me on the context of their designs. None of this would have worked, however, without time first spent in the classroom. 4: The intellectual level was spot-on and gave me the background I was hoping for, which will help me as I design a new preservation policy for these materials at my home institution. 5: Yes, incredibly appropriate. Content: being able to compare cloth bindings in person from 1840-1910 was most helpful—even better was SA's enthusiasm. I will remember ribbon embossed as being exceptional if only because of the way her face lights up when seeing it. 6: The earlier years of book cover design, as I was more familiar with. 7: The intellectual level was appropriate. The two things of greatest interest were the basic historical narrative that SA provided (the movement toward the increasing sophistication and self-awareness of the 1890s and 1900s) and the specific local observations that SA made to assist with binding identification (the introduction of Eastlake ornamentation, for example.) 8: All of it. I left with a much greater understanding of cloth bindings despite having more experience in that area than most of the class. The intellectual level was appropriate. 9: Of particularly great interest was the concentration on design, style and dating. Intellectual level was perfect. 10: Handling the books. The emphasis on engravers was especially interesting. 11: Being able to date bindings was relevant for my work, also learning about binder signatures, engravers and artists. Lastly, understanding the cloths used was also relevant.

4. What did you like best about the course?

1: The extremely appropriate examples from the deep holdings in the RBS collections. The sheer amount (and quality) of the books, brasses, papers, cloth samples, &c. that were passed on trays day after day made the slides come alive and made us all more confident of knowing about book production during this period. This worked wonderfully well because Vince anticipates everything. I also appreciated his knowledge about the period, the books in the collection, and the order of topics. He was such a help in our very full session at Special Collections. I will never look at a rattan tray again in the same way. 2: It was tremendously helpful to see many examples of books from various time periods. That's what helped to solidify my understanding of each decade's dominant features. 3: SA's genuine love for the materials touched all of us. We'll all take home some of her choice phrases for describing charming book covers. 4: Being able to handle so many examples of these materials was amazing. Kudos to RBS for assembling an impressive teaching collection. 5: SA!! I loved hearing her talk about the people, whether c19 engravers or c20 researchers or retired bookbinders. 6: The vast amount of material we were shown—hundreds of books, and pictures of others, as well as other images related to the course. 7: I loved SA's accounts of the various binders, engravers, artists, and other figures generally relegated to the periphery in our histories of books and publishing (Benjamen Bradley, John Feely). 8: SA. She is generous and warm and truly concerned that every student was benefiting. It was a privilege to have been taught by her. Also Vince Golden did well to assist her, and she uses RBS teaching collection to full and breathtaking advantage. 9: SA—infectious enthusiasm and a huge breadth of knowledge. I liked also the dating exercises and the discussion of the various changes in style and design and how they related to the historical context. The fact that SA is a graphic designer adds a great perspective. 10: SA. And I must say the other participants were uniformly nice to be with and infectious with their enthusiasm. SA's love for and appreciation of binders, engravers, publishers, and artist/designers is palpable. They are as real to her as living people. She knows them! It is really most impressive. And she is such a lovely, kind person that it is a pleasure to be in her company and in the company of the biblio-artisans she so greatly loves and appreciates. 11: Our instructor's depth of knowledge and the huge amount of examples used—both shown on slides and used in the classroom.

5. Did the instructor(s) successfully help you to acquire the information and skills that the course was intended to convey?

1: Yes, yes, yes. SA is The Authority and she is such a generous teacher. She delivered fine slide talks and her love for these books was infectious. Her memory of and knowledge of designers, titles, publishers, dates is an inspiration. 3: Yes—she often paused to repeat what she wanted us to learn and consider. Asking us to describe the books ourselves helped solidify the information. 4: Delivered as advertised—SA and Vince are a wonderful team, and I was grateful for how generously they share their knowledge. 5: Absolutely, without a doubt. Vince Golden is equally fabulous; thanks to him for assisting with the class—he has a somewhat unglamorous job but is so very critical and knowledgeable. As SA remarked often, his name is quite appropriate; he is golden. 6: Absolutely. 7: SA did a fabulous job of helping us establish a core knowledge base (tell-tale indicators of bindings from different decades, a sense not just of what one should be looking for but how one should be looking). She modeled this as much through how she taught as what she said. 8: Yes, absolutely. 9: Absolutely. 10: Very much so. I feel pretty confident in my ability to identify styles of c19 bindings, especially American. 11: Yes.

6. Did you learn what the course description/advertisements indicated you would learn?

1-4: Yes. 5: Yes. I recommend this course to anyone with an interest. 6-11: Yes.

7. Did you learn what you wanted to learn in the course?

1-2: Yes. 3: Yes. Perhaps a few more English covers, with information on trends there, would be nice, but I loved the course as it was taught. 4: Yes. Rarely does an experience live up to the "hype"—RBS exceeded my expectations, and I can't wait to come back. 5: Yes. 6: Certainly. I now have a wealth of knowledge about the period 1830-1890 that I lacked before.

8. How do you intend to use or apply the knowledge or skills learned in this course?

1: I will be organizing my notes and handouts into a "class" for my rare book cataloging team upon my return and hopefully recataloging many of our books to ADD information about bindings that I now am more knowledgeable about. 2: As a conservator, I am always trying to improve my connoisseurship. My decision-making skills need to be as sharp as (maybe sharper than) my conservation skills. 3: I know more about the book as a visual, aesthetic object owned and appreciated by the Victorians I study. I'll also be considering the way such packaging affected reception during the period. 4: My newfound knowledge relates quite directly to my work at my home institution and will allow me to approach preservation of our collections with a much firmer foundation about the significance of the materials. 5: I'd love to either mount a small exhibit or definitely will create a web feature highlighting examples from our collection. 6: This broader knowledge will aid me in discovering/locating/purchasing c19 covers, for myself and for my library. 7: I anticipate using the knowledge that I have gained from SA this week to approach the books and other texts I will study and write about with a deeper and more extensive understanding of their complexity as physical objects. One of my interests is in the relation between the aesthetics of literary texts and the aesthetics of bookbindings and the insight I have acquired into developments in binding style across the period spanned by the course will be useful in this regard. 8: As an antiquarian bookseller I intend to profit financially from the better understanding of the material I sell as well as to enjoy it more. 9: I am a collector collecting in this period, so I will be able to apply what I learned very effectively. 10: It will be most helpful in describing books which I sell in my antiquarian book business. 11: I'll be better able to catalogue the books of this time, and more fully describe them.

9. How could the course have been improved? If you have a suggestion for a new course (and—equally important—a person who could teach it), please contact the RBS Program Director.

1: I don't know how it might have been improved! 3: Perhaps somebody could help transfer the slides onto a PowerPoint or other electronic medium. The only reason for this is to reduce the noise of the projector, which often made it difficult to hear SA's voice. 4: A section recommending approaches to preservation and conservation of these collections would complement the current offerings. 5: No idea ... no improvement needed. 6: I don't know. It was great! 7: The course might have been organized more effectively, but this was more than made up for by SA's knowledge, her grace and charm. Perhaps some sort of arrangement could be made so that SA could show her slides while providing students with enough light to take notes by. A large part of the course consisted in showing and discussing slides and one does want to write down much of what she says. 8: I doubt it could be. There was a certain amount of repetition, but it serves to reinforce what it was we were trying to learn. 9: I can't imagine how the course could be improved. 10: Perhaps a little more clarity on English bindings. I did on occasion have a bit of trouble hearing especially when the slide projector was whirring away.

10. If your course left its classroom to visit Special Collections (SC) or to make other field trips away from your classroom, was the time devoted to this purpose well spent?

1: Yes. It was a whirlwind fabulous tour through a goldmine of material. 3: Perfectly. 4: Yes! We all loved the "field trips"—they broke up the time spent in a single classroom, and gave us the chance to see different materials. 5: Gosh, yes. The trip to Special Collections was well worth it! 6: One brief session in SC was most interesting and complemented our classroom work. 7: Yes. 8: Yes, we went to both McGregor for exercises which were helpful and to SC to see examples of the bindings that wouldn't be in RBS. 9: Very well spent. It was great to see the very somber bindings on some of the great American classics in contrast to the more flamboyant contemporary designs that were shown in class. 10: Yes, indeed. 11: Somewhat. While the examples were wonderful, I'm not sure the risk of wear and damage to the books was worth the show and tell. The examples in class were adequate.

11. We are always concerned about the physical well-being both of the RBS teaching collections and of materials owned by UVa's Special Collections. If relevant, what suggestions do you have for the improved classroom handling of such materials used in your course this week?

1: Everyone was very respectful of materials and we were warned not to open, not to touch when the material warranted that. 2: Lots of books were passed around on trays for us to look at—we limited our handling. Even another large table for staging would be useful. 3: No suggestions! I think the instructions/demonstrations, plus the use of baskets, help us handle the materials carefully. 4: I liked the felt-lined baskets—very nice. 5: I very much appreciate the use of trays to pass around materials. I must say, I'm not used to people using pens around the items, but nothing seems to have been damaged so I may be overly-concerned about that. 6: It was handled very well by Vince; he alerted us to how much looking and touching we could do, especially with rarer or more delicate items. 7: Should the book that contains the very rare example of untarnished silver stamping be encased in some way to limit potentially damaging contact with air (would be a shame to accelerate the tarnishing). [NB: These books are housed in an airtight box when they are not being used in class−mgt.] 8: Reinforce, repeatedly, that students shouldn't handle books with a pen in their hand. 9-10: None. 11: Please tell everyone no pens. And put pencils down when material is being passed. [NB: Thanks for your feedback. Rules along these lines appear in the Vade Mecum under "RBS Protocols"; we will continue to stress the importance of these rules to our students, and perhaps introduce additional means of doing so−mgt].

12. If you attended the optional evening events (e.g. RBS Lecture, Video Night, RBS Forum, Booksellers' Night) were they worth attending?

1: As always, receptions are lovely, and I enjoyed the lectures. 2: Lectures—awesome! 3: Yes—they were a nice chance to pick up a bit more information and develop friendships with classmates. I might have used some of the time more wisely by getting some of my own research done in UVA's extensive libraries. 4: Yes, I thought they provided a welcome, relaxed opportunity for common time. I only wish there had been an informal "common space" where participants could hang out in the evenings otherwise. 5: Loved the lecture and Forum. Video Night—I'm jealous, I'd like to have seen Belanger's film on paper and pagination; but I had to skip out that evening anyhow. Surprised that Blue Whale and Franklin Gillam were the only two that were really open—but both great stores! 6: Although Tibetan books are far afield to my work and interests, it was indeed useful to hear. Russem's talk on stamps was more relevant (since I also collect stamps). Both speakers were very engaging indeed. 7: Lecture and Forum were well worth attending. 8: Lecture and Booksellers' Night were excellent. The others I did not attend. 9: Very worth attending. 11: Lecture was wonderful, Booksellers' Night was fun.

13. Did you get your (or your institution's) money's worth? Any final or summary thoughts, or advice for other persons considering taking this course in a future year?

1: I did get my money's worth. Where else could you spend a week with the world's foremost authority and a bunch of interesting colleagues all excited to LEARN? 2: SA is a most generous and knowledgeable instructor. I'm thrilled and honored to have been in her class. 3: Yes, I think I did get my money's worth! I may advise people to choose one evening event to skip and use the time to check out UVA's library holdings (besides those used for my RBS course). Final thoughts? I feel most fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet and learn from SA. c19 American book bindings will always remind me of her and the days I've spent enjoying her course. 4: I definitely consider RBS the proverbial good deal, and I will recommend it to friends and colleagues. My best advice is to do the advance readings and to attend all offered social events, to seize the opportunity to chat with people outside your field. I know this enriched my experience here. 5: Yes. Love the certification program and look forward to attending at least four more classes. 6: Absolutely worth it (even with the heat on the Lawn!). There was a continual collegiality and even a conviviality which I very much appreciated experiencing. Thank you! 7: Yes. 8: Many times over. I'd advise anyone who wants to take the course to sign up ASAP. SA is an RBS treasure. Vince Golden could probably teach the course, also, but SA has an unparalleled knowledge of the subject and a generosity of spirit that would be hard to duplicate. 9: I got more than my money's worth. SA is the best there is, both in the field and as a teacher. She has a wonderful way of distilling a very complex subject so you can see the forest for the trees. She has developed a vocabulary for discussing the many aspects of style in the nineteenth century that really makes you understand the changes taking place and peculiar characteristics of the various periods. If you have a chance to take this course, jump at it! 10: Yes, I would recommend this course most highly to anyone who enjoys c19 books; or even to those who don't—they will by the end of the week!

Number of respondents: 11

PERCENTAGES

Leave

Institution gave me leave

55%

I took vacation time

10%

N/A: self-employed, retired or had the summers off

45%

Tuition

Institution paid tuition

36%

I paid tuition myself

10%

Scholarship

27%

N/A: Self-employed, retired

27%

Housing

Institution paid housing

36%

I paid for my own housing

45%

N/A: stayed with friends or lived at home

18%

Travel

Institution paid travel

45%

I paid my own travel

45%

N/A: lived nearby

10%

There were two rare book librarians, one general librarian with some rare book responsibilities, two PhD students, three antiquarian booksellers, one book collector and two conservators.