B-10. Introduction to the History of Bookbinding
Karen Limper-Herz
“I came, I saw, I feel empowered with bookbinding knowledge!” — 2018 student
Course Length: 30 hours
Course Week: 27 July–1 August 2024
Format: in person, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA
Fee: $1,495
A bookbinding has two main functions: it protects a text block against wear and tear, and its structure makes a book out of separate leaves or quires. Throughout history, bookbindings have been decorated in a number of different ways, using different materials and techniques, thus often making the binding a work of art. This course focuses on the history of fine binding and also looks at the principal techniques and materials used in the West throughout the long history of bookbinding. It combines a chronological overview of the major developments in the history of bookbinding with practical exercises and sessions working closely with the extensive teaching collection at RBS and fine bindings in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at UVA. Aimed at special collections staff, cataloguers, historians, collectors, bookdealers, conservators, bookbinders, and others with an interest in bookbindings and their history, this course will be of interest to those wishing to develop their understanding of this important element of the history of the book.
Course History
Faculty
Karen Limper-Herz
Karen Limper-Herz is Interim Head, Printed Heritage Collections and Lead Curator, Incunabula and Sixteenth Century Printed Books at the British Library. Mentored by Mirjam Foot and Jan Storm van Leeuwen, she has worked with and studied bookbindings from different countries and periods for several decades. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Honorary Secretary and the Senior Vice-President of the Bibliographical Society (U.K.). She is a trustee of the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel (Germany), a member of the organizing committee of the Arbeitskreis für die Erfassung, Erschließung und Erhaltung historischer Bucheinbände (AEB) in Berlin, and a member of the Wolfenbüttel Working Group for the History of Libraries, Books and Media. She publishes and speaks about the history of bookbinding and book collecting in the U.K. and abroad, and is a regular contributor to the “English & Foreign Bookbindings” series in The Book Collector.
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