STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE SEMINAR

NEW - Seminar Handouts

Many of the handouts from Standards Seminars from 1989 through 2005 have been collected and scanned. Links are on the list to the right. If you have copies of missing handouts, please contact Eric Alstrom, Communications Chair.

Many thanks to GBW members Mark Andersson and Peter Verheyen for spearheading this project!

Past Standards Committee Chairs

  • Donald Etherington (1979-1986)
  • William Anthony (1987-1988)
  • Monique Lallier (1989-2000)
  • Pam Barrios (2001-2002)
  • Nancy Lev-Alexander (2002-2006)
  • Christopher McAfee (2006-present)

Their planning and organization has resulted in the present format of expert craftspeople teaching and demonstrating to small seminar groups of no more than 35 participants.

This highly successful format has inspired many Guild of Book Workers members to pursue the many crafts of book arts in a serious and professional way.

We thought you might enjoy reading the report from the Guild of Book Workers Newsletter of the first Seminar on Standards of Excellence, and we've included a roster of all the presentations held to date.

May the next 20 years be equally inspiring.

Pamela Barrios
(Prepared for the Rocky Mountain Chapter when they hosted the 20th Standards in Salt Lake City in October, 2000, and updated as needed.)

Past Presentations

1982 - Washington, DC

  • Thomas Albro: Conservation Binding
  • William Anthony: Restoration Binding
  • David Bourbeau: Limited Edition Binding
  • Hedi Kyle: Artists' Books
  • Heinke Pensky-Adams: Designer Binding
  • Read a review of the first Standards Seminar

1983 - Boston, Massachusetts

  • Samuel Ellenport: Materials - Leather & Cloth
  • Jean Gunner: Materials - Paper & Adhesives
  • Donald Etherington: Guarding and Endpaper Construction
  • Deborah Evetts: Binding Styles
  • Peter Waters & J. Franklin Mowery: Sewing Structures

1984 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Donald Etherington: Paring Leather Covers
  • Hugo Peller: Edge Gilding & Gauffering
  • Heinke Pensky-Adams: Covering with Vellum Over Stiff Boards
  • Michael Wilcox & Donald Glaister: Gold Tooling and Using Gold Leaf
  • Tini Miura & Hugo Peller: Lecturers

1985 - San Francisco, California

  • Donald Etherington: Paring Leather Covers
  • Gary Frost: Paper Cover Case Construction
  • Silvia Rennie: Half Vellum Over Stiff Boards
  • Michael Wilcox & Gerard Charriere: Gold Tooling Using Gold Leaf

1985 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1986 - Iowa City, Iowa

  • William Anthony: Doublures, Endpapers, & Leather Hinges
  • Paula Gourley: Paper Marbling on Gouache
  • Scott Kellar: Book Enclosures
  • Michelle Rome-Hyacinthe: French Sewing & Forwarding Techniques

1987 - Austin, Texas

1988 - Chicago, Illinois

  • Kay Amert: Letter Forms in Bookbinding Design
  • Cathy Atwood: Japanese Side-Sewn Bindings
  • Silvia Rennie: Gouge-Less French Onlay Techniques
  • Pamela Spitzmueller: Western Through-the-Fold Sewing

1989 - Portland, Oregon

1990 - Washington, DC

1991 - Bloomington, Indiana

1992 - San Francisco, California

1993 - Boston, Massachusetts

1994 - Dallas, Texas

1995 - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

1996 - Pasadena, California

1997 - Ann Arbor, Michigan

1998 - Greensboro, North Carolina

1999 - Chicago, Illinois

2000 - Salt Lake City, Utah

2001 - Alexandria, Virginia

2002 - Minneapolis, Minnesota

2003 - Denver, Colorado

2004 - Providence, Rhode Island

2005 - Portland, Oregon

2006 - Centennial Celebration - New York City, New York

There was no Standards Seminar held in 2006. Rather, the Guild held a celebration honoring our organiziation's 100th birthday. The focus was "The Art of the Book in America" and included a two day conference on the history of the Guild and bookbinding in the United States; the opening of the Guild's 100th Anniversary Members Exhibition and Retrospective Exhibition; a dinner cruise around Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty; and many other exciting events. Pictures and reviews are available in the December 2006 and February 2007 GBW Newsletter.

2007 - Dallas, Texas

The format of this year's Standards was different from previous years. There was the optional Foundation's session before the Seminar began. There were three presentations which all participants attended. Finally, there were three "Roundup" Sessions, of which everyone picked two.

  • Stuart Brockman: Gold Leaf Tooling on Leather
  • Roberta Lavadour: Original Binding Structures and Decorations
  • Chela Metzer: Creating Medieval Stationer's Binding Structures
  • Catherine Burkhard: Plain-Jane Restoration - Making Books Functional (Roundup)
  • Keith Owens: Design Principles and the Book (Roundup)
  • Priscilla Spitler: Behind the Design (Roundup)
  • Kitty Maryatt: Foundations Workshop on Practical Strategies for Editions

2008 - Toronto, Ontario

This year's Standards was co-hosted by the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (CBBAG).

2009 - San Francisco, California

2010 - Tucson, Arizona

2011 - Boston, Massachusetts

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