[GBW] Centennial Update...

[Betsy Eldridge <BPEldridge@xxxxxxx>]

In case you haven't had a chance to read the August GBW Newsletter, the 
Centennial update in the President's Report is as follows:

The Centennial plans are shaping up nicely.  Kelli Piotrowski?s local 
arrangements group is back, hard at work at a new level of details: planning the 
details of the program and the conference packet, thinking about possible 
decorations and souvenirs, and finding out how best to use the many local members who 
have volunteered to help.  Their help will be needed.  One of the challenging 
aspects of the Centennial Celebration is that there are so many events planned 
for different places at different times?  and getting around New York City is 
in itself a special science ? or art form ? that requires some planning.  The 
instructions and map sent with the April Newsletter, plus the more detailed 
tour directions in this August Newsletter (all of which are posted on the GBW 
website) should help.  Hopefully everyone will end up at the proper place at 
the proper time, or ten minutes before!  

All sorts of good news keeps arriving.  The Butler Library at Columbia 
University has announced plans to put together a special exhibition that will be of 
interest to those attending its tours or its Thursday evening Open House.  The 
exhibition is entitled "Not Just Protecting the Text:  Bookbindings from the 
Rare Book and Manuscript Library."  The talk given there at 6 PM by Maria 
Fredericks, Drue Heinz Book Conservator at the Morgan Library and Museum, is 
entitled "A 15th century English Book Structure Revealed: Anthony Cains Re-binds 
the Ellesmere Chaucer."  The two Thursday evening Open Houses, one at Columbia 
and one at the Center for Book Arts, are being generously co-sponsored by Mel 
Kavin?s family of Kater-Crafts Bookbinders in California, and by Ralph Ocker of 
Ocker and Trapp/Bridgeport National Bindery in New Jersey.  Both have been 
very supportive in the past of the book arts and the Guild. Their help now with 
the Centennial Celebration is greatly appreciated.  

More good news:  most recently the Morgan Library and Museum has announced 
that it will give a 25% discount in its admissions fee ($9 instead of $12) to 
attendees over the three days of the celebration (October 12,13,&14).  That is 
wonderful news as many will be interested in seeing the new Morgan that just 
opened in May after a three year, $106 million renovation.  The Morgan, like 
most museums, has free admission on Friday evenings.

The 100th Anniversary Exhibition is almost buttoned up:  the books are in 
Peter Verheyen?s hands in Syracuse and have been photographed; the catalog has 
been designed by Julie Leonard and Sara Sauers in Iowa (most handsomely from all 
reports) and is on its way to the printer.  The catalog needs to be ready to 
be on sale for the opening on September 19th at the Grolier Club.  The Guild 
exhibition will be on show for two months before it is disassembled and the 
contemporary section is shipped to its other venues.  Meanwhile the books from 
Hope Weil?s collection are being assembled to go on display the end of September 
for three months at the New York Academy of Medicine.  The rare opportunity 
to see books bound by famous European binders such as Emilio Brugalla (Spain), 
Paul Bonet (France), Pierre Martin (France), Roger Powell (England), and 
Ignatz Wiemeler (Germany), as well as books bound by many well known American 
binders, will be a real treat.  These exhibitions are stars in themselves.  For 
those who say that there is nothing to be "learned" at this Centennial 
Celebration, the consolation is that they will never know what they have missed.  It is 
unlikely that they will ever have another chance in their lifetime to see such 
a collection and concentration of inspired book design and superlative 
craftsmanship.  This is the cream of the cream of 20th century book arts.

The registrations continue to roll in by email, fax, and snail mail.  Over a 
hundred registrations were received in the month of May alone.  June saw a 
summer lull, which fortunately gave Treasurer (and Registrar) Alicia Bailey time 
to catch up on membership renewals.  According to Membership Chairman Cris 
Takacs a number of former members have rejoined this year.  A look at the 
registration list shows that members are coming from across the country and abroad.  
As anticipated, the Centennial Celebration is attracting a wider range of 
members than the usual Standards crowd.  Many are from the "old guard" who have 
not attended a conference since "Bookbinding 2000" in Rochester, New York. It 
will be good to see them all again.  Similarly, most of the vendors? tables have 
been spoken for, with many of the usual vendors planning to be on hand.
 
Some of the popular tours - on the first-come, first-served basis ? are 
filling up, but there are still plenty of interesting tours available.  The visit 
to Christie?s has been so popular that they have been asked to increase the 
numbers.  As expected, the tours of the Morgan and the Met have been especially 
popular too.  Everyone wishes that they were not limited to just one tour per 
person, but that simply could not be done.  All of the tours are sure to be 
interesting experiences.  If you are having difficulty accessing the tour 
assignments on the GBW website (http://gbw100nyc.tripod.com), try again.  
Occasionally the Stanford program goes down temporarily.  Or as a last resort, contact 
Eric Alstrom or Alicia Bailey for help. 

If you have not yet registered, do so soon.  The registration will be closing 
the middle of September due to the requirements of the caterers at the 
Grolier Club and NYAM, not to mention the boat.  For that reason unfortunately, 
there will be no last minute, on site registration as is often possible at other 
conferences.  Your tears will be in vain.  By the time you receive this August 
Newsletter, time will be short.  Register now.  The closer it comes, the more 
apparent it is that the Centennial Celebration will indeed be a once in a 
lifetime opportunity. We hope to see you there.

Betsy Palmer Eldridge
Outgoing President, GBW 

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                       GBW CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
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