The Art of Ownership at the Rosenbach

Rosenbach Exhibition The Art of Ownership Explores
the Stories Behind Bookplates

PCB members and friends will enjoy this exhibit.

The Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia presents The Art of Ownership: Bookplates and Book Collectors from 1480 to the Present, on view September 21, 2016 – January 17, 2017. The primary function of a bookplate is simply to indicate the owner of a book, yet book collectors across the centuries have commissioned ornate and evocative designs that do more than designate property. From coats of arms and etched portraits to scenes of libraries and fantastical creatures, these miniature artworks may reveal a great deal about the ancestry, occupation, artistic taste, or philosophy of the men and women who used and circulated them. 

The Art of Ownership features beautiful and curious specimens from five centuries of books in the Rosenbach's collection, along with examples from the Rare Book Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia, the University of Delaware’s William Augustus Brewer Bookplate Collection, and other regional repositories. 

  

Notable bookplates include the oldest known printed bookplate, a hand-colored woodcut circa 1480 [1]; bookplates from the personal libraries of King George III and Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt; an Irish landscape designed by Jack Butler Yeats [2]; and prints by Art Nouveau illustrator Aubrey Beardsley. Some bookplates offer whimsical portraits of the book collectors: William Keeney Bixby's bookplate depicts the owner as an octopus grasping books with all eight tentacles [3], and a lithographic print belonging to E. Norman Sabel depicts an attentive reader who has not noticed that his coattails are on fire. Several remarkable examples belonged to Philadelphian collectors, such as Harry Elkins Widener and Lucy Wharton Drexel. 

The Art of Ownership was made possible by a grant from the Pine Tree Foundation of New York and endowment grants from the Marilyn M. Simpson Trust and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

To learn more about the Art of Ownership exhibition, visit rosenbach.org.

Summer residency at Second State Press

Cindi Royce Ettinger Fellowship

This is an excellent opportunity for the printmakers in the group:
Each summer Second Sheet Press hosts an artist whose work demonstrates an uncommon grasp of the printmaking medium and an energetic approach that will likely influence future printmakers. The select candidate is granted 24 hour access to SSP facilities for the one month during the summer, two flat file drawers, a modest stipend, and all critical feedback that membership in a communal print shop like SSP provides.  

Deadline for applications: May 22, 2016.

For more information and to apply please visit secondstatepress.org/opportunities.

Faculty Position, Book Arts Program, University of Utah

There is a full-time faculty position open at the University of Utah. Applications welcome.

The Book Arts Program at the J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah invites applications for Book Arts Designer & Instructor. This is a tenure-line, year-round faculty position. For details and to apply, please see the full job description: 

https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/50345

Full consideration will be given to applications that are received before
May 1, 2016.

Job Opening: Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austi

Conservator (Conservation Fellow)

The Harry Ransom Center’s Preservation and Conservation Division is offering a two-year Conservation Fellowship in book conservation. The position will begin September 1, 2016 and end August 31, 2018. As an integral member of the Center’s preservation and conservation staff, the conservation fellow will perform the full spectrum of book conservation treatment activities including written and photographic documentation; identification of historical materials, structures, and their condition; technical research; dialog with curators about treatment choices; and, the completion of minor and complex single item treatments and housings. The fellow will also develop and execute a conservation research project based
on the Ransom Center's book holdings. Over the two years, the fellow will have the opportunity to undertake treatment projects in the paper and photograph laboratories, as well as design and coordinate a manuscripts collection re-housing project. The fellow will assist the Senior Conservator in defining and developing a new handling orientation for patrons and staff, and serve as a member of The Texas Cultural Emergency Response Alliance.
The fellowship provides an annual salary of $43,000, plus benefits, and
$1,500 to support travel to professional meetings.

Required Qualifications

Master's degree in art, art history, or library and information science and a certificate of advanced study in conservation, or Master of Science degree in Art Conservation. Must have graduated in 2014 or 2015, or expect to graduate in summer 2016. Instruction and/or experience should be primarily in book conservation. Excellent written and oral communication skills. Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

Demonstrated ability to conduct research, and to write for presentation and
publication.

Application procedure: 

Please go to 
<https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/hr/jobs/nlogon/search/0/> 
and refer to posting number 160303010607. Applicants must upload a resume, submit a letter of interest and contact information for three references.

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) underconsideration for this position.

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.
The University of Texas at Austin is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a
commitment to diversity at all levels. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability or veteran status. (Compliant with the new VEVRAA and Section 503 Rules)
If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification form, I-9. You will be required to present acceptable, original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Information from the documents will be submitted to the federal E-Verify system for verification. Documents must be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in dismissal.

Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa, MLIS, PhD
Associate Director
Head of Preservation and Conservation

Harry Ransom Center
The University of Texas at Austin
P.O. Box 7219
Austin, Texas 78713-7219
P: 512-471-5495
F: 512-471-7930
<http://www.hrc.utexas.edu>

Philadelphia Art Book Fair 2016

Mark your calendar for April 1 & 2, the dates for the second Philadelphia Art Book Fair.
In addition to book artists, you'll get to see, talk to, and buy from
printmakers,
photographers,
& zine makers,
as well as see the latest from art and photo publishers.

Presented by Philadelphia Photo Arts Center and The Print Center

For more details: http://www.phlartbookfair.com

If you're interested in exhibiting, check out the web site above. Deadline for applications: Feb. 13.

Northwestern University Libraries Conservation Fellowship

This fellowship sounds like a good opportunity for someone interested in a  conservation career.

Northwestern University Libraries

Position:           Conservation Fellowship

Department:      Preservation and Conservation

Reports to:        Chief Conservator

Northwestern University Libraries offer an advanced post-graduate conservation fellowship for a two-year appointment, September 1, 2016 - August 31, 2018. The conservation fellowship provides practical experience in a busy academic library conservation lab balancing treatment responsibilities with professional research activities.  There will be the opportunity to gain bench experience, develop skills in treatment decision making, and research a topic of interest.

Northwestern University, established in 1851, is one of the leading private research universities in the United States with an enrollment of approximately 15,800 students.  Northwestern University Libraries hold over 5 million volumes with collections of international standing in Music, Transportation, and African Studies. The Libraries’ conservation lab is located on the Evanston, Illinois campus just north of Chicago.

Description of Duties:  Working under the supervision of the Chief Conservator, the Conservation Fellow evaluates and treats special collections materials.  The Conservation Fellow performs a broad range of conservation treatments on rare books, manuscripts, prints, drawings, maps, and other unbound archival and special collections materials. Treatment includes the preparation of condition and treatment reports with an appropriate level of photo documentation. Anticipated projects for 2016-2018 include treatment of a book by Buckminster Fuller, 19th century watercolors, and the repair of a Victorian scrapbook filled with chromolithographic illustrations.

The Conservation Fellow stays current with new developments in the field of library conservation and conducts research related to an area of interest. Topics may include treatment techniques, materials identification, or historical studies.  Research should be of a quality that could result in a
paper, poster, or presentation.

The Conservation Fellow may assist other professional staff in the department with surveys, preservation education and outreach initiatives, exhibits-related projects, and disaster response initiatives.

Qualifications:  Master's degree in library science or associated field, with an emphasis on conservation training, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.  Knowledge of current conservation principles and practices, material science, and the history of bookbinding and conservation. Demonstrated ability to perform high quality conservation treatments on special collections materials, primarily book and paper, and to communicate effectively about treatment options and decisions.

Salary: Annual stipend of $48,000 plus benefits.  Northwestern University offers a comprehensive benefits plan, including health care and otherbenefits.

To apply: Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and the names of three references, to

Tonia Grafakos
Chief Conservator
Northwestern University Libraries
t-grafakos@northwestern.edu

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applicants selected for an interview will be asked to submit a portfolio of recent conservation treatments.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Employment eligibility verification is required upon hire.

Victor Hammer Fellowship - Wells College

The Wells Book Arts Center is pleased to begin accepting applications for the tenth Victor Hammer Fellowship in the Book Arts.

The fellowship is named for Victor Hammer, an Austrian printer, book designer, typographer and portrait artist, who fled Europe to come to Wells College in 1939. The Hammer Fellowship is a two-year book artist-in-residence program that was founded in 1998 designed to help emerging book artists establish their name in the field. The Hammer Fellow’s expertise and various activities enhance the educational mission of the Book Arts Center and Wells College and increase awareness of the book arts as a field of study and practice both at Wells and in the community at large.

The Book Arts Center teaches introductory courses in letterpress printing, hand bookbinding, calligraphy and various upper-level courses in binding and printing. In addition to courses taught in the academic year, the Book Arts Center offers two week-long series of workshops in the summer at Wells College.

The successful candidate for the Victor Hammer Fellowship in the Book Arts will hold the position for two years, Fall 2016 through Summer 2018. The position includes teaching two courses each semester, one of which will be Hand Bookbinding I. Duties include production of work for Wells College Press, maintenance of Printing, Bindery and Papermaking studios and assisting the director.  The fellowship includes an apprenticeship at the Press and Letterfoundry of Michael and Winifred Bixler in nearby Skaneateles and producing an independent body of work.

Applicants must have extensive experience in binding, letterpress printing and papermaking, experience teaching, and a MFA in Book Arts or a certificate in a related field. Applications should include a CV, 15 digital images of the candidate’s own work, 7 digital images of the candidate’s students’ work, a statement of teaching philosophy, and three letters of recommendation. Since the Fellow will assist in the design and production of poetry broadsides for the Creative Writing Program, as well as announcement posters for Book Arts events, images of any such work would be helpful to the search committee.

Applications are due by March 1, 2016, and are to be submitted as PDF files via an email to wellsjobs@wells.edu with Victor Hammer Fellow noted in the subject line.   Wells College actively seeks to diversify faculty and encourages candidates to apply who can further expand the program through multicultural approaches and is an equal opportunity employer.  No phone calls please.


Richard Kegler - Director
Wells Book Arts Center
Morgan Hall
Wells College
170 Main St
Aurora, New York 13026
315.364.3420

Show your Book Art at Play Theater

Members of PCB are invited to share their books in Play Theater's Small Happenings, a series of three Saturday evening performance on Jan.30th, Feb. 6 and 13th at 7:30 pm. 

Art Books will be shown every evening, and if a member is interested in sharing, contact Barbara Toothpick at www.toopik.com.