American Publishers’ Bindings, Artists of the Book, and the Decorative Arts, Part One (Morning Session)

This one-day symposium sponsored by the Thomas J. Watson Library, held on May 24, 2016, celebrated the Library’s acquisition of late-nineteenth to early twentieth-century American decorated publishers’ bindings. Seven speakers presented on the history, design, manufacture, and conservation of American commercial book covers within the larger fields of the decorative and fine arts.

Morning Session

Opening Remarks

Ken Soehner, Arthur K. Watson Chief Librarian, Thomas J. Watson Library, The Met

Revising Art History: The Art of American Book Covers, 1875–1930

Richard Minsky, Founder, Center for Book Arts

Machines or Women? The Industrialization of Nineteenth-Century American Publishers' Bindings

Todd Pattison, Senior Book Conservator, Northeast Document Conservation Center

An Introduction to Publishers' Bindings in the Collection of the Thomas J. Watson Library

Holly Phillips, Associate Manager, Collection Development and Special Collections, Thomas J. Watson Library, The Met

The Alice C. Morse Collections at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mindell Dubansky, Museum Librarian for Preservation, Thomas J. Watson Library, Sherman Fairchild Center for Book Conservation, The Met