Fantasy marbling from The Art of Marbling, translated from the German with an introduction and 14 original marbled specimens by Richard J. Wolfe. North Hills, PA: Bird & Bull Press, 1980.
«Watson Library recently displayed a selection of books on marbling and papermaking donated by Mary C. Schlosser, a leader in the Guild of Book Workers and an active member of the Grolier Club. Her generous gift consists of over 390 monographs, exhibition catalogues, and periodicals on the arts of bookbinding, marbling, and papermaking, including Handmade Papers of the World (1979) and three limited editions on the marbling art of Karli Frigge, among them Alchemy & Marbling.»
Maurer-Mathison, Diane V. Making Paste Papers. Spring Mills, PA: D. Maurer, 1994.
A rich and varied collection, Ms. Schlosser's gift includes instructional guides, specimen books, and artists' books. The above accordion-fold instruction book, for example, with original decorative papers, describes the 16th-century art of making paste papers.
Left: Bolton, Claire. Maziarczyk Paste Papers. Oxford: Alembic Press, 1991. Right: Specimen sample from Maziarczyk Paste Papers, sample pattern 6B: base, mauve; top, purple, green, sienna
Other books on paste paper include this intriguing sample book by Claire Maziarczyk, whose inspiration comes from "quilt patterns, an interest in feng shui, and Polish paper cut outs." Her unusual color combinations and range of patterns is striking.
McKitterick, David, and Paul Nash. A New Specimen Book of Curwen Pattern Papers. Andoversford, Gloucestershire: Whittington Press, 1987.
In addition to paste papers, Mary Schlosser's gift includes specimen books on papermaking and printed designs like this Curwen Press retrospective featuring many well-known early 20th-century graphic artists like Thomas Lowinsky, Enid Marx, Paul Nash, and Graham Sutherland.
Left: Paul Nash (1889–1946), first printed in 1928. Right: Graham Sutherland (1903–1980), first printed in 1937. From McKitterick, David, and Paul Nash. A New Specimen Book of Curwen Pattern Papers. Andoversford, Gloucestershire: Whittington Press, 1987.
The 32 tipped-in plates are accompanied by biographies of the artists and were printed at Whittington Court on Zerkall mould-made and Colorplan papers, with pattern papers reprinted at the Senecio Press.
Upper and lower left: Fantasy marbling. Upper right: pattern completed with the needle. Lower right: overmarbling. From Weisse, Franz. The Art of Marbling. North Hills, PA: Bird & Bull Press, 1980.
Easton, Phoebe Jane. Marbling: A History and a Bibliography. Los Angeles: Dawson’s Book Shop, 1983.
Other compendiums include a 300-year survey of German marbling including Peacock, Dutch, Partridge Eye, Spanish Wave, French Curl, and Turkish designs, all marbled by Richard Wolfe; and a history and bibliography of marbling by Pheobe Jane Easton.
Frigge, Karli. Marbled Landscapes. Buren: F. Knuf, 1988.
Ms. Schlosser's gift also includes beautifully crafted artists' books. Dutch bookbinder Karli Frigge's spirited, innovative approaches to marbling are demonstrated above through lyrical marbled landscapes created using classical, combed patterns.
Frigge, Karli. Alchemy & Marbling. Joppe, the Netherlands: Published by Karli Frigge, 1996.
Frigge's recipe book, Alchemy & Marbling, features 24 tipped-in marbling samples that explore the chemistry of color and how different hues react. As shown above, the red border, although a thin orb, contains the varying hues of grey, with the strength of its hue grounding the image.
Awagami Factory. Japanese Hand-Made Paper Samples. 1990s.
An international representation of papermaking, the Schlosser gift also includes Japanese handmade paper samples including Handmade Papers of the World (Tokyo, 1979) and, issued in a kōzo slipcase, this selection of 36 specimens was produced by distributor Hiromi Paper International and includes samples of cedar bark, straw, hemp, synthetic, composite, and traditional washi from Fuji Paper Mills Cooperative in Tokushima, Japan.
In addition to these donations, Watson Library also recently acquired other Japanese papermaking books purchased with funds of the Friends of Thomas J. Watson Library. They include Ōtaka danshi mihonchō (ca.1875), which consists of 72 individual examples of Japanese embossed "leather" paper; Washi: The Soul of Japan (2006-10), 12 volumes of Japanese washi samples; and Tesuki washi taikan (1973-74), five cases of varied uses of washi paper.
You can view these books in person by requesting them on WATSONLINE.