---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nikolas Sarris <sarris1(a)otenet.gr>
Date: Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 9:32 PM
Workshops on Historic Bindings, Patmos 2008
Monastery of Saint John the Theologian
Patmos ,Greece
1-5, 8-12, 15-19 and 22-26 September, 2008
Deadline for applications: 30 July, 2008
The 11th century Greek Orthodox monastery of Saint John the
Theologian is situated on the island of the Apocalypse, Patmos.
It preserves one of the most important monastic libraries of the
Christian world, containing a wealth of Greek bound manuscripts,
early documents and printed books.
Following the success of the program of workshops organized by the
conservation studio of the monastery in 2006 and 2007,
we are pleased to announce the workshops on historic bindings for 2008.
The conservation workshop of the monastery will be hosting four 5-day
long seminars at its premises, during September 2008.
This year, along with 2 practical workshops on historic bookbindings
we have been honoured by the Ligatus Research Unit of
Camberwell College of Art (University of the Arts, London) who will be
joining us to give 2 theoretical courses.
The practical workshops focus on the making of different styles of
historic bindings. The theoretical courses have the subject:
"Identification and recording of bookbinding structures for
conservation and cataloguing" (Ligatus). The aim of the theoretical
classes is to project the information contained in bookbindings of the
15th-19th centuries through their analytical study.
The first 2 weeks will focus on Western European bookbinding (1 week
of theory and 1 week of practical workshop)
and the latter 2 on Greek-Byzantine bookbinding.
Each of the courses is offered individually, since they are
structured as such, however we feel that students may benefit
more from the program by combining each of the theoretical courses
with its corresponding practical one: Weeks 1 & 2
(Western European bookbinding) or Weeks 3 & 4 (Greek-Byzantine bookbinding).
The practical workshops offered will be conducted at the book
conservation studio of the monastery. The theoretical courses
will be held at the library of the monastery. The library holds many
original Byzantine and Western bindings, which will be
examined by the students and used to demonstrate the structures being
discussed during the courses, as well as to
highlight conservation issues.
The cost of the courses is 520 Euros for each week. For the practical
workshops all materials will be provided, however
students will be asked to bring with them some basic bookbinding
tools. The courses will be given in English.
Classes will be starting at 09.00. There will be a coffee break at
10.30 and a lunch break at 13.00, where students
are invited to eat with the monks at the monastery's refectory.
Classes continue after lunch until 17.00. After the
classes there will be enough time to explore the island, to visit the
cave of the Apocalypse or walk around the
beautiful village of Chora.
The classes are open to 12 individuals (theoretical courses) or 8
(practical workshops) from the fields of book
conservation, bookbinding, librarianship or palaeography and those
interested in the history and the making of the book.
Since these are not beginner-level courses, the participants are
expected to be familiar with bookbinding terminology
and have a basic knowledge of the history of book production in the
periods under discussion. Good bookbinding skills
are essential for the practical workshops. A basic knowledge of
databases is also desirable for those who will attend
the course of the fourth week. An analytical schedule of the
theoretical classes is available upon request.
Description of Courses:
Week 1, European Bookbinding 1500 - 1800 (Theoretical course)
Tutor: Professor Nicholas Pickwoad (Ligatus)
1 - 5 September 2008
This course will follow European bookbinding from the end of the
Middle Ages to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution,
using the bindings themselves to illustrate the aims and intentions of
the binding trade. A large part of the course will be
devoted to the identification of both broad and detailed distinctions
within the larger groups of plain commercial bindings
and the possibilities of identifying the work of different countries,
cities, even workshops without reference to finishing
tools. The identification and significance of the different materials
used in bookbinding will be examined, as well as the
classification of bookbindings by structural type, and how these types
developed through the three centuries covered
by the course. The development of binding decoration will be touched
on, but will not form a major part of the discussion.
The course consists of ten 90-minute sessions with slides (over 800
slides will be shown). Actual examples of bindings
are shown and discussed to supplement the slides in separate sessions
in the library of the Monastery of St. John Theologian.
Week 2, Limp and Semi-limp Vellum Bindings (Practical workshop)
Tutor: Flavio Marzo
8 - 12 September 2008
Parchment has always been a very popular and versatile material, in
the history of book making. It was used in the past
mainly as a medium for writing but also as a sewing support or for
spine lining and covering. In more recent times, it has
become a material for conservation, mainly used as a covering
material, due to its stability, strength and flexibility.
In this 5-day course we will produce some examples of bindings where
the use of parchment will be the basis of the structures.
Based on true historical binding structures that originate from Italy
and the broader geographic area of South-eastern Europe,
we will produce 3 different long-stitch, limp and semi-limp vellum
bindings, within the current concepts of conservation.
Limp and semi-limp book structures have been studied and developed by
important leading conservators, such as Chris
Clarkson and Prof. Nicholas Pickwoad. The Florence flood experience
of the 1960s gave, during this emergency situation,
a rare opportunity to study, many different book structures. It was
apparent that limp structures in paper and parchment
were the most adaptable and resistant to the devastating effects of
the flood. The flexibility of the structure, free from
stiff and thick layers of glue on the spine and without the hindrance
of glued leather or parchment boards, gave better
protection to the text block and resulted in simpler and less invasive
subsequent conservation treatments.
Week 3, A practical introduction to Byzantine Binding (Practical workshop)
Tutor: John Mumford
15 - 19 September 2008
This 5-day course is an introduction to Byzantine bookbinding. The
model that will be made is based on a 15th c. manuscript
binding currently housed at the British Library, (Royal.1.A.xv -
Bible, St.Nilos commentaries). The workshop will include all the
stages for the completion of the model. Through a series of practical
demonstrations the student will gain an understanding of
the construction of a Byzantine binding which will include sewing,
board preparation, endbands, and covering with leather.
They will then embellish their bindings with blind tooled decoration,
drawing on the classic motifs used on historical Byzantine
bindings, with finishing tools copied from original impressions.
Finally, they will construct the edge pins and laced leather straps.
Week 4, Byzantine Bookbinding and Bookbinding Documentation
(Theoretical course)
Tutors: Dr. George Boudalis & Dr. Athanasios Velios (Ligatus)
22 - 26 September 2008
This 5-day course will be divided in two interconnected sessions. The
first session, run by Dr. Georgios Boudalis, will focus
upon the major structural and decorative features of the Byzantine and
post-Byzantine bookbindings and their evolution in time
and space. The relation of these bindings with the early bindings of
the Coptic and other Eastern Mediterranean cultures will
also be discussed. This session will consist of eight 90-minute
PowerPoint presentations supplemented by hands-on sessions
in which original bookbindings from the library of the St.John
Theologian Monastery will be examined.
The second session will be run by Dr. Athanasios Velios and will deal
with the data management and storage of bookbinding
information. This session is updated this year to include recent
advancements in the use of XML for recording bookbindings.
Alongside a brief reference to the relational databases this session
will mainly involve discussions on a) the semantic web
and XML, b) commercial and open source software options for XML
documents, c) job advertising for XML database developers
and administrators, and d) long-term preservation of digital XML data.
A large part of this session will be devoted to the actual
development and use of an XML schema for recording binding details.
This session will consist of two 90-minutes presentations
and eight 90-minutes hands-on workshops, at the end of which the
students will have the chance to record bookbindings from
the library of the Monastery using the XML schema that they created.
Basic knowledge of database use is desirable for this course.
Applications for the courses should be made by email to Nikolas
Sarris (info(a)patmosworkshop.com) with the subject
"Patmos Bookbinding Workshops 2008". The applicant must state the
course/s he/she is interested in attending as well
as a short biography, showing relevant experience with the subjects of
the courses.
For more information please visit:
www.patmosworkshop.com
or contact:
Nikolas Sarris
Supervisor of Book Conservation Studio,
St. John Theologian Monastery
Patmos, Greece
info(a)patmosworkshop.com
============================================
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(For Books about Greece)
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E-mail : kalamosbooks(a)gmail.com
www.kalamosbooks.com