Workshop 2008
The conservation workshop of the monastery hosted four 5-day long seminars at its premises, during September 2008
- EUROPEAN BOOKBINDING 1500 - 1800
(Tutor: Professor Nicholas Pickwoad)
Date: 1-5 September 2008 | Maximum class number: 12
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. The exact schedule for the theoretical seminar can be provided on demand for who ever is interested.
- LIMP AND SEMI-LIMP VELLUM BINDINGS COURS
(Tutor: professor Flavio Marzo)
Date: 8-12 September 2008 | Maximum class number: 8
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 Southeastern 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.
An example of a semi-limp parchment binding
- A PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION TO BYZANTINE BINDING
(Tutor: John Mumford)
Date: 15-19 September 2008 | Maximum class number: 8 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 the original impressions. Finally, they will construct the edge pins and laced leather straps
Model based on the 15th century Byzantine binding of Greek manuscript Royal 1.A.xv (Bible, St. Nilos commentaries) from the British Library.
- BYZANTINE BOOKBINDING AND BOOKBINDING DOCUMENTATION
(Tutors: Dr. George Boudalis & Dr. Athanasios Vellos)
Date: 22-26 September 2008 | Maximum class number: 12 This five-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. The exact schedule for the theoretical seminar can be provided on demand for who ever is interested.
Photos from Workshops of 2008
