Workshop 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 the making of historic bookbindings we have been honoured by the Ligatus Research Unit of Camberwell College of Arts (University of the Arts London) who will be joining us to give 2 theoretical weekly 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 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 would benefit more from the program by combining each of the theoretical courses with its corresponding practical one: Weeks 1&2 (European bookbinding) or Weeks 3&4 (Greek-Byzantine bookbinding). The aim of running a program of workshops is to gradually extend the functions and character of the book conservation workshop and the library of the monastery into a centre for education and an international meeting point for book conservators, palaeographers, curators and librarians, which will promote research on bookbinding and the conservation of books, both for the specific collection as well as for the subject as a whole. A place where tutors, professionals and students will get together and will in turn offer their knowledge, advice and experience for the organisation of research and the projection, preservation and conservation of the collection of manuscripts and printed books of the monastic library and beyond.
- EUROPEAN BOOKBINDING 1500 - 1800
(Tutor: professor Nicholas Pickwoad)
Date: 1-5 September 2008 | Maximum class number: 12 | Course fee: 520 € 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 | Course fee: 520 € 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 | Course fee: 520 € 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 | Course fee: 520 € 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.
Courses structure
Classes will be starting at 09.00. There will be a coffee break in the morning 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, enjoy the beaches and the sea, 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 (but not essential) for those who will attend the course of the fourth week. Although the courses can be attended individually, participants are encouraged to attend a pair of theory-practice (Weeks 1 & 2 or Weeks 3 & 4) in order to get a more complete understanding of the issues discussed. For participants interested only on the practical workshops, the combination of weeks 2&3 is also recommended. An analytical schedule is available following request.
Applications
Applications for the courses should be made by email to Nikolas Sarris (info{at}patmosworkshop{dot}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.
Time Table
| Tutor | Course | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Prof. Nicholas Pickoad | European bookbinding 1450-1820 (theory) | 1-5 September |
| Flavio Marzo | Limp and semi-limp bookbindings from Italy and Southeast Europe (practice). | 8-12 September |
| John Mumford | A practical Introduction to Byzantine bookbinding (practice) | 15-19 September |
| Dr.G.Boudalis & Dr.A.Velios | Byzantine bookbinding and bookbinding documentation (theory) | 22-26 September |
The Tutors
Prof. Pickwoad is the project leader of the St. Catherine’s Library Conservation Project based at Camberwell College of Art (University of the Arts London). He has been Advisor on Book Conservation to the National Trust of Great Britain from 1978 and Chief Conservator in the Harvard University Library (1992-95). He also teaches courses in both Europe and America on the history of European bookbinding.
Workshops' organiser
Nikolas Sarris
Nikolas Sarris is the supervisor of the book conservation studio at the monastery of St. John Theologian, Patmos. He has worked as a book conservator at the British Library (2004-06) and at the UCL Strange Print Room. He collaborates with the Ligatus Research Unit on research related to the St. Catherine’s Library Conservation Project since 2001. He is currently undertaking an A.H.R.C. (Arts and Humanities Research Board) funded PhD with the title: ‘Classification of Finishing Tools in Byzantine/Greek Bookbinding: Establishing Links for Manuscripts from the Library of the St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, Egypt.
* Ligatus
Ligatus is being established as a research unit of the University of the Arts, London, based in Camberwell College of Art. Ligatus’s main research projects currently include the assessment of the condition of the books in the St Catherine’s Monastery Library in Sinai and the development of and English-Greek glossary of bookbinding terms. The Unit introduces innovative technologies and their application to bookbinding description and bookbinding conservation.
>> www.ligatus.org.uk