In response to the present day revival of interest in fine printing and binding, this unique volume highlights several of North America's special collections focusing on various aspects of the history and art of the book. Experts describe the scope, value, and utility of diverse collections in Canada, New York, California, Washington, New Jersey, and more, that reflect the collecting interests of librarians and private donors. Bibliophiles will be fascinated by the historical overviews of the collections on calligraphy, papermaking, bookbinding, printing, and illustration and the insight into the future direction of library acquisitions. The addition of a list of readings provides a basic framework and helpful suggestions for further reading on the topics covered in this definitive book.

In the seventeenth century, the Persian city of Isfahan was a crossroads of international trade and diplomacy. Manuscript paintings produced within the city’s various cultural, religious, and ethnic groups reveal the vibrant artistic legacy of the Safavid Empire. Published to coincide with an exhibition at the Getty Museum, Book Arts of Isfahan offers a fascinating account of the ways in which the artists of Isfahan used their art to record the life around them and at the same time define their own identities within a complex society.

Artists' books have emerged over the last 25 years as the quintessential contemporary art form, addressing subjects as diverse as poetry and politics, incorporating a full spectrum of artistic media and bookmaking methods, and taking every conceivable form. Female painters, sculptors, calligraphers, and printmakers, as well a growing community of hobbyists, have played a primary role in developing this new mode of artistic expression. The Book as Art presents more than 100 of the most engaging women's artist books created by major fine artists such as Meret Oppenheim, May Stevens, Kara Walker, and Renee Stout and distinguished book artists such as Susan King, Ruth Laxson, Claire Van Vliet, and Julie Chen. Culled from over 800 unique or limited-edition volumes held by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, these books explore the form as a container for ideas. Descriptions of the works are accompanied by colorful illustrations and reflections by their makers, along with essays by leading scholars and a lively introduction by the most famous book artist in our culture, best-selling author Audrey Niffenegger. The exquisitely crafted objects in the The Book as Art are sure to provoke unexpected and surprising conclusions about what constitutes a book. The Book as Art accompanies the exhibition of the same name at the Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., beginning in October 2006.

DIV As the “book” morphs and evolves into a malleable, digital file, interest in the classic form is reignited in book lovers and crafters. Book Art Studio Handbook offers readers a comprehensive and accessible guide to not only the nuts and bolts of this classic art, but insight into the artisan’s lifestyle. This book goes beyond quick craft projects and into the heart of bookmaking, binding, letterpress printing, decorative cover techniques, book conservation, and other book arts. It is an essential companion book for all paper lovers and bibliophiles—especially as the book as object becomes more prominent a concept. /div

Addresses the themes of the book as object, subject, and concept, including artist-made books, deconstructed books, and book installations

Discover what happens when you add artmaking and bookbinding together. With Book + Art, explore the basics of surfaces, images and words in order to create provocative works of art with layers of meaning. Whether you're altering a pre-made book or creating your own, here you'll find both the instruction and the inspiration to get it done. In addition to learning mixed-media techniques—such as how to age paper, transfer images and make your own monoprints—you'll be given step-by-step instruction for numerous book structures including: • Single-fold and bi-fold books • Simple and extended accordions • Perfect bindings • Side-sewn books • Single- and multiple-signature books • Boxes • Unbound collections Add the art of the book and the book as art to your own artmaking repertoire today and start making your own meaningful artists' books. Foreword by Judith A. Hoffberg, Editor and Publisher of Umbrella.

Innovative approach to bookbinding explains techniques that elevate handmade books into extraordinary artworks. Simple, well-illustrated directions explain how to make pop-up panels, pages that "explode" from the spine, slipcases, and more.

The book as object, as content, as idea, as interface. What is the book in a digital age? Is it a physical object containing pages encased in covers? Is it a portable device that gives us access to entire libraries? The codex, the book as bound paper sheets, emerged around 150 CE. It was preceded by clay tablets and papyrus scrolls. Are those books? In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Amaranth Borsuk considers the history of the book, the future of the book, and the idea of the book. Tracing the interrelationship of form and content in the book's development, she bridges book history, book arts, and electronic literature to expand our definition of an object we thought we knew intimately. Contrary to the many reports of its death (which has been blamed at various times on newspapers, television, and e-readers), the book is alive. Despite nostalgic paeans to the codex and its printed pages, Borsuk reminds us, the term “book” commonly refers to both medium and content. And the medium has proved to be malleable. Rather than pinning our notion of the book to a single form, Borsuk argues, we should remember its long history of transformation. Considering the book as object, content, idea, and interface, she shows that the physical form of the book has always been the site of experimentation and play. Rather than creating a false dichotomy between print and digital media, we should appreciate their continuities.

The celebrated text on the history of the book, completely revised, updated and expanded The revised and updated edition of The Companion to the History of the Book offers a global survey of the book’s history, through print and electronic text. Already well established as a standard survey of the historiography of the book, this new, expanded edition draws on a decade of advanced scholarship to present current research on paper, printing, binding, scientific publishing, the history of maps, music and print, the profession of authorship and lexicography. The text explores the many approaches to the book from the early clay tablets of Sumer, Assyria and Babylonia to today’s burgeoning electronic devices. The expert contributions delve into such fascinating topics as archives and paperwork, and present new chapters on Arabic script, the Slavic, Canadian, African and Australasian book, new textual technologies, and much more. Containing a wealth of illustrative examples and case studies to dramatize the exciting history of the book, the text is designed for academics, students and anyone interested in the subject.

Every one of these astonishing and original projects will redefine your idea of how a book should look. No simple rectangles here, but one-of-a-kind volumes folded like an accordion; shaped and themed, with windows and envelopes; thickly sewn and decoratively woven; dressed in "wedding netting" for a bride; and made out of paper bags. There are even containers for protection and display, and they can enhance the meaning of a book's text. Along with advice on paints, inks, stencils, transfers, and distressed covers, you'll find fun ways to make collaborative books, including ones to create with a child.