Join us online or in-person at The National Archives, Kew, as we map the birth, history and development of English bookbinding from roll to codex in the late medieval period (1300 – 1500).
The stationery binding is a unique, understudied body of hand-bound blank-book bindings which represent an ordinary element of the medieval to 19th century bookkeeper’s daily life. Discover the structure and materiality of these book bindings and how they were used in their historical context at our exciting one-day event.
The symposium will be split into two parts. A series of talks will give online and in-person attendees an overview of archival practices and how they led to the formation of the English stationary binding structure in the late medieval period.
The talks will be followed by an open display of select bindings from our collection. For in-person attendees, a complimentary lunch will be provided and either a tour of the Collections Care studio or a bookbinding workshop (limited spaces available).
Speakers include:
- Katherine Beaty, Rare-Book Conservator in the Weissman Preservation Centre at Harvard Library. For the past 7 years Katherine has been working on collections of early Italian account books held at Harvard Business School’s Baker Library.
- Stefan G. Holz, Archivist at the State Archives of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart. Stefan specialises in 13th and 14th century English history, as well as the history of South-West Germany.
- Paul Dryburgh, an archivist and historian working as Principle Record Specialist (Medieval) at The National Archives, Kew. Paul specialises in government and society in the British Isles during the 13th and 14th centuries. His current research interests include ecclesiastical records, medieval Ireland, and the materiality of collections.
- Holly Smith, Senior Conservator at The National Archives, Kew. Holly’s research interests include English stationary binding styles and their development.
- Katerina Williams, Archives Material Conservator at The National Archives, Kew. Katerina’s research interests lie in the development of the limp parchment binding style and the development of conservation documentation using linked data and the Semantic Web.
To find out more information and to register for this event, please click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/filling-in-the-blanks-the-genesis-of-the-english-stationery-binding-tickets-638107746447
We look forward to seeing you in October!
Image: Wiki Commons – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
