Colliniana 2023-24 - Ernst Collin Updates

It is past due time for another Ernst Collin related update, something I have tried to do on his birthday of 31 May. As with the last one, there have been few new findings. Much of that does back to my slower pace of life, yet I was still able to find some things.

Of most interest was making use of our Ancestry.com subscription to search for anything on the Collins. Successes were to be had, also in terms of the "other Ernst". These certificates are the only official confirmation of the other facts that led to the disambiguation of these two Ernsts previously described in the "Tale of Two Ernsts" from 2013. Ernst Heinrich and Else were "deported" to Auschwitz where they were murdered in December 1942. Heinrich Ernst and Margareta were able to emigrate.

The first is a birth certificate for Ernst Heinrich Collin (note the name), son of Georg and Regina Collin.

Ernst Heinrich Collin, born 31 May 1886 to Georg and Regina Collin.

Note the dated stamps at right. The top indicates that per the Namensänderungsgesetz,
Israel was added to all Jewish males, and Ernst on 18 March 1939.
The stamp below from 1952 rescinds that law and removes the Israel.

Below the marriage certificate for Ernst Collin and Else Cronheim dated 13 November 1913. Note again the stamps at right adding Israel and Sara to Ernst's and Else's names, as well as the stamp rescinding that law.

Marriage certificate for Ernst Heinrich Collin and Else Cronheim.

After finding these documents, it was not difficult to find the marriage certificate for the "other" Ernst. Heinrich Ernst Collin (note the name and compare to "our Ernst") was married to Margareta Weisgerber on 4 October 1923. There are no stamps with name changes, perhaps because they were able to emigrate before ... However, to provide continuing material for confusion, his collection at the Leo Baeck shows him as Ernst Heinrich, with a birthdate of February 10th (the marriage certificate says the 20th), however the address of residence on Hubertusalle matches that from the 1928 Addressbuch... 

Marriage certificate for Heinrich Ernst Collin and Margareta Weisgerber
dated 4 October 1923.

I was also able to find similar documentation for Georg and Regina Collin (Ernst Heinrich's parents) as well as Getrude Collin (Ernst's sister) who continued the firm of W. Collin, and who passed in London (UK) 28 September 1986.

In December of 2022 I received a copy of Meisterhafte Unikate, the catalog to, and history of the Meister der Einbandkunst's (MDE) 100th anniversary exhibition. Notable was the large number of Ernst Collin citations in the sections about the early history of the MDE.

In other news, in early 2023 I got the kind of email that made may day in a wonderful way. A colleague shared some images of a very large multi-volume set that had come into the conservation lab at Johns Hopkins University for some work before being returned to its rightful place in the collections. The set had come to attention because it had decorated a retiring library Dean's office... What made the set special to me was that the set had been bound by W. Collin, Court bookbinders in Berlin, and came with some important provenance.

Finally, Google Maps recently updated its Streetview images for Berlin, and the Stolpersteine can finally be seen, sort of. Read the story of how they were placed here.

Detail from Google Streetview of Cicerostr 61 in Berlin.

Holocaust Memorial Day and the Collins

January 27^th is recognized as Holocaust Memorial Day, the day of the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz in 1945. With the increasing and ongoing spread of totalitarian movements, rhetoric, and imagery across the globe, it is important to remember the past and where it can lead if we are not vigilant and push back at all times.

Ernst and Else Collin from the catalog to the Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung of 1929, an image of a painting by Walter Kampmann. Ernst is sitting in a chair with a book [paper], and holding a writing instrument, his head seemingly lost in thought resting in his palm. A woman, presumably his wife Else (nee Cronheim) almost has him in embrace, one hand on his right arm, with her left almost on his shoulder. More here.

Ernst and Else Collin were deported to Auschwitz on December 9^th, 1942 and murdered there. But, their horrors started much earlier, officially with the rise to power of the Nazis in 1933, and their systematic exclusion from public places, education, their places of work, their ability to live their lives freely, and so much more.

III) Transportliste: 24. Osttransport mit 1061 gelisteten Namen in das KL Auschwitz, 09.12.1942.
Note the Israel or Sara in the name. These were added by the Nazis to all Jewish individuals.
Page from the Transportliste for the 24th deportation from Berlin to Auschwitz, 12.9.1942.
The address for the Collins is from the Judenhaus at Aschaffenburgerstr. 6 in Berlin where they
were picked up, most likely the now yellow building.

Image of the Transportliste from the Arolsen Archives.

From there they were taken to the freight station in Moabit where a memorial was dedicated to those deported to their deaths. Other information links their deportation train to "Gleis 17" of the Bahnhof Grunewald and to their deaths. That platform is now a memorial with the dates of the transport in steel as part of the platform. More here. The Deutsche Reichsbahn (German railways) was very complicit in these transports, and created this as a "central memorial" to those deported and the role of the railway. 

Detail from the memorial by Axel Mauruszat.

On April 1, 2014, almost 10 years ago, two Stolpersteine (Stumbling Blocks) were laid to memorialize Ernst Collin and his wife Else (nee Cronheim) in front of the entrance to their home at Cicerostr 61 in Berlin. Stolpersteine are "monuments" created by Gunter Demnig that commemorate victims of the Holocaust. They are small, cobblestone-sized memorials for an individual victim of Nazism – both those who died and survivors – who were consigned by the Nazis to prisons, euthanasia facilities, sterilization clinics, concentration camps, and extermination camps, as well as those who responded to persecution by emigrating or committing suicide". The "stones" record the name of the individual, their birthday, and their fate. In Berlin the Koordinierungsstelle Stolpersteine works together with Stolperstein Initiatives in the various city districts, in this case Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

Photo Gerhard Schumm, 4.1.2014

Google Maps recently updated its Streetview images for Berlin, and the Stolpersteine can finally be seen, sort of.

Detail from Google Streetview of Cicerostr 61 in Berlin.

NIE WIEDER!

NEVER AGAIN!

Picturing Ernst Collin

I've always wanted to put a face to the name. In the case of Ernst Collin that was, sadly, not possible. I got excited recently when I decided to look for Ernst Collin on Ancestry.com and found someone whose profile indicated that they had two images. As we say in German, Fehlanzeige... The images were those of the marriage certificate between Ernst Heinrich Collin and Else Cronheim that I had also found there. This was very important because for the first time I had an official, documented connection to his parents Georg Collin and Regina Collin (nee Josef) who were also listed on the certificate. Otherwise, all connections were embedded in his often-self-referential articles. In contrast, there are images of his doppelgänger Heinrich Ernst Collin-Schönfeld in the latter's papers at the Leo Baeck in New York. His marriage certificate to Margarete Weisgerber-Collin was also available in Ancestry confirming those details.

But a confirmed photo of the Ernst Collin of the Pressbengel ... has still not been found.

There was a photograph that appeared in both of Ernst's two articles about binding in fish skin (both 1934) showing the customer sizing up a fish that might be used on his binding. In that image, the customer is shown from behind and slightly to the side, but not identifiable. For me, that was Ernst, I wanted it to be him.

Is the customer at right Ernst Collin?
Holding the fish at left is Franz Martini, the binder.
Ernst took the images for the article, so was there.

A year or two after finding that image, I found a wonderfully expressionist ex-libris for an Ernst Collin that was created by Walter Kampmann in 1920. Featured in the ex-libris was a face. In circumstances like that it is easy to jump to conclusions, and I did. The ex-libris was found in a bound volume of Die Heftlade, the "modest" bookbinding journal published 1922-24 by Ernst Collin for the Jakob-Krause-Bund. The reason for trading-up was that this copy had all inserts and the remaining two issues from 1924. The Heftlade did not appear in 1923. Among the inserts was one to accompany an article on collecting ex-libris by Ernst. 

Ernst Collin ex-libris by Walter Kampmann, 1920.

It's been a while since I was actively searching for articles by, and mentions of Ernst Collin, but I recently came across the journal Exlibris Buchkunst und angewandte Grafik, volume 31, 1921. In it, an article by Ernst about Walter Kampman that also included the ex-libris above among many others. In the article Ernst also described his ex-libris, providing the confirmation that this was his, and not the "other Ernst's".  

Passage in which Ernst interprets his ex-libris.
Below, the transcribed text.

Das nächste Exlibris Ernst Collin [Beil. zw. S. 52/53] hat der Künstler dem Verfasser dieses Aufsatzes gewidmet. Es gilt dem Kunstkritiker. Dessen Kopf nimmt, ruhend auf einer Feder, die von Fingern geführt wird, die Diagonale des Bildes ein. Es soll der Kopf des Kunstkritikers sein; die Augen hinter der Brille sind geradeaus gerichtet, ein Symbol der kunstkritischen Arbeit, die, vorurteilslos und unbeeinflußt, nur geradeaus schauen darf. Es ist nicht uninteressant, hier zu erwähnen, daß der Künstler nicht beabsichtigt hat, in den Kopf eine Bildnisähnlichkeit hineinzulegen, daß mir aber von Freunden versichert worden ist, sie hätten mich sofort erkannt. Von dem Finger geht eine Treppe aus, die zu einem Hause führt; vor diesem steht der Künstler, an der Staffelei malend. Er steht auf einer Rahmenleiste, die ein nur zum Teil sichtbares Bild mit einer tanzenderscheinenden Figur umrahmt. Der Aufbau des Bildes ist sehr konzentriert, Licht und Schatten sind dem Charakter der Darstellung gemäß streng und rhythmisch verteilt. Hier kommt Kampmann, wie er es bereits bei einigen vorhergehenden, hier nicht ab gebildeten Exlibris getan hat, zu einer freieren und doch der Zeichnung sich an- und eingliedernden Anordnung der Schrift. Die aufsteigende Anordnung bei dem Eigennamen meines Exlibris scheint mir die aufbauende Arbeit des Kritikers andeuten zu sollen.

And in English with a little help from Deepl for expedience:

The artist dedicated the next bookplate to Ernst Collin [insert between p. 52/53], the author of this essay. It is dedicated to the art critic. His head, resting on a feather guided by fingers, occupies the diagonal of the picture. It is supposed to be the head of the art critic; the eyes behind the glasses are directed straight ahead, a symbol of the work of art criticism, which, unprejudiced and uninfluenced, may only look straight ahead. It is not uninteresting to mention here that the artist did not intend the head to resemble a portrait, but that I have been assured by friends that they recognized me immediately. A staircase leads from the finger to a house; the artist is standing in front of it, painting at an easel. He is standing on a frame that surrounds a picture of a dancing figure that is only partially visible. The composition of the picture is very concentrated with light and shadow distributed strictly and rhythmically in accordance with the character of the depiction. Here, as he has already done in some previous ex-libris not depicted here, Kampmann has arrived at a freer arrangement of the lettering, which nevertheless adapts and integrates itself into the drawing. The ascending arrangement of the proper name of my bookplate seems to me to indicate the critic's constructive work.

Recently, eight years later, I found yet another work by Walter Kampmann depicting Ernst Collin in the catalog to the Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung of 1929. While the first was very expressionist, this one is a little less so, and depicts him in a chair with a [notebook] and holding a writing instrument, his head seemingly lost in thought resting in his palm. A woman, presumably his wife Else (nee Cronheim) almost has him in embrace, one hand on his right arm, with her left almost on his shoulder. As item 73 in the catalog, it is described as a painting (Gemälde), with the "N[G]" possibly indicating that Kampmann was a member of the "Novembergruppe", a group of expressionist artists. 

Image from the Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg's 
digital collections.

The search for a photograph will continue, but given that so much of Ernst's writings were focused on the arts and art criticism these are quite lovely to view.

More decorated papers from Deutsche Einbandkunst, 1921

I recently acquired 2 more copies of the catalog to Deutsche Einbandkunst edited by, and also with an article by, Ernst Collin. Why more copies, well the catalog was produced in two versions, a deluxe of twenty unbound copies on handmade wove rag (I-XX), with the remaining copies (21-2,000) on a machine-made wove rag paper. My copy of the deluxe edition (Nr. XX) was bound in an unsigned ¼ leather binding with cloth sides and gilt top edge. It is the regular edition copies in their decorated  paper wrappers made or provided by ten different decorated papermakers.

I shared the first batch of three here. Below, the next two:

Copy # 852, paper made by Theo Paul Hermann, Leipzig.
This is a printed paste paper (Kleisterdruck)

Copy # 921, paper made by Anne-Marie Irmler, Berlin.
An expressionistic stenciled paper, "schabloniertes Papier."
She is mentioned in an article that appeared in the Papier-Fabrikant,
a paper trades publication. (749-750)

Not going to make a habit of aquiring more copies unless the papers really grab me... 😂

Colliniana 2021-22 - Ernst Collin Updates

Today, on Ernst Collin's birthday, I once again share an overview of findings from the past year. For a variety of reasons, things have slowed down around this blog and my ongoing research around Ernst and his family of W. Collin. Reasons include the copyright "wall" that is moving forward a year at a time, but also less time and energy on my part. We'll call it burn out that affects much more than this work. That said, there were some exciting moments. That said, almost none of what I have found and learned would have been possible without digitized collections such as HathiTrust and the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.

My article 'Ernst Collin und sein Pressbengel: Eine Spurensuche zum Buchbinder, Schriftsteller, Antiquar und Bibliophilen' appeared in the Marginalien of the Pirckheimer Gesellschaft, a German bibliophilic organization originally based in Berlin. With this article, I formally reintroduced Ernst Collin and his family to those they bound for, and he wrote for. The article also shared some findings "discovered" since Die Collins / The Collins appeared in 2016.

Hier gehts zum Download | Download here

Opening spread of the article. On the right Ernst Collin's exlibris
by  Walter Kampmann. The exlibris was included in the first
volume of Die Heftlade.

We know that Ernst Collin wrote for a very wide range of publications, so I was not surprised by the advertising leaflet for Dornemann I found bound in with several Paul Kersten texts on finishing and tooling that someone had compiled. Also bound in were several more leaflets for Dornemann by Kersten. These kinds of things are rather ephemeral, and I was not able to find the ones I have in the catalog of the German National Library, that has a large collection. Dornemann was one of the largest manufacturers of brass finishing tools and type in Germany, and the pallets and gouges I have were made by them.

Brass type for the hand-finisher. [n.d.] 

However, most of all, I was absolutely surprised to have discovered a copy of the deluxe edition of Ernst's Pressbengel bound in parchment when I really wasn't looking. Ordered and now in my collection of the editions of this work. There were a total of 30 copies of the deluxe that could be ordered in parchment or leather, bindings by Hübel & Denck, Leipzig.

Printed in Didot-Antiqua onto VERY heavy/stiff Zanders ragpaper.
This is number 7. Sadly, they weren't signed.

We'll see if a copy of the deluxe in leather ever appears on my screen...

I also continue to find reference to the Pressbengel, Die Heftlade, and Paul Kersten by Ernst Collin in book trade publications. Below a listing from September 23, 1922 for the Pressbengel in the Wöchentliches Verzeichnis der erschienenen und der vorbereiteten Neuigkeiten des deutschen Buchhandels published by the Deutsche Bücherei. The Wöchentliches Verzeichnis indicated new publications. There was also a review in the Börsenblatt für den deutschen Buchhandel, 30 October, 1922.

Note the prices. This was still relatively early in the period
of hyperinflation. These prices would have reflected the values in
the paper money of the time...

The Zeitschrift für Bücherfreunde published a continuation of the "discussion" around the Pressbengel, as well as a brief "review" of Collin's three publications mentioned above. More about the "discussion" here.

Then, under "this makes me happy", mention on Facebook of my downloadable sheets for binding my translation of the Pressbengel (The Bone Folder). This was shared by a bindery in Whitley Bay, UK:

Just recently I came across a website with a free download of "The Bone Folder" by Ernst Collin. A very readable little book, it was first published in 1922 and takes the form of a conversation between a book lover and a bookbinder. The imposition has already been done, and it folds into five sections. It would make a nice little project for members who have completed our basic course. I have run off some extra labels if anyone would like to bind up their own copy. The website where it can be found is https://pressbengel.blogspot.com/.

That's what the sheets are there for, and I'm very glad to see them being shared. Download link in the left panel or here.

In the Berliner Börsen-Zeitung of April 10, 1924 (a kind of Wall Street Journal) I found a reference to the "hiatus" during 1923 of the Heftlade, the journal Ernst Collin published for the Jakob-Krause-Bund. 1923 was the worst of the period of hyperinflation... The brief article mentions that the Heftlade was back with 2 issues and was looking forward to the future... Sadly, that was it, except for a seemingly random issue in 1925.

Downloading another article from HathiTrust, I was very pleased to discover that a W. Collin binding I have was depicted in Deutsche Einbandkunst im ersten Jahrzehnt des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts by the great German bibliophile and author of the time G.A.E. Bogeng.

W. Collin binding on Adolf von Menzel.

My work around Ernst Collin and W. Collin was also an integral part of my talk, Down the Rabbit Hole: Embracing experience and serendipity in a life of research, binding practice, and publishing, given to the William Anthony Conservation Lecture series at the University of Iowa on September 30th, 2021. The Collins were one of the three rabbit holes I discussed, one I am still glad to be lost in.

Finally, while not technically citing Die Collins / The Collins or this blog, I was glad to see both included with paraphrasing, images, and in the references of the Tagebuch der Buchbinderei und Druckweiterverarbeitung (Band 4, 19. Jahrhundert) that was compiled by Hans Joachim Laue. The self-published volume presents events in the history of bookbinding and the book trades with an entry per day. I look forward to Band 5, the 20th century. 

My to-do list includes entering many of these references into my database of Ernst Collin's writings...

Promotional Leaflet by Ernst Collin for Dornemann & Co.

Back in September 2021 I acquired a binding containing two small publications by Paul Kersten and 5 advertising leaflets for type holders and brass type made by Dornemann & Co. in Magdeburg. Two were written by Paul Kersten, two unattributed, and one is by Ernst Collin. Collin was  no stranger to commercial work, also having written articles for Wilhelm Leo that were included in a calendar that they published annually.

P. Kersten. Geometrisches Zeichnen u Handvergoldung.
The title is hand letter on the cloth.

Works included in the binding are:

• Kersten, Paul. Geometrisches Zeichnen für Buchbinder. Verlag des Allgemeinen Anzeigers für Buchbindereien, Stuttgart, 1928. (Geometric Diagramming for Bookbinders)
• This text came out in a new edition in 1935 with one section rewritten to reflect the new power structure - how to properly represent the swastika. Perhaps a post for another day.
• Kersten, Paul. Lehrbuch der Handvergoldung: Eine Anleitung zum Selbsterlernen. Verlag von Wilhelm Knapp, Halle a. Saale, 1930. (Manual for Finishing: Instructions for learning on ones own)

Werbeschriften (Advertising leaflets):

• Kersten, Paul. Etwas über Schriftkästen. Dornemann & Co., Magdeburg, [s.d.] (About Typeholders)
• Kersten, Paul. Messing- oder Blei-Schriften. Werbeschrift Nr. 4. Dornemann & Co., Magdeburg, [s.d.] (Brass or Lead Type)
• [s.n.]. Schriftkästen. Dornemann & Co., Magdeburg, 1928. 
• [s.n.]. Messingschrift-Giesserei Dornemann & Co., Magdeburg. Werbeschrift Nr. 8, Dornemann & Co., Magdeburg, [s.d.]. (Brass Type Foundery Dornemann & Co., Magdeburg - about the foundery) Written in German, French, English, Spanish. (Boîtes, Typeholders, Cajetínes Composteurs, Lettering Pallets)
• Collin, Ernst. Messingschriften für den Handvergolder. Werbeschrift Nr. 3, Dornemann & Co., Magdeburg, [s.d.]. (Brass Type for Gold Finishers)

While the German National Library has others of the series of Werbeschriften in its catalog, these do not appear...

Here the English page of Messingschrift-Giesserei Dornemann & Co. These sentiments are also reflected in Collin's leaflet.

Brass Type for Hand=Finishing!

We are the only firm in Germany able to cast Brass Type for hand=tooling from instruments and matrices. This is the only process giving _bsolute guarantee for producing the highest grade type. Our Founts are famous for their clear face and deep cut even in the smallest sizes, the alignment of the letters is perfectly true and the height absolutely correct. The composition of metal used by us proves to have greatest resistance power and with care our type is practically indestructible, whilst owing to mass production our prices can be considered reasonable taking info consideration the high finish.

Our brass type is known all over the globe where book finishers pride themselves in turning out good bindings and letterings, and both at home and abroad the superior quality of our productions are universally acknowledged. One of fhe best known craftsmen in Paris considers 

"The name of Dornemann is synonymous with perfection!"

We are constantly endeavouring to keep our output up to the highest standard of efficiency as regards artistic and modern perfection, and our type will be found most durable. All goldfinishers requiring type, ornaments, and gilding tools for handlettering should apply fo us for samples and catalogues.

[Edit: To learn how these Dornemann type faces were cast, read "Sandcasting brass types for bookbinders" on Dan Reynold's Type Off  blog.

Below the German text of Collin's pamphlet.

When I returned from my apprenticeship in Germany, I ordered a basic set of pallets and gouges for finishing from via the West German distributor for Dornemann, still in Magdeburg and in the DDR.

Dornemann also produced a set of pallets and gouges designed by Ignatz Wiemeler, one of the finest design binders, ever.

In 1987, pre-reunification the pallets were 229  and the gouges 285 Deutsch Marks. In 1991 I ordered the other set of gouges and the price had increased to 557 Deutsch Marks. For this Wessi, it would have been smarter to buy all in 1987, but who would have known the wall would come down 2 years later. All in all, good that it came down.

Looking east and at the building for the State Publisher of the DDR.
This picture and the next were taken by me in November 1984.
More from that visit and the one in December 1989 here.

Looking over the wall. The image was taken with a telephoto.
Between the Wall (Ebertstrasse) and the Staatsverlag (Wilhelmstrasse)
was once Hitlers bunker... Now the "death strip" has been filled in with buildings,
but just to the left of this picture is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

History is everywhere, and Ernst Collin and his family were certainly a part of it on many levels.

Pressbengel Deluxe Edition

Sometime late this summer while googling around aimlessly, I found a link to what was described as the deluxe edition of Ernst Collin's Pressbengel bound in full parchment. This was on my bucket list and given that it was limited to 30 copies bound in either full leather or parchment, the time it was published in, and the history of that time, including WW II, I felt it was nothing but a dream. The Heftlade the journal of the Jakob-Krause-Bundes published by Ernst Collin had an advertisement for the Pressbengel. A copy of the deluxe in leather is depicted in the Max Hettler collection collection in Stuttgart, the binding for both variants bound for the Euphorion Verlag by Hübel & Denck in Leipzig. 

Regular with spine of deluxe bound in parchment at left.
The title stamping is identical between the leather and
parchment variants of the deluxe edition.

Der Pressbengel, 1000 copies bound in paper,
30 copies on handmade Zanders rag paper, bound 
in full leather or parchment.

Below the pricing for the Pressbengel, leather or parchment for 85 Marks, paper for 4.50 Marks. This was during the period of hyper-inflation that started the end of 1922 and extended through 1923, so I will need to do some real math as hyperinflation currency was printed at ever greater denominations. A website that converts historical currency values calculated that 85 Mark (1922) has a value of $3931.93 current dollars, and 4.50 Mark (1922) $208.16 current dollars. Can that be right? More on hyper-inflation in my annual post from 2020.

85 [Gold] Marks for the deluxe, 4.50 for the paper binding

Anyhow, back to the listing I found googling... I had not given myself a top-end budget for the deluxe, so ordered on the spot and had it arrive ca. 3 weeks later. Below pictures with some detail views that also raised questions...

Spine and front of deluxe. The book was
sewn on 5 parchment slips.

Colophon indicating this copy number 7.

Top edge gilt with hand-sewn endband. All leaves are perfectly
flush and gilt.

An Euphorion [Verlag] binding.
Note the sloppy trimming with the blue (fill?) underneath.

Bound at Hübel & Denck in Leipzig.

Cloth guard around made endpaper signature.
Paper on verso of 1st and 2nd flyleaves identical to text.
The cloth was common on full vellum bindings. and would have
extended across the full width of the doublure. This is also how
I learned it during my apprenticeship in Germany.

The 5 vellum slips as seen through the doublure.
Note the staining on the flyleaf, also visible in the back.
Was the staining and abrasion/tearing in the joint the result of
a repair, or do we blame an apprentice?

Handmade rag paper for the text block measures 10 thousandths
of an inch or .25 mm. Rather thick and stiff...

Ernst Collin wrote an article about the publisher's bindings created for the Euphorion Verlag at Hübel & Denck in the Archiv für Buchgewerbe und Graphik, vol 58, 1921 (pp. 270-271). Pictures accompanying the article can be viewed here.

In the article, Collin wrote "that the bindings he viewed for the article were less than beautiful (wenig schön) but serviceable exemplars of what we would consider fine bindings... The bindings are stamped with Euphorion Verlag and Hübel & Denck Leipzig." Keeping in mind the exponential increase in luxury editions, Collin wrote that the owner of such an edition is [still] entitled to work that  represents the best in terms of craft and aesthetics, balanced against the cost pressures exerted on the publisher, and always bound by hand. Production of these bindings was managed by Heinrich Bahle who was a member of the Jakob-Krause-Bundes (precursor to the Meister der Einbandkunst). Collin notes that by indicating the relationship between publisher and binder that it was a joint effort. This also includes the effort that went into the work of the publisher, such as negotiating with the printer about type face and typography, something that is not always as perfect as it should be at the beginning of a relationship. Continuing, Collin notes that these bindings are created using classical tooling patterns and that the judgement of the expert bookbinder is critical, given that the publisher is not an expert in these areas. He closes with the remark that the illustrated bindings are representative of this collaboration, even if they can only give a weak impression of the beauty of the work. Taken together, Collin seems to be indicating that while a good start, the relationship and results of Euphorion and Hübel & Denck has room for improvement. Collin writing this article and then publishing his Pressbengel with the same publisher, a regular occurrence for him and others illustrates how tight-knit the bibliophilic fields were.

This was written a year before the Pressbengel was written and published. Examining my binding of the deluxe in parchment closely leaves me in agreement with some of Collin's sentiments in the article. I cannot tell whether the "sloppiness" where the doublure was trimmed and the staining and abrasion in the joint of same are the result of a repair or regular production, but the choice of very heavy paper, more like cover stock really, and other details lead me to believe the latter. Other factors include that the deluxe was likely bound on sale to the collectors preference and the overall impact of hyperinflation on labor, materials, moral, ... meaning that it may have been "good enough".

Down The Rabbit Holes For The William Anthony Conservation Lecture Series

Join me as I jump into some of my addictive, all-consuming, and yet, sustaining rabbit holes in Down the Rabbit Hole: Embracing experience and serendipity in a life of research, binding practice, and publishing, part of the William Anthony Conservation Lecture Series. 

The lecture will be at 6:00 CST on September 30, the workshop for students of the Center for the Book and staff of the Conservation and Collections Care Department  on the "Ur"-Bradel binding will be on October 1st and 2nd.

View the recording on the University of Iowa Libraries' YouTube Channel below or via this link. Lecture slides with notes can be downloaded here.

Below the adverts for the event.

For more information on the lecture, see the William Anthony Conservation Lecture Series page at the University of Iowa Libraries, or the events calendar.

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Hope to see some of you there.

Ernst Collin und sein Pressbengel in the Marginalien

Eine Spurensuche zum Buchbinder, Schriftsteller, Antiquar und Bibliophilen

Überglücklich und stolz mit meinem Artikel über Ernst Collin und sein Pressbengel (und alle Collins) in den neusten Marginalien der Pirckheimer-Gesellschaft e.V. dabei zu sein. Ohne der Unterstützung der Redaktion und einem Kollegen hätte ich es nicht geschafft. Danke! 

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Searching for clues to the life of this bookbinder, author, antiquarian, and bibliophile

Super happy and proud to have my article on Ernst Collin and his Pressbengel (and all Collins) included in the latest Marginalien, the journal of the Pirckheimer-Gesellschaft e.V. It never would have happened without the support of the editor and a colleague. Thank you!

The article drew on all past research related Ernst Collin and all the Collins.

Hier gehts zum Download | Download here

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Table of contents

Article title spread
Book support and snakes by BookHistoria.

The article was even on the back flap,
pulling out the role of women as binders and bibliophiles.