Renate Mesmer Speaks About Her Apprenticeship and Path

Though registered, I missed Renate Mesmer's presentation at the William Anthony Conservation Lecture Series on Halloween 2024. Thank you to the friendly colleagues at Iowa for putting it online recently.

In her lecture, Renate spoke about her path in From an Apprenticeship in Traditional Hand Bookbinding to Conservation, a path that started with her apprenticeship in Germany after leaving school after the 10th grade (at 16 years old), the more traditional path, and alternative to university [qualification (Gymnasium)] or after. Her description of those experiences also reminded me of what could have been in the case of my apprenticeship. The biggest takeaways for me – repetition and then more repetition, life-long learning, and giving back.

The works and daily/weekly journal (Berichtsheft) of an apprentice.
Bonus image at center of a Sprungrücken.

View the lecture on YouTube here.

 

Renate Mesmer on her Apprenticeship in Germany

Renate at AAB

Listen to Renate Mesmer, Eric Weinmann Head of Conservation at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. talk with Steve Miller at the OxBow PBI about her bookbinding apprenticeship in Germany.

Previously, she was Assistant Head of Conservation at the Folger, Director of Book and Paper Conservation at the Centro del bel Libro Ascona, Switzerland, and Head of Conservation at the Speyer’s State Archives in Germany. She, like many apprentices of the day started at  age 16, earning her Meister in bookbinding from the Chamber of Crafts of Palatinate in Germany. She has been very active teaching at Paper and Book Intensive (PBI), for the Guild of Book Workers (GBW), American Academy of Bookbinding (AAB), and elsewhere.

To listen to her conversation to Steve Miller's Red Hydra Press podcast archive, then search on "Renate Mesmer".