Sunday, February 9, 2014

Jahrbuch der Einbandkunst 2

Back in April of 2012 I shared this binding from my reference library, one of those books that changes how you approach your field and the history of it. Below a snippet from that blog post...

The copy above, bound by/in the firm of E.A. Enders (Leipzig) is from my collection. I remember being blown away by it on many levels when it was brought into Bill Minter's shop by a dealer who wanted to have a nice clamshell box made for it. Much to Bill's chagrin, the book was sold on the spot (for what was then a lot of money) with a box made shortly thereafter in my own then modest studio. I very quickly found myself sucked into the essays, especially the ones on contemporary binding. It was my first (and really only) design binding purchase and I still love to study the design, the combination of decor, the typographic elements - Germans integrated the title into designs more so than other traditions - and also the little flaws that make it "human."
Yesterday another one of my orders arrived from Germany, this time from Antiquariat Peter Ibbetson, the kind of order one needs to sign for, so glad it was Saturday... Among them was book that I had dawdled over ordering, Musterbetriebe deutscher Wirtschaft: Die Großbuchbinderei E.A. Enders, Leipzig - München from 1929. Translated, "Model Businesses of German Industry," the introduction challenges the reader to learn about German model businesses, pointing out the deluge of publications by and about American model industries, and that these are better known than the "native" German ones... This one is number 6 in the series, here the WorldCat record..


Although part of a series, this book is very similar to the many other publications by binderies such as Extra Binding at the Lakeside Press (R.R. Donnelley and Sons Company, 1925), or Ernst Collins' essays "Fünfzig Jahre deutscher Verlegereinband, 1875 - 1925" in Festschrift Hübel & Denck (Leipzig: Hübel & Denck, 1925) or "Vom guten Geschmack und von der Kunstbuchbinderei" in Spamersche Buchbinderei (Leipzig: Spamer, 1914). These publications tend to give a history of the book and the bindery, highlighting the functional areas with illustrations of the workspaces and the bindings produced in them.

So in reading/leafing through the book I get to page 39 (Sonderabteilung für Handeinbände, Extra Binding Department) and what do I find??? Look familiar? Unfortunately, the 6 pages of that section don't provide any details about the binding, although other bindings mentioned are described as exemplars of the materials and techniques applied in this kind of work.


I also found it in the Archiv für Buchbinderei, 1928



Oh, so very glad I grabbed it...


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Aber mal im Ernst

Aber mal im Ernst = but seriously folks, let's ...

Been enjoying a wave of successes in my quest to add to my bibliography of Ernst Collin's writings.

Some successes based on minimal references/citations from Google Books snippets were filled by the amazing Inter-Library Loan staff at Syracuse. Some of those led me to finding other publishing venues Ernst was active in. One was Das Echo: das Blatt der deutschen im Auslande, a periodical for Germans living abroad - articles were meant to keep them in touch with what was going on in the Fatherland. In additions to articles about bookbinding, there are articles on textile design, silver-smithing, jewelry-making, but also one on household/kitchen appliances and one on why the Treaty of Versailles was bad deal for Germany. HathiTrust held some of the volumes of this title, starting in 1913 and ending in 1922... First Ernst appearance in 1920 with about 6 articles per year. Unfortunately there are gaps, but output trending up.

Also went back to some other journals, Archiv für Buchgewerbe and Archiv für Buchbinderei leafing through page-by-page-by-page, several hundreds per volume. That netted a few more articles not captured by OCR.

Then in the ink-on-paper category, a modest package from Buchatelier Bischoff that included the original publications as issued of Deutsche Einbandkunst: Ausstellung des Jakob-Krausse-Bundes, Vereinigung deutscher Kunstbuchbinder, im Weissen Saal des Schloßmuseums zu Berlin, September -Oktober 1921. Published for the Jacob-Krausse-Bund by Ernst; Spamersche Buchbinderei, Leipzig; Werkstatt für Kunsteinbände with the essay by Ernst; and finally the complete run of Die Heftlade the journal of the Jakob-Krause-Bund that was absorbed into Meister der Einbandkunst. Ernst Collin published and edited the journal in addition to contributing articles to it on a wide range of topics. Most of the articles are short, but that's ok. Like many journals of the era, it also includes tipped-in samples of printing and decorated paper.

On the way still is the Festschrift Hübel & Denck Leipzig, 1875-1925 with an essay by Ernst among others. Like the Spamersche Buchbinderei, this is another publication by one of the significant trade binderies in Leipzig, both with fine/extra binding departments. A history of E.A. Enders is also on the way in another order.

Also Ernst related, the 1947 volume of Allgemeiner Anzeiger für Buchbindereien,  the first postwar volume that contains a mention of the firm of W. Collin and Ernst... Had a scan of that via ILL but was glad to get original hardcopy. Also included in that volume are about half of 1936 I believe, very close to the end of Ernst's publishing career. Access to volumes of this title is one of my greatest challenges - it's not just about being locked up for copyright, it's not even available to search for snippets or words on a page...

The in-process bibliography of Ernst writings has now grown to about 145 articles and monographs on a broad range of subjects, beyond bookbinding. About 40 of those added in the past week or so in a sustained systematic effort.

The bibliography can be linked to via the top navigation bar of this blog - Ernst Collin Bibliography. For those in the US who can read German, there are links to about half the titles at HathiTrust. Citations, leads ALWAYS appreciated.

Ernst Collin was a very active, versatile, and good thoughtful writer with a confident sense of place/presence.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Conrad Blum, Buchbinder

A month or so ago, via eBay, I acquired this bill from the bookbinder Conrad Blum in Offenbach dated 21 October, 1842. Offenbach at that time was part of the Grand Duchy of Hessen and is now considered part of the Frankfurt (Main) metropolitan area.

Although fluent in German, the handwriting style of the time is not my strong point. I'm also not sure what currency is being referred to (Gulden or Thaler), especially as the Customs Union (Zollverein) led by Prussia was growing in member states at that time. A more contemporary comparison would be the expansion of the Eurozone... Hessen-Darmstadt of which Offenbach was a part joined in 1837.



A high-resolution PDF of the bill has been saved here. Any assistance in transcribing VERY welcome.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Reference Collection Development

Interesting collection of reading material arrived in my reference library over the past month or so…

First, two titles by Paul Adam. The first is Lehrbücher der Buchbinderei: Die einfachen handwerksmässigen Buchbinderarbeiten ohne Zuhilfenahme von Maschinen (1924) a thin manual describing the most basic and essential tasks to be completed in a bindery leaving out machines. (boardshears and presses don’t count). Obviously written for apprentices, this one came from the public library in Bayreuth and showed a fairly active circulation in the first decade of it’s life. Then came the war… Paper not great, but lots of provenance. It’s also the kind of title that would have been in every proper trade school library and larger bindery. Needs some TLC, but then there is the bit about the shoemakers kids (and I had 7 generations of master shoemakers in my family)…


Illustration from Adam, Lehrbücher der Buchbinderei:
Die einfachen handwerksmässigen Buchbinderarbeiten
ohne Zuhilfenahme von Maschinen
(1924)

The other Adam title in this batch is Die deutscheste Art der Einbandverzierung (1928), a Festschrift for the 47th gathering of the Bundes Deutscher Buchbinder-Innungen. Not sure why it was the titled “the most German of binding decoration techniques” (tooling), but looks to be an interesting read. That was “bound” into a simple card wrapper… Like the one above, needs some TLC to make sure the single leaves don’t fall out.

Next up E(rich) A(dolf) Bogeng’s Der Bucheinband: ein Handbuch für Buchbinder und Bücherfreunde (1940). Title translated is Bookbinding: a handbook for bookbinders and bibliophiles. It’s an interesting overview of the book and book/trade history broken down into by general history; structural elements;  decorative techniques; binders and bibliophiles, … I found the arrangement the interesting part – there are no illustrations. Bogeng was one of THE German writers about bookbinding and bibliophilic culture in the late 19th, first half of the 20th century. This one was reprinted in several editions.


I also acquired two volumes of Der Buchbinderlehrling (The Bookbinding Apprentice) a “journal” published for apprentices in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland by the Allgemeiner Anzeiger für Buchbindereien, the trade publication late 19th century and most of the 20th century. A journal like this was a bridge to trade school that continued the overall education of the young apprentices because they were dropped from the university-bound track. Subjects included social studies, math, and science as they related to binding. This also included paper making, leather tanning and parchment making, cloth, and in-depth engineering of bookbinding machines...

Years I received were 1932 and 1938 with 12 issues each. Quite a contrast between the two.

First in 1932, an article by Ernst Collin and the first in a series titled Bedeutende Männer des Buchbinderhandwerks (Important Men in Bookbinding) – the subject, Ernst's father Georg Collin, Court Bookbinder who died in 1918. Ernst' Der Pressbengel was dedicated to him. While most of Collin’s writing is academic, this was written with a much more casual tone making it more accessible for apprentices. There was also a multi-part article on gold tooling by Walter Gerlach (1892 – 1982). Trying to find out if there was a connection between him and Gerhard Gerlach. Gerhard Gerlach married Kathryn Edwards, and both studied with Wiemeler in Leipzig in the early 30s. There were also two tipped-in cards with material samples and articles on how to use those, a nice article about the life and impact of Roger Payne (illustrated by the engraving of him hunched over a press), and one telling soon to be journeymen that despite the fact that most would be unemployed after completing their apprenticeship, that they should remain hopeful and engaged. Also an interesting, ongoing series about architectural styles and history.




1938 was quite a change, and it was clear who was now running the country. Oddly, issue 1 from 1933 had been bound in instead of 1938... The volume had an article on fish leather, Igraf (a cellulose-based ersatz paper/parchment with the look of Elephant Hide, a paper now produced by Zanders, and a longer article by Franz Weisse on marbling. This contained the same illustrations as his work about marbling that was republished by Richard J. Wolfe as The Art of Marbling (Wolfe also had some things to say about the politics of the time). To round it out, articles on the need to bring bookbinding (and all the trades) into the nationalistic fold, competitions for apprentices and journeymen, depictions of bindings extolling the virtues of the Führer and Party… One image showed Otto Dorfner, Hugo Wagner, and Franz Weisse jurying bindings, some with their party pins in place… Below another from a national trades meeting. The "youth" of the trades are being addressed...


Buchatelier Bischoff in German is reprinting the complete run of the Buchbinderlehrling (1927 – 1944) on a subscription basis, every two months a new year... I already received 1927. No Ernst Collin articles, but several by Maria Luers, the first woman bookbinding Meister in Germany. This is going to be fun. They also republish many other classic German binding titles in sheets or bound. Check them out.

Another image from the 1938 volume.
Notice anything peculiarly practical?

Almost as a logical follow-up to the 1938 issue above, a nice catalog Ausstellung Malerei, Graphik, Buchkunst (1955) that featured bindings by Otto Dorfner in addition to the prints and paintings by two other artists. Dorfner worked largely in Weimer, a town that ended up in the Soviet Occupation Zone after the war, what became the German Democratic Republic (DDR). Stylistically, the binding shown continue the strong German style of design and tooling that was also used by Wiemeler…. Interestingly, in addition to books by Goethe, there are also bindings on works by Stalin, Karl Marx, Ernst Thälman, Wilhelm Pieck, … Communists, Soviets, and East German leaders all.

I think that there is a post/article in there about politics and the trade(s). Just need to line up some visuals (have lots in various books) and try to find some examples elsewhere. I could start it off with a "song" sung at the German Bookbinder's Assembly in Berlin in which the formation of the German Empire in 1871 is described in the context of binding a book... Designer Bookbinders had a 2008 exhibition Socialism: A Celebration in which binders selected historically significant socialist texts from the collection of Lord Tom Sawyer of Darlington, but that exhibition was not about the bookbinding trade in the service of a particular ruling ideology. There is also a rich history of Marxist (and other) children's books, but that's not design bookbinding either... If anyone has any examples I'd love to hear about them.

Another book was the 1995 Festschrift of the Buchbinder-Innung (Guild) Berlin-Brandenburg. Lots of interesting details about the trade in Berlin over 400 years also indicating some differences with the Verein Berliner Buchbindermeister (Organization of Master Bookbinders in Berlin) whose Chronik I also own, and that provided lots of good information on the Collins. Some of the differences apparently center on Maria Lühr (first woman to learn the trade under Georg Collin and Joseph Zaehnsdorf, and first female Meister in Germany), the role of women in the trade and training, and the Lette Verein, an organization for women that taught trades. It still exists.

I had long had a copy of Lawrence S. Thompson's Kurze Geschichte der Handbuchbinderei in den vereinigten Staaten von Amerika (Stuttgart: Max Hettler, 1955), and given that Thompson was American working at the University of Kentucky Library was perplexed to not find the title available in English. That changed this week when I received A Short History of Bookbinding in the United States by Lawrence S. Thompson. From the dealer copy:
This is from a most curious assembled typescript I just bought, "with pp. 1-12 (and possibly an unnumbered 13th page following) provided in original typescript, pp. 11-34 (continuing the text uninterrupted, though in a different type font) provided in facsimile/photocopy, all printed on recto only. The latter portion shows several stamps from the University of Kentucky Libraries and various corrections to the typescript, so we are tempted to assume that it may be a copy."
I was able to confirm that this is the original English of an article published in/for Germany. I couldn't find an English version of my "unpublished" typescript, OCLC shows that just at the University of Kentucky where Thompson was Librarian. Vito J. Brenni's bibliography Bookbinding, a guide to the literature indicates that this was published in English as Some Notes on the History of Bookbinding in the United States, American Book Collector, Vol 7, Nos 5-7, Jan-Mar, 1955. Still trying to find a copy though... Interestingly found what seems to be an abridged version of the article in a journal - Hand Bookbinding in the United States Since the Civil War, Libri, Vol 5, no 2, 1954 (97-121)

Thompson's titles contain much information of interest (in particular to me) on German-trained binders in the US. Many of those named were indicated as being members of the Guild of Book Workers, too. He also published Fine Binding In America, The Story Of The Club Bindery, but that is a different book. A Short History... concluded with "Even in the atomic age, hand bookbinding will have a strong place in the culture of the United States." Thoughts?

The interlibrary loan department at Syracuse  also came through with some articles by Ernst Collin from 1934-36, and one about the Collins' as Hofbuchbinder that also mentioned Ernst from the 1947 (all from the Allgemeiner Anzeiger für Buchbindereien). VERY glad to have those.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Mayflies of the Driftless Region - Done

Heading into the home stretch thanks to a week off at home. Plenty of procrastination, a speciality, but also good work on Mayflies and another binding...

First the open joint (offener Falz) where the only board attachment to the textblock is via the tapes, in this case a laminate of vellum and fish leather. The gray elements are stained birch veneer.



Then, an overview with boards attached, exterior and interior.



Attaching the final design elements to the middle of the fore-edge.

Attaching the tied mayfly to front board

Overall

Mayfly detail

Final steps, detail, touch-up where needed, make box!

To the Dorfner/de Gonet style (bottom of first post in series), I like it and have another binding using it in the works. Even though this is a smallish to average sized book, the tapes/slips must be flexible when opening cover, yet rigid so textblock does not sag. Nice to be able to work covers and textblock separately and then join.. I'm sure I'll have other thoughts as I give it the look(s) over...

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Mayflies of the Driftless Region

Good progress on Mayflies of the Driftless Region, vellum down, title stamped, doublures in place. Below some images. Half circles are aged wood veneer that will flank the fish-leather slips of all slips. Just didn't have scrap pieces.

Front cover

Front cover and spine

Cave Paper doublure with "open" joint

Back cover
Next step, gluing down slips and adding wood veneer to each side of slip to make a half-circle...

Read part one here.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Bindings by W. Collin

Syracuse University Libraries' Leopold v. Ranke Collection can be considered as a time-capsule of sorts in that all books were bound before 1888 when the collection came to Syracuse to form the core of the new university library, largely as a circulating collection. Exceptions are (few) volumes that were rebound by library binders and conservation rebinds/treatments completed after the conservation lab was established in 1995 by me as a part of a grant funded project.

"Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886), a German historian and historiographer, was highly influential in shaping the modern approach to history, emphasizing such things as reliance on primary sources, narrative history and international politics. Ranke's personal and professional library, consisting of more than 10,000 books, several hundred manuscripts and approximately 5 linear ft. of personal papers, was purchased for Syracuse University in 1887 and formed the nucleus of what is now the Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center (SCRC)." (cite)

An Address by Professor C.W. Bennett Read at the Dedication of the Leopold von Ranke Library (pdf page 14), states that after the sale of the Ranke Library to Syracuse University during 1886 - 1887:
And now began the Herculean task of removal from the Royal Library, the completion of imperfect serials, the repairing of worn and damaged volumes, the binding of unbound numbers, the careful classification and binding of thousands of pamphlets, the complete cataloging of the entire collection, the examination and estimate of the more than four hundred manuscripts by a professional paleographer, etc. This work required many months of time and involved the expenditure of a very large sum of money.
Additional information about the sale can be found in Morrison, John J. "Charles W. Bennett's 'The Purchase of the von Ranke Library.' A Prefatory Note. The Courier 15.2 and 15.3 (1978): 15-18.

Image from: Dohrmann, Inken.
150 Jahre Jahre Verein Berliner
Buchbindermeister
. Berlin:
Verein Berliner Buchbindermeister
1849, 2001: 147
Having worked on the collection since coming to Syracuse in 1995 and knowing the variety of bindings in the collection, I decided to see whether there were any bindings identified as being bound by W. Collin, the firm started by Ernst Collin's grandfather in 1845. W(ilhelm) Collin was born 1820 in Beuthen/Bytom (PL) the son of a physician. He moved to Berlin with his family, and apprenticed with the Court Bookbinder Abraham Mossner from 1835-1840. In 1859 he was named Court Bookbinder by the Princess Victoria (later Empress). As a binder, he was especially known for his fine gilding. [Dohrmann, Inken. 150 Jahre Jahre Verein Berliner Buchbindermeister. Berlin: Verein Berliner Buchbindermeister 1849, 2001: 147].

A search of Syracuse's catalog revealed 135 titles (a few being multi-volume sets) in the collection, and all in the v. Ranke Collection. This was indicated by a note that said "Binder's label: W. Collin." and 3 cases "Binder's label:  W. Collin, K.K. Hofbuchbinder, Berlin." Things were starting to get interesting. Thanks to the generosity of a colleague in Special Collections I was able to go in the stacks with her, spreadsheet and pencil in hand, and in the course of 2 hours examined every binding on the list. Only two or three were rebound, and all had their binder's labels. Jackpot.

So, what were the results of this survey? All binder's tickets were of the "W. Collin, K.K. Hofbuchbinder, Berlin" variety indicating that the books had been rebound between 1871 when the Kings of Prussia became the Kings of Prussia AND German Emperors (formation of a unified German Empire), and the death of Ranke when the collection was boxed for sale in 1886-1887. The "K.K. Hofbuchbinder" means "Royal and Imperial Court Bookbinder." There was more than one of those a Carl Wilhelm Vogt being another, but still. Below a scan of the binder's ticket.

Click on image to see the small label at bottom left in its original size.
All tickets were pasted to the verso of the front flyleaf.
This date range puts the firm under the control of W. Collin and his son Georg who became co-owner with his father in 1886 after returning from his journeyman years in Vienna, Paris, Switzerland, and England, there studying with Joseph Zaehnsdorf, "one of the most well-known German binders" [Inheim, Heinrich. Georg Collin [obituary]. Archiv für buchgewerbe. v.56 (1919)]. W. Collin died in 1893. The firm was continued as W. Collin under his son Georg from 1886 until his death in 1918. Georg's daughter Gertrud (sister of Ernst) also learned the trade, and took over the firm following her father's death. In 1930, it become a part of the firm of Paetch & Collin until liquidation by the Nazis in 1939. [Dohrmann, Inken. 150 Jahre Jahre Verein Berliner Buchbindermeister. Berlin: Verein Berliner Buchbindermeister 1849, 2001: 181].

Even though the firm was W. Collin was "Court Bookbinder" and produced exquisite work for the Court, it was also a trade bindery that was involved in the binding of books for a variety of customers, from individuals (like Ranke) to libraries to publishers in all manner of techniques. There is scant mention of W Collin. An example of a cloth case trade binding by the firm of W. Collin can be seen in the University of Wisconsin's digital collections. I have found no information about the size and scope of the firm thus far, including advertisements/images, and whether it would have been described as a "dampfbuchbinderei" is unknown. Regardless, it is unlikely either W. or Georg did much binding except for the most exclusive commissions.Dampfbuchbinderein were large industrial trade binderies (dampf = steam) described in the catalog to the 1994 exhibition Gebunden in Der Dampfbuchbinderei: Buchbinden Im Wandel Des 19. Jahrhunderts.

From Inheim, Heinrich (Ernst Collin
pseudonym).
Georg Collin [obituary].
Archiv für Buchgewerbe.
v.56 (1919)
The perceived state of German bookbinding at this time was described in The Profession Of Bookselling: A Handbook Of Practical Hints For The Apprentice And Bookseller by A. Growoll, London, 1895. A snippet describing this can be seen on pg 108, and was posted to this blog in March. Georg Collin himself is quoted as saying in an article about the 1900 World Exposition in Paris published in the Allgemeiner Anzeiger für Buchbindereien ( v.15-16 1900-1901: 267-270) that "bookbinding has attained the highest steps in France. Unfortunately we must stand back and let this happen, because even if we have the strength, drive, and talent to create work at this level, we just don't have the clients..., Germans just won't pay what the French and other foreigners will." The article concludes by saying that in binding at the highest levels, the honors go to France and England, with Germany being the leader in publishers' bindings. Bernhard Harms' Zur entwickelungsgeschichte der deutschen buchbinderei in der zweiten hälfte des 19. jahrhunderts. Technisch--Statistisch--Volkswirtschaftlich (Tübingen und Leipzig: Mohr, 1902) provides a great deal of statistical information about the bookbinding trade in German in the latter half of the 19th century, but unfortunately does not have any detailed information about the firm of W. Collin. Likewise, Hellmuth Helwig's Das Deutsche Buchbinder-Handwerk (Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 1961-1965).

Georg went on to redefine and elevate German bookbinding in the late 19th early 20th century, created many presentation bindings and "adressen" (presentation portfolios for official declarations...), and contributed to the development of Paul Kersten, perhaps Germany's first and best known "fine binder." Later, Ernst Collin wrote and published a biography of Kersten as a Jakob-Krause-Bund festschrift under his Corvinus-Antiquariat imprint  in 1925. Kersten himself was a noted author of binding texts, his most noted title being Der Exakte Bucheinband first published in 1909. But back to the books at hand.

So, what did these bindings look like? The imprint dates of titles in the collection that we examined ranged from the late 18th century up to 1876. Some were monographs, some selected volumes from series or serials. Due to condition (spines missing or damaged), we could examine the structure on some of the bindings. All were rebinds in some form. NONE were stapled, but sewings were uniformly on recessed cords, with stuck on endbands, and quarter leather case bindings featuring a variety of marbled papers on the sides sides. Leathers were goat, sheep, and calf. Endpapers were all of the same gray paper as a reinforced single folio hooked around the first and last text signature sections and then sewn. This endpaper construction and others are described in the article "Die Vorsätze im Buche," Archiv für Buchbinderei, v.13, 1913-1914. (66-71) that is preceded by an article about the firm of W. Collin, with image of Georg Collin. A translation of the endpaper article can be found in HathiTrust (as can Archiv für Buchbinderei...). Archiv für Buchbinderei was published by Paul Adam, and no authors are indicated for the articles, although W. Collin is listed among the contributors, many of whom were illustrious during that time.


Overall I would describe these as competent trade bindings, not glamorous, not especially precise, with some interesting quirks such as in the example below.

Exterior detail of the above book showing mismatched leathers on spine and corner.

Overall binding, sheepskin with fading due to exposed spine and smaller adjacent binding.

Below a selection of other representative bindings by W. Collin in the v. Ranke collection. Unfortunately no paper cases, pastepaper, vellum, or full leather... Still, great to see them all, especially knowing something about the history of the firm and people behind it. Important to remember when viewing these (and their wear) is that the v. Ranke Collection was a Syracuse's circulating collection for some time before it became a special collection.








All binding images permission of: Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries.

Thank you also to Stephen Ferguson, Assistant University Librarian for Rare Books and Special Collections Curator of Rare Books at Princeton University Library for examining the W. Collin bindings in their collections. Unfortunately they had been rebound. His blog, Notabilia, is worth following.