Book and Paper Restoration with the San Gemini Preservation Studies Program in Italy Accepting Applications
The deadline for applications is March 15th, however this will be extended if there is space available.
The Craft of Making and Restoring Book Bindings
Monday, May 30 thru Friday, June 24 (4 weeks)
This program aims to teach the craft of traditional Western bookbinding, restoration and conservation methods, along with an overview of the history of book making. This program views books as material structures holding cultural memories and as telling cultural objects in themselves. The program is organized in two courses, both of which involve classroom lectures and practical workshops.
The first course introduces students to the history and evolution of Western book-making, from the codex, a completely handmade object, to modern, highly industrialized book-making processes. The course also introduces students to the craft of traditional book making: the materials, the tools, the sewing structures and the assembly process of the various elements. In the workshop students craft four book facsimiles based on historical bookbinding methods: 1) the unsupported sewing structure (Islamic style); 2) the Western medieval style binding; 3) the limp parchment binding; and 4) the modern case binding. The second course focuses on the conservation and restoration of bound material. It gives an overview of the field including the various agents and processes of deterioration, the methods of preventive conservation (such as handling best practices and environmental controls), and the various methods of material restoration. In the workshop students implement conservative, non-invasive measures on original material from the Historic Archives of the City of San Gemini (containing documents dating back to the 14th century).
Paper Restoration of in Books and Archival Documents
Monday, July 11 thru Friday, August 5 (4 weeks)
Providing an overview of the field of restoration of paper media, this program consists of morning lectures and hands-on experience in an afternoon workshop, including instruction on the nature and history of paper, the traditional methods of paper making, printing, book binding, the processes of deterioration, and the various methods of conservation and restoration of paper, books and artwork on paper and digitization of archives. The workshop is an opportunity to work on material from printed books and original manuscripts that date from the 16th to the 19th centuries from local historic archives.
To learn more about these programs, please review the syllabi on the WEBSITE.
