Arts

11 Jun 09

The Bodleian is running two exhibitions this summer celebrating the art and craft of bookbinding

This summer, the Bodleian Library will celebrate the art and craft of bookbinding through two major exhibitions.

An Artful Craft: Historic Bookbindings from the Broxbourne Library and other collections features masterpieces from two of the greatest bookbinding collections of the 20th century:  the Broxbourne Library collected by Albert Ehrman (1890-1969) and the Wormsley Library formed by Sir Paul Getty (1932-2003). It also draws on other world-renowned historic collections in the Bodleian.

And Bound for Success: Designer Bookbinders International Competition 2009 showcases 117 shortlisted submissions out of 240 entries in the first Designer Bookbinders International Competition. Entrants representing 29 countries offer highly creative and surprisingly diverse interpretations on the theme of water.

The first exhibition treats bookbindings as piece of art in their own right, as things worthy of curiosity and admiration. It celebrates the creativity of bookbinders across the centuries and cultures. It will feature the extraordinary range of the craft of the bookbinder, using materials as diverse as straw, leather, wood, ivory and gemstones.

The free exhibition also demonstrates how Islamic bookbinding styles influenced the way books looked in the West for over five hundred years.  It reveals how bookbinding developed from being a craft practised by unsung individuals in the Middle Ages, to being a vehicle for artistic expression by some of the greatest artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Broxbourne Library comprises of more than 2000 bindings. It became part of the Bodleian collections in 1979, when it was donated to the Library by John Ehrman, Albert’s son. The exhibition will be running in the Exhibition Room from tomorrow (Friday 12 June) until 31 October.

The second free exhibition uses a variety of media, with the exhibits representing a wide assortment of modern approaches to the art of the hand-bound book. An Israeli book incorporates sprinklers and irrigation tubes, a French binder uses a real bath plug in his design, whilst an Estonian binder sews their book with a fishing line on perch and pike skin.

The first Sir Paul Getty Bodleian Bookbinding Prize will be awarded to the first two winners. The exhibition runs from tomorrow until 1 August in the Proscholium. Both shows run from 9am until 5pm during the week and 9am until 4.30pm on Saturdays.

Richard Ovenden, Keeper of Special Collections and Associate Director, Bodleian Library, is one of the judging panel. He said: ‘Bookbindings are an often overlooked aspect of our past. The Bodleian is delighted to have the opportunity to demonstrate the way bookbindings reflect major social, artistic and historical trends. We are also pleased to exhibit some of the great treasures in the Broxbourne Library – one the most important gifts to the Bodleian in recent times’