Ceci n'est pas un Livre

"A single copy of a book is a curious thing. Even when part of a large edition, it is rarely considered disposable. People have books on their shelves that they haven't looked at in years, yet they don't throw them out or even give them away. A passing glance at the shelf gives a reassuring feeling, a reminder of the knowledge one has absorbed.

The oldest books we have in the shape we are familiar with-- folded pages sewn through the fold--are Coptic manuscripts from Ethiopia and Egypt. They date from about the years 100 - 400. This change in form from the scrolls previously used required a change in the technology of parchment production. The folded page was written on both sides, where the scroll used only one side of the skin. The relationship between the structure of the book and the development of its materials continues to evolve."
Richard Minsky

Jo Anna Poehlmann
Drawings in a Nutshell
Hand colored and pencil lettered stone lithograph on
accordion folded Strathmore paper in walnut shell
with other nuts in burlap sack. 1985

William Drendel
San Sebastiano Al Mare
Fabriano paper, koa wood boards,
birch arrow in Ethiopian coptic binding. 1985

Katherine NG
Spirit Vessel
Letterpress, woven paper.

Kathleen Amt
Content out of Context
Handmade paper sewn on tapes,
rubber stamp images and words, mixed media. 1987

Chefs: Sharon Lewis & Melissa Kaye
The Ten Commandments "Thou Shall Eat My Words"
Designer: Paul Gelbman 2005

Barton Lidicé Beneš
Censored Book
Book tied in rope, nailed, gussoed, painted. 1974

• The Center for the Bookarts - old site - exhibition archives.
• The Center for the Bookarts - new site.