October 29, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Pamela Higgins
(410) 516-8337
pamela.higgins@jhu.edu

EXHIBITION CELEBRATES FOUR CENTURIES OF ENGLISH DECORATIVE BOOKBINDINGS

Bound to Please, an exhibition of more than 60 beautifully bound and tooled books from the late 17th to the mid-20th century, opens at the Johns Hopkins University’s George Peabody Library on Nov. 6 and will run through Feb. 3, 2009.

The show explores the art of book finishing, from simple adornments on vellum bindings to exquisite gilt-tooled bindings.

The exhibition is drawn from an extraordinary collection of 200 volumes, a gift to the Sheridan Libraries in 2006 from long-time Johns Hopkins friend Dorothy McIlvain Scott. Many of the books are decorated with charming fore-edge paintings -- scenes painted on the edges of the page -- which are only visible when the pages are fanned. More than 20 fore-edge paintings are displayed.

“The scope of the Scott collection enables us to present not only a stunning visual display, but also allows us to trace the history of bookbinding,” said Sophia Jordan-Mowery, the Joseph Ruzicka and Marie Ruzicka Feldmann Director of Library Preservation at Johns Hopkins and curator of the show. 

“Bindings are products of time and place, with uniquely identifiable styles and purposes reflective of their era,” Jordan-Mowery said. “They can be defined by technique or the craftsmanship of a particular binder, and they reveal cultural shifts, changes in materials and technology, and changes in taste.  As such, they serve as clues to past and present.”   

The history of English bookbinding has been the subject of renewed interest and scholarship during the last decade. The Scott collection provides a window for researchers to examine the array of bindings and ornamentation during a period of dramatic change and innovation in English bookbinding.

The books in this exhibition illustrate the changes in styles, techniques, and aesthetics of the period. Among the most important and beautiful items are a rare 1669 Book of Common Prayer bound by the queen’s naval binder. Also included is a 1763 New Testament, once owned by Sir Walter Scott, printed by John Baskerville with a Greek font that he designed.

“We are indebted to Dorothy McIlvain Scott for her extraordinarily generous gift,” said Winston Tabb, Sheridan Dean of University Libraries and Museums at Johns Hopkins. “The collection captures the art form at its finest and is an incomparable resource for the study of the history of the book and the arts. It is available not only to Johns Hopkins faculty and students but also to the Baltimore community and beyond.”

The George Peabody Library and gallery, located at 17 E. Mount Vernon Place, are open to the public free of charge. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.  The library is open from 9 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Note: High-resolution digital images of books in the exhibition are available. Contact Pamela Higgins at (410) 516-8337 or pamela.higgins@jhu.edu or Amy Lunday at (443) 287-9960 or amylunday@jhu.edu.

The Sheridan Libraries encompass the Milton S. Eisenhower Library and its collections at the Hutzler Reading Room, Garrett Library and the George Peabody Library.

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