The Society of Bookbinders is dedicated to traditional bookbinding and to the preservation and conservation of the printed and written word.Membership of the Society is open to anyone interested in the printed word, be you bookbinder (professional or hobbyist), conservator, librarian, book lover or collector, you will be welcome.Visit The Society of BookbindersMaureen Duke: The Life and Work of a Bookbinder This video is about the life of bookbinder Maureen Duke. At 2:55 you see brief clips of bookbinding with a brilliant gilding trick at 3:05!

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Harriet Frazer founded Memorials by Artists three years after the death of her step-daughter, Sophie Behrens. Harriet realised that the successful creation of a unique memorial to Sophie had only been possible because she had been able to find a sympathetic artist, who understood what she and her family were trying to express and who was willing to work with them.The experience of searching for and eventually finding a beautiful memorial for Sophie took Harriet four years and led to the idea of helping others in a similar situation.

Memorials by Artists was founded on the belief that a memorial should be as individual as the person it is dedicated to. An individually designed memorial will reflect the character of that person in a way that choosing one from a catalogue cannot. Finding and collaborating with a sympathetic maker is central to achieving this.Every memorial commissioned through Memorials by Artists is hand carved by one of our designer/lettercutters, who create their own designs rather than working to a pattern. Each piece is considered as a creative opportunity, rather than a mere product and no two memorials are ever the same.

Memorials by Artists

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The British Library is based in London and is one of the world’s largest research libraries, holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats; books, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings and much more. The Library’s collections include around 25 million books, along with substantial additional collection of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.It is now possible to view some of the library’s scared texts online.Below are screeshots from the Lindisfarne Gospel pagesOnce the page has loaded (this can take a few seconds and you will have to press Space Bar to activate it) you can then browse the book. Use the controls at the bottom to turn the page or alternatively left-click on the page and drag on the page and it should turn the page for you!You can also use the magnifying glass to see in close-up the detail of the page.British Library Sacred Texts homepage.

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The Birmingham Pen Trade Heritage Association was first formed in 1996 as an informal meeting of people interested in the Birmingham pen trade. It was registered as a charity in 1997. Membership was drawn from former employees of the trade, collectors and people interested in history.The Pen Room Museum of Writing and Pen Trademuseum was opened in April 2001, and the learning centre was established in an adjoining unit in June 2002.The unique blend of ingenuity and industrial expertise found in Birmingham thrust the city to the forefront of steel pen design and manufacture. It placed the city at the centre of the world pen trade during the 19th Century and kept it there until the decline of pen making after the 2nd World War.Birmingham was the centre of the world pen trade for more than a century, employing thousands of people, and pioneering craftsmanship, manufacturing processes and employment opportunities for women. The availability of cheap pens enabled the development of education and literacy throughout the world.The Birmingham Pen Trade Heritage Association is working to ensure that this important part of Birmingham’s history receives the recognition it deserves. Their mission is to promote and further the interest in handwriting, writing equipment and writing accessories with particular reference to the Birmingham trades.

• Find out why Birmingham became the centre of the world pen trade?
• Explore the history of the pen making trade.
• Learn about the differing manufacturing processes and the pen companies of Birmingham city.
• Try your hand at writing with traditionally made reed pens and feather quills.
• Sit at the workshop benches and imagine the poor conditions that women endured, pressing hundreds of steel nibs each day.
• Try making your own writing nib using the original hand presses.
• See displays of historic writing equipment.
• See the unique Charles Thomas Collection of writing implements.

For more information, visit their website www.penroom.co.ukor email: pentalk@penroom.freeserve.co.uk

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I came across this blog the other week. Brenda Raub is using her blog to display some of her art.What I really like are the art pieces where words are produced placing obljects in such a way to create letters. For example, ‘h’ has been created by the pose of a horse character.My favourite are the Penguins that spell the name ‘Debbie’http://cre8art2day.blogspot.com/

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The www.theartofcalligraphy.com website is dediated to modern Japanese Calligraphy inspired on Buddhism and Zen.Through her website, calligrapher Nadja Van Ghelue hopes to bring you closer to the beauty and spiritual power of Japanese Calligraphy. Through her words and artwork she hopes to get you get enthusiastic about this special art form.This site is a great resource for anyone interested in Japanese Calligraphy. It includes sections on choosing brushes, ink and ink stones.

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I thought it would be useful to have a section on our blog to tell you about interesting websites. Most will be calligraphy related – but not all!The first website to share with you is the The Edward Johnston FoundationEdward Johnston (1872-1944) by his teaching and practice almost single-handedly revived the art of formal penmanship which had lain moribund for four centuries. His major work Writing and Illuminating, and Lettering, first published in 1906 and in print continuously ever since, created a new interest in calligraphy and a new school of excellent scribes. The life he breathed into this ancient craft and its continuing tradition even in today’s hi-tech world can be ascribed to his re-discovery of the influence of tools, materials and methods.”Nobody had such a lasting effect on the revival of contemporary writing as Edward Johnston. He paved the way for all lettering artists of the twentieth century and ultimately they owe their success to him” Hermann ZapfThe Edward Johnston Foundation is a registered arts charity dedicated to the promotion of a public awareness of calligraphy, not only as an art form in its own right but also as the seed and reference point for many other lettering applications including modern typeface design. These aims are backed with four objectives:1) to establish an archive and library which will support teaching and research and provide accessible data for use by all2) to build a collection of contemporary work which is international in scope3) to develop a full educational programme in calligraphy and allied subjects4) to initiate research into the use of new electronic mediaThe Foundation is based in Ditchling, Sussex, the birthplace of the twentieth-century calligraphic renaissance in Britain.The collection of contemporary work comprises some 10,000 individual items with an acquisitions policy for rapid expansion to represent many related disciplines. The library currently stands at over 1000 volumes.The Edward Johnston Foundation

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