Wondrous Works: Illuminated Manuscripts from Three Continents February 2016 - May 2016

Special Collections and University Archives at UNCG’s University Libraries has mounted an exhibit highlighting the rich tradition of illuminated manuscripts in Europe, India, Persia, Ethiopia, and Armenia.  By presenting these works within a global perspective, the exhibit, Wondrous Works: Illuminated Manuscripts From Three Continents, strives to broaden our understanding of the history of the book, the influence of artistic trends on illuminated works, and the cultural contact and cultural exchange amongst peoples. 

Working with local bookman Norman Smith and his collection of rare works, the exhibit features manuscripts that were created during or shortly after the invention of movable type in 1454.  Despite the wide spread adoption of print technology, the exhibit reveals a continued interest and market for illuminated works well into the 1600s.

The term manuscript comes from the Latin word for “handwritten.”  Before the invention of movable type, all books had to be written out by hand.  It was a time-consuming and labor-intensive process that could take months or years to complete.  Some manuscripts were made even more special by the process of “illumination.”  This term comes from the Latin word for “lit up” or “enlightened” and refers to the use of bright colors and precious metals to embellish initial letters or to portray whole scenes.

The Hodges Reading Room is open to the public from 9 AM - 5 PM, Monday - Friday.

The exhibit closes on May 20, 2016.

- Keith Gorman

Don Etherington and Monique Lallier

Among the most renowned bookbinders and conservators practicing their craft today, Monique Lallier and Don Etherington have produced scores of beautiful and creative bindings, among them award winners in major competitions.

Monique Lallier has served as director of the American Academy of Bookbinding and as chair of the Standards Committee of the Guild of Book Workers. Her binding designs have been featured in many prominent exhibitions throughout the world, and among her awards was the De Golyer Jury Prize for Design in 2003. Monique has conducted many seminars and workshops on binding and tooling in the U. S. and abroad and maintains a binding studio at her home in Summerfield, where she continues to train apprentices in the art of custom binding.

Don Etherington is renowned as both a leading conservator and a creative bookbinder and has conducted numerous seminars and workshops in both areas. The founder of Etherington Conservation Services and a major consultant on such projects as the Florence reclamation project of 1966 and the restoration and housing of such precious documents as the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution, Don has his bindings represented in major public and private collections in the United States and abroad, including the British Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Library of Congress.

University Libraries is proud to display its seventeen custom bindings by Don and Monique, a small showcase of the art of two very talented and creative binding designers.

~William K. Finley

Bound to Please : Custom Bookbindings by Don Etherington and Monique Lallier
November 15 - December 22, 2010
Hodges Reading Room

American Trade Bindings now Online

The American Trade Bindings Digital Library presents over 1100 book covers which chronicle the development of book binding in the United States. The ATB project contains a variety of both fiction and non-fiction titles, primarily from the Charles M. Adams American Trade Binding Collection, published between the 1830s and the 1920s.

American Trade Bindings Digital Library

The American Trade Bindings project primarily contains books from the Charles M. Adams American Trade Binding Collection, named in 1987 for the former UNCG librarian largely responsible for the collection’s establishment. The Special Collections & Rare Books Department of the UNCG University Libraries contains several other collections documenting book arts, include Artists' Books and Livres d'Artiste, Athenaeum Press Collection, and the Way & Williams Publishers Collection. Some selections from the Early Juvenile Literature Collection and the Woman's Collection are also available online through the ATB website. The project was managed and produced by the Digital Projects unit of the University Libraries.

Thank you to all staff who made this project a success!