Codex 2017

Don't know about Codex? Read this New York Times article for a pretty thorough description. Then visit me at my table at the Craneway Pavilion, in Richmond, CA, to see recent creative work from the studio!

That's me. You probably know that already.

Family Style
Recipes collected by Helen Marchese, primarily from the late 1940s through the 1980s. Endpapers from Paul Bercy, Simples Notions de Francais, New York, 1894. Printed on Mohawk Superfine on an Indigo printer. Bound in a three part binding with stamped linen spine and gingham fabric over boards. Edition of 50. 2017.

Between, Among, Within
Indigo pigment pastepapers. Photographs of the Catskill water supply system in process of construction, 1918, with A topographical map of Hudsons River, Claude Sauthier, 1898, both from The New York Public Library Digital Collections. Printed on Asuka paper on an Indigo printer. Full cloth binding. Edition of 22. 2016.

Natural Philosophies
Botanical engravings from A Curious Herbal, Elizabeth Blackwell, 1739, from the New York Public Library Digital Collections. Herbal remedies from historic sources. Monoprints on pages from the
Encyclopedia Britannica, volume C, 1969. Printed on Asuka paper on an Indigo printer. Bound in quarter cloth. Edition of 20. 2016.

Amissa Anima: a book of the dead
Two volumes. Eye engraving, Dioptrique oculaire, Chérubin d’Orléans, 1671. The Spirit Photographs of William Hope, the National Media Museum. The Ouija, Kennard Novelty Co., Museum of Talking Boards. Printed on Asuka on an Indigo printer with Joss paper endpapers. Bound in laminated Asuka paper over marbled paper. Edition of 50;  2016.

We're going to Hollywood!

photo credit Los Angeles Public Library

Effective June 1, Stephanie Gibbs Bookbinding is thrilled to announce the new studio location, right on Hollywood Boulevard. Directly above a used book shop, a stone's throw from cocktails and coffee, and, of course, on the Walk of Stars.

Do come visit! (Please call or email first!)
(213) 223-6921
stephaniegibbs@gmail.com
6646 Hollywood Boulevard Ste 206, Hollywood, CA 90028

 

upcoming talk -- April 17!

Join me at BookArtsLA, in West Hollywood, for a free lecture on Sunday evening, April 17, at 6.30.

Here's the text from the press release:

Loving Old Books: An Evening Talk with Stephanie Gibbs

Stephanie Gibbs is a conservator, book enthusiast, expert about vellum, historical bibles, leather bindings. and much more. Stephanie will talk about the care and special considerations for old books.

Stephanie is currently Bookbinder-In-Residence at the International Museum of Printing in Carson, CA, and operates her private bookbinding and conservation practice out of the Book Arts Annex.

Put Another Way:

Let's find an interesting way to look at and talk about my work in book conservation! The goal of the evening is to have a good time and for everyone to stay awake, even if the combination of powerpoint and old books might be, in other circumstances, soporific.

 

year of the monkey

New Year's Eve Fireworks
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Archive

2016 : The Year of the Monkey
And postal deliveries were a bit funky
Empty envelopes in mailboxes across this fair land
Missing holiday flipbooks (made by hand)
If yours didn’t arrive, do write me a note
A replacement will be sent, be you near or remote.

the somersault holiday edition

It has been an autumn of palm trees, oceans, and museums. Thankfully, the museums have palm trees, so there hasn't been much of a need to choose between these focal points.

Then the holiday season arrived, and, with it, lights on palm trees. I was deeply amused.

The discovery of the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Archives led to the parallel discovery that lights-on-palm-trees goes back at least to the thirties:

As do any number of other jolly holiday traditions:

Meanwhile, I also discovered the French National Library Archives, except, being French, they call it Bibliothèque nationale de France, and all of the databases are listed and indexed in French. I neither speak nor read French. However, there were illustrated comic books! With build-it-yourself-flip-books! My ignorance of French was not about to stand in my way of antique flip-books.

So, combining an Ansel Adams Christmas Show ("Santa's Circus") from Los Angeles, with a somersaulting top-hatted acrobat from France, the holiday edition 2015-2016 came to be.

The pages were reformatted, cleaned, and laid out in Photoshop and InDesign, and printed commercially. This was a larger edition than in years past, encompassing recipients from both sides of the Atlantic and stretching across to the Pacific, so I used more industrial equipment, as well. It was a good excuse to learn how to use a Challenge paper cutter (without losing a finger) and a drill press (likewise).

Each page was cut down to strips, then each strip separated into frames.

Booklets were then collated, and sewing holes drilled.

It became apparent that a blank spine was simply a spine waiting for its next shining opportunity:

 

The booklets were sewn into their folded wrappers:

 

And somersaulted into the world, carried by USPS circus stamps. Happy new year!

Commencements

An Odyssey.
An Arrival.
A Conclusion.

A Beginning.

we did this

Directions from Easthampton, MA to Los Angeles, CA
Walking directions: 3,107 miles; 1,016 hours.

We took a truck.

An Odyssey

An Odyssey

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.  -- JFK

Use caution - may involve errors or sections not suited for walking.

These directions are for planning purposes only.

You must obey all signs or notices regarding your route.

The adventure begins.

fugit inreparabile tempus

just like that, the weather changes

To travel faster than the speed of light is to travel forward in time. Hypothetically and theoretically, tachyons are able to do this, as they have an imaginary mass (the square root of minus one:  √−1 ), but tachyons in all likelihood aren't a thing. The rest of us travel forward in time at exactly the speed of whatever time is.

Einstein's special theory of relativity states that a finite speed of light protects us from time travel: without it, we could wander around in time essentially the same way we can wander around in space. This protects the past from the future; it's up to us to protect our future from the past.

stat sua cuique dies

all math and facts in this post are directly attributable to Prof. Brian Cox, The Infinite Monkey Cage (Series 12, episode Speed) 

(all errors are my own)
both photos credit KGG

riding the rails (redux)

what to listen to: the memory palace episode 38
 ----------------------
We seem to be experiencing a sibling-transport parallel.
Two brothers, automobiles and trains.
The next in the series must be planes and ships, for the sisters.
 ----------------------
The entire book is constructed from postcards: the slipcase, the cover, the pages.

The Registry sends postcards as license renewal reminders.

Yes, my first thought upon receiving this notice was "re-purpose!"
My second thought was: "Do I or do I not keep my current photo?" (undecided)

cover postcard: reproduction from Historic Northampton

explanatory text, since that's my thing

cards hinged into sections

sewn on a concertina, since postcards lack flexibility

image: engineer at his retirement party

Shelburne Falls is a tiny village populated by artists, old-school Yankees, and escapees from New York City. There’s a range of galleries, cafes, and bookshops, and a reserved parking spot in front of the coffee shop for the police. The upstairs of the Town Hall shows old movies every month, and there is a candlepin bowling alley with two lanes and a small bar. The downtown is two blocks long.

I was there most recently in May 2015, and found myself, for the first time, in town at the same time the Trolley Museum was open (Saturdays, 11 am to 3 pm). So I went in, and discovered this array of vintage postcards. From the numbers stamped on the backs, they were apparently the “master stock” of cards that could be ordered for sale. From the range of locations of the images, my guess is that they were photographs taken by one of the engineers as he traveled throughout the region. The staff were somewhat shocked when I purchased so much of the stock, but these are some of the best railroad photographs I’ve seen.