Book Arts & History of the Book - WebQuest


Book Arts & Artists of the Past

  • 4000 Years of Miniature Books - An Exhibit by the Lilly Library at the University of Indiana
  • Book History Timeline - scroll down and click the link labeled Chronology
  • Bound by Tradition - An Exhibition of Nineteenth-Century Books in Tennessee by the Department of Special Collections at Middle Tennessee State University
  • Database of Bookbindings - Search for bindings from a particular period or view a random selection of bindings in the British Library's collection.
  • Historical Binding Models - A set of models designed for use with students learning about the history of the book, contains a brief explanation of each type of binding included
  • International Dunhuang Project - An online exhibit of various examples of Chinese and other Asian bindings
  • Islamic Books and Bookbinding - An exhibit of the Near East Collection at Yale University Library
  • Juding a Book by Its Cover - Gold-Stamped Publishers' Bindings of the 19th Century
  • Leaves of Gold - Examples of historical illuminated manuscripts, mainly religious texts produced by monks
  • Paper, Leather, Clay, and Stone: The Written Word Materialized - Examples of book forms from clay tablets to leather bindings, also includes discussion of banned books, books as historical repositories, and the function of books in ancient culture
  • Papyrus Making 101 - A slide show by the University of Michigan's Papyrus Collection that demonstrates how to make papyrus.
  • Pop-Up and Movable Books: A Tour through Their History from the Nineteenth Century to the Present
  • Scottish Decorative Bookbinding - An exhibit of historical Scottish bindings by the National Library of Scotland
  • Turning the Pages - View the British Library's "treasures": Leonardo DaVinci's notebook, illuminated medieval texts, a 16th century medical book, the Sultan Baybor's Qur'an, the Diamond Sutra (the world's oldest dated printed book), and more.
  • Unseen Hands: Women Printers, Binders and Book Designers - Examples of work by women in Europe and America from 1400 to today.

The Book Arts and Artists Today

  • Abecedarium - An exhibit by members of the Guild Book Workers containing only works that feature the alphabet as their main focus
  • Bay Area Book Artists - An organization of book artists and binders in the San Francisco area
  • Book Arts Web - The main source for all things related to book arts: links to artists, exhibitions, organizations, educational institutions, suppliers, and how-to information
  • Book Fest - A current exhibition by several book artists. There is some really interesting works in this exhibition.
  • Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild - An organization of book artists and binders in Canada, also has American members
  • Central New York Book Arts - Traditional to Innovative: examples of work by binders and book artists in the Central New York area
  • Designer Bookbinders - An organization of book artists, binders, and designers based in the United Kingdom
  • Guild of Book Workers - The main American organization of book artists and binders, has many links to exhibitions
  • Society of Bookbinders - Anoher organization of bookbinders in the United Kingdom
  • Women in the Book Arts: A Selection - Examples of work by contemporary female book artists including Carol Barton, Julie Chen, Barbara Harman, and more.

How to Make a Book

...and other activities related to book arts


Where to Learn Book Arts

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