American Publishers’ Bindings, Artists of the Book, and the Decorative Arts. A Symposium

On May 24, 2016, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be hosting a scholars' day symposium  in celebration of the Thomas J. Watson Library’s recent acquisition of a broad range of American decorated publishers’ bindings. The program will focus on the history, manufacture and conservation of American publishers’ bindings and the role of designers in the decorative arts. This program is invitational and will not be open to the public. The program will feature talks by Richard Minsky, Todd Pattison, Mindell Dubansky, Holly Phillips, Constance McPhee and Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen.  A report on the program is forthcoming.  

You can access the Watson Library's collection of decorative bindings through Watsonline.  Other materials are available by appointment in the Department of Drawings and Prints, including Margaret Armstrong's original botanical drawings for her book Western Wildflowers.  Some of Morse's design drawings at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum are now available online through this link: https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/people/18060579/objects/

In prepation for the symposium, several blog posts have been updated. If you have questions, please contact me at mindell.dubansky@metmuseum.org