Springtime is book time

Springtime is not only auction time, but also a busy period for authors and publishers, as we saw a few interesting new publications around book preservation and research arrive in rapid succession.
1. It's worth repeating that on February 1, 2008, In de ban van boeken was opened at Belgium's National Library. This exhibition highlights books from 20 book collectors from the 19th century, that went into the collection by donation or via acquisition. The catalogue (ISBN 90-6637-145-5), work of reference in provenance research, has the same title, and was edited by Marcus de Schepper, An Kelders, and Jan Pauwels.

This exhibition still runs until August 24, 2008, and in May the entire contents will be fully renewed, so that new books will be on display for each collector. On Sunday April 18, 2008, the National Library has a special Visitor Day from 1-6 p.m.

2. On February 29, 2008, volume 2 of Armarium. Publicaties voor erfgoedbibliotheken, was presented to the public. Mieke Lietaer of Stadsbibliotheek Antwerp, Flanders' largest depot library, wrote Goed gegeven! Gids voor schenkingen aan bibliotheken (ISBN 9789072679338): a manual geared to librarians, acquainting them with every aspect of book donations to libraries. The Koning Boudewijnstichting, consulted on the matter as well, put a the information on its page devoted to the preservation of artefacts.

Promotors of Erfgoedbibliotheken Vlaanderen (libraries preserving books and manuscripts in Flanders) are Antwerp professor of history and book history Pierre Delsaerdt, and Director of Stadsbibliotheek Antwerpen, An Renard. The Armarium publications are funded by the Flemish government, the City of Antwerp, and the University of Antwerp.

3. The prize for sumptuous elegance in academic publishing certainly goes to the folio produced by Luc Knapen and Leo Kenis (editors) around the use of wood in books: Hout in boeken, houten boeken en de "fraaye konst van houtdraayen", Documenta libraria series no. 35 from Peeters Publishers, Leuven (ISBN 9789042920576). This work unites contributions from historians, book historians, and woodturning lathe specialists from this country and abroad. It is truffled with color illustration.

4. And just this week we saw the arrival of a monograph on 16th-century book illustration in the Low Countries: Christopher Plantin and Engraved Book Illustrations in Sixtieenth-Century Europe, by Karen L. Bowen and Dirk Imhof (Cambridge UP, ISBN 978052185276-0). Bowen is a specialist on book illustration and Imhof is curator of rare books and archives at the Plantin-Moretus Museum. Their research relies heavily on the rich archives of the Plantinian Press. As a study, it takes a contextual approach to document how Plantin's choice for etchings influenced a change in taste with regard to book illustration at the time.