Dear Friends and Colleagues -

Making the Modern Book is happening next week at the Library of Congress! We hope you will join us for an afternoon of lectures, a large display of material from the Rare Book & Special Collections Division, and wine and nibbles in the Great Hall. Information and registration link below. We hope to see you there!

Making the Modern Book: The Aramont Library
January 19, 2023

Join artists, scholars, and specialists at the Library of Congress for a free, in-person symposium celebrating the donation of the Aramont Library. A monument to modern Western creativity in nineteenth- and twentieth-century art and literature, the Aramont Library’s 1,700 books strike a perfect balance between book design, content, illustration, and binding. In private hands for over 40 years, the Aramont Library is comprised of literary first editions, illustrated books, exhibition bindings, finely bound author collections, and illustrated books by some of the most important artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including: Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Dorothea Tanning, Max Ernst, and many more. The collection also includes first editions of landmarks in Western literature by authors such as Ernest Hemingway, Oscar Wilde, and Virginia Woolf, as well as three variant first edition copies of James Joyce’s Ulysses, one of which includes a very rare schema and annotated anatomical figure describing Joyce’s novel. Famous binders such as Sangorski & Sutcliffe, Paul Bonet, and Rose Adler elevate many books to holistic works of art with stunning displays of craft and careful artistry.

Making the Modern Book will offer visitors an introduction to the Aramont Library and its formation over the past four decades. It will also address the way in which the Aramont Library’s unique combination of art, literature, and non-fiction embodies the spirit of modernism, challenging historical conceptions about the content, design, and format of modern books during the nineteenth and twentieth century. In addition to talks, the evening will include a cocktail hour and a large collection display in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress!

For questions, please contact Emily Moore, Assistant Curator to the Aramont Library: [log in to unmask]

Speakers:

Gaby Cooksey (she/her), Bookbinder and book artist Gabby Cooksey is a bookbinder and book artist in Tacoma, WA. She studied at the American Academy of Bookbinding and graduated from North Bennet Street School for bookbinding. She has a love for odd materials, storytelling and well crafted books.

Patrick Hastings (he/him) English Department Chair, Gillman School Patrick Hastings is the English Department Chair at Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland, where he teaches sophomores and seniors and also coaches the JV soccer team. His scholarship specializes in James Joyce's novel Ulysses, and he has presented at conferences on the topics of Digital Humanities and Postmodernism. He is the author of The Guide to James Joyce's Ulysses and the creator of UlyssesGuide.com.

Robin Holder (she/her) Artist Robin Holder is a visual artist known for developing imagery that explores how our perspectives are informed by our cultural, racial, religious and class identity. Holder was commissioned to create several site-specific public art installations notably 34 glass windows for the New York City subway. She has presented several one person museum exhibitions. Her work has been acquired by The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The Washington State Arts Commission, The Art Commission of the City of New York, The Queens Borough Public Library as well as numerous corporate and private collections.

Gordon Hollis (he/him), Founder of Golden Legend Books Gordon Hollis, President, has an A.M from the University of Chicago (1973). He has been a member of the ABAA (Antiquarian Bookseller's Association of America) since 1984. He was on the Board of Governors, (1992–3); and President of the Southern California Chapter of the ABAA (2004–6). Also, he has been a member of the Grolier Club, Society of Dance History Scholars, American Society of Theatre Historians, and Bibliographical Society of America. He has written numerous articles about rare-book collecting and published three books on this subject. Gordon joined the Aramont organization in 1982 and was curator of the rare-book collection until it was donated to the Library of Congress (2020).

Emily Moore (she/her), Curator at the Library of Congress Emily Moore is the Assistant Curator of the Aramont Library in the Rare Books and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress. She has a double BA in Art History and Cinema from the University of Toronto and an MLIS from the University of Maryland. Moore’s passions are art and archives, and examining how production and process intersect with memory and object.

Jamie Murphy (he/him) Printer and book artist Jamie Murphy operates under the imprint of The Salvage Press, making books with particular attention to concept, materials and fine printing. At The National College of Art & Design his focus with students is on book-making and typographic experimentation. Collaborating with artists from diverse disciplines he produces book projects which are predominantly of Irish interest. Jamie has exhibited and spoken broadly about his work and has been the recipient of several major international awards. His books reside in private, public and institutional collections across the globe.

Adrien Legendre (he/him), Head of the Books and Manuscripts Department, Christie’s France After graduating from the Sorbonne in 2005 with a Master degree in History, Adrien Legendre joined a prestigious Parisian book dealer in the Quartier Latin, then, in 2008 the Books department of Sotheby’s in Paris, until 2013 and then was transferred to the Books department of Sotheby’s New York. In July 2017, Adrien joined Christie’s as the Head of the Books and Manuscripts department in Paris where is been in charge of several majors books collections including the Juan de Besteigui collection in 2018, Marc Litzler collection in 2019, or the Paul Destribats Bibliothèque des Avant-Gardes from 2019 till 2022.

Ken Shure (he/him), Co-partner Two Ponds Press with Liv Rockefeller Owner and manager of Goose River Exchange, Antiquarian book and ephemera shop (1977-2018). Agent for Leonard Baskin’s Gehenna Press 1985-present. Also represent other artist’s private presses Double Elephant, Chevington, Khelcom New York, Wiesedruck. Established Two Ponds Press in 2012 with Liv Rockefeller and celebrating 10th anniversary with retrospective exhibition at Bowdoin College Library opened September 2022.

Stephanie Stillo (she/her), Curator at the Library of Congress Stephanie Stillo serves as Curator of the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection and Aramont Library in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress. Stillo holds a PhD in Modern European History and specializes in the history of printmaking and historical book illustration. Stillo has a particular interest in the visual intersection of art, literature, and poetry in modern and contemporary artist books.

Emily Moore (she/her)

Assistant Curator, Aramont Library

Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress

(202) 707-9127

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