I was getting nowhere.  That was when I started looking into purchasing some old time fonts and I ran into the Fells Fonts project.  Seemingly by another history nut-techie like me.  We all gotta use our skills where they can add value!  This is an amazing library of fonts that has been developed by scanning and digitizing old books.  The site is really fun to look at and very visual.  Down load and start using them yourself (Be sure to make a small donation for their use!). I toyed with using them for the entire course and then felt like some people would rebel – so only the section titles use one of the fonts.

Tricia

So I started work on the branding.  It needed to ‘say’ several things:  17th century, embroidered caskets, old, and have something in it that I could pull out and use for the stamps.  I have three companies and multiple products, so I have been down this road many times.  Well, all branding starts with fonts.  I started with the fonts that work with my Thistle Threads logo and the words Cabinet of Curiosities.  I spent an entire weekend working on different logos.  None worked that well.  I thought I would show you the rejects…

So Richard got out the stamping roller and holder and started showing me how it was used.  The modern rollers are electric heated and not fire heated.  Plus they have nice holders for the gilt tape you can use.  The tape has a bit of gum on it.  The roller goes over the tape and it simultaneously embosses the substrate as well as glues the gilt foil in place, debonding it from the carrier tape.  This would all have been done with leaf in the 17th century.

So we got out a piece of the paper – note, hand made paper.  That is a WHOLE other story.  The first custom colored ream of it arrive today while I was writing my blogs.  BEAUTIFUL.

Richard ran over it and was less than happy.  He was used to the perfection expected on leather bindings.  I laughed and said it was TOO perfect already.  Then I got out the period examples and we had a good chuckle.  It didn’t need to be perfect.  There were double images, improperly embossed edges, and all kinds of mistakes all over the caskets.  These pieces were done speedily and without care.

We spent quite a bit of time discussing how wide the strips should be, what type of designs would work well, should we use a period design or do something new…

Then there were the technical details.  How to design a roller for the class – the hub that fits his handle and things like that.  A million details to keep straight.  We also talked about how many stamps/wheels I would need – more than one to cover the different types of surfaces.  So I have just started to have them made.  Plus the availability of foils – I wanted silver but real silver seems to be unobtainable.  I did try – made many international phone calls – but it looks like we may have to do with faux silver.  Grr.  No one wants it because it tarnishes.  Of course – that is exactly why I wanted it – because it tarnishes!  ha ha

So I was now off to plan out how much strip we would need for the class, get the paper made, and design a roller that would somehow work for both the thin and thick edges we needed to cover.  Oh and look period but yet also leave a clue that this was modern work!  Realize that this was early October and I just received my cut wheel here in May…there is much work by many people in these last seven months.  (Think about what must be underway now….there are many balls and surprises in the air.  I talked to no less than six manufacturers in the last 24 hours on things I have going that I haven’t talked about yet!)

So back in October, I went with Marie Oedel (Gosh – I reallllllly need to introduce you all to Dick and Marie!) to the Boston Antiquarian Book Show in search of a few details as well as for a special meeting with a few craftspeople we would need.  The timing was excellent.  I was able to discuss a number of details with people, look for things like reproduction prints, look at book binding tools, think about equipment and generally get myself up to speed about bookbinding and the support industries – something that is important in casket making.

Here you can see some period tools as well as some of the modern equipment that can be used to speed production.  We are going to go a bit more traditional than this!  At this fair, I met a gem of a individual from Harcourt Bindery.  Marie introduced me – hoping that we could find someone who would be able to do the stamping for our course and casket.  Sam Ellenport of Harcourt Bindery was a wealth of knowledge on traditional bookbinding and he thought he had the perfect individual for this project – his stepson whom he had trained in the arts.

As a side note, Sam was recently interviewed for an oral history project – his thoughts on books are recorded on You Tube over three videos.  Video 1, Video 2, Video 3.  I think it would be fun for you to hear someone who has gotten involved in the project to see the philosophy that guides them.  They are all fantastic and special people.

I have been waiting to announce this on the blog until the mailings all came out for the EGA.  I was asked a year ago to teach the Extended Study Program in Fall 2012 for the EGA.  The course will be a mini-version of the Cabinet of Curiosities – only focused on 17th century mirror frames.  So if you weren’t able to get into the casket course or it seemed too large of a project for you – this might be an option.  I know that the course is already over half full – so if you are interested, you might need to look into it soon!  It will be in Portsmouth, New Hampshire between October 11-14th

The information is all here on the EGA site.

Here you can see the drafting of a mirror frame in process.  I made an original – yet historic variation for a frame which is being made right now for the class participants to purchase if they want.

Tricia