There has been much hoopla over the launch of Google's new patent search tool. I am pretty certain all the info was already easily available at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) but hey this is a Google world.I had to dig deep to find this book related one. A patent for the "Slanted Book" designed in 1974 by Richard A. Kjarsgaard. Here is the diagram:From what I can make out it looks like the same book design perfected by my dog Roxy who had a brief book chewing phase while a puppy.Much more important is the article...
A New "Low" in Bookbinding
Here is one that gets into the Bookbinding Hall of Shame on the first ballot.The title of the book is:Laws of Washington Territory Enacted by the Legislative Assembly, Tenth Biennial Session, 1885-86The spine says:Image courtesy of Michael's Books Bellingham, Washington
New York Times Does Letterpress
Nice article in the NYT Sunday Arts & Lesuire section entitled "Retro Printer, Grounding the LaserJet"Of course there is the customary "In the compter age, the old-fashioned letterpress is enjoying a resurgence" line that we have been hearing pretty much yearly for the last 20 years but hey at least they keep writing about it.My favorite line comes from Kitty Maryatt, director of Scripps College Press, who says "It is the romance of the impression of letter pressed into paper" Wow! Love thy printer now!To keep the momentum going here are some letterpress related links:First this great video "Leader's in...
Circulation: A Healthy Book Flow
Long Overdue: A collaboration between Maine College of Art and the Portland Public Library. This is how it worked: The Portland Public Library took 200 books that were on their discard pile and gave them to 200 artists to do as they wish. Now the brilliant part- Once the artists were finished with their piece it went back to the library where it was re-entered into the library system and became available for check out. Inter-Library loan no less so it is feasible that if you see something you like you can check it out here in Seattle! The New...
Color Your Penguin: Book Design by the Masters and the Masses
One place the phrase 'Don't judge a book by its cover' doesn't work is in the publishing and bookselling world. One of the most important factors that determine whether someone browsing for a book buys one is how the book looks. Cover designs that important.Patrick Ness has a nice commentary on book design in the Guardian today Arthur Hawkins, Rockwell Kent, Lustig, E. McKnight Kauffer, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand and Chip Kidd are just a few of the names of artists and designers known for the their dust jacket cover art.Along these lines if you are going to be in...