Julia Miller
July 20-21, Tuesday-Wednesday
Tuition: $250   Materials: $35
Enrollment limited to twelve.

This workshop is full. if you'd like to be added to the waiting list. (Please be sure to include the name of the workshop.)

This is the model you will make in this workshop. Here you can see the extended spine piece, the laced-spine construction, and the attachments which include wrapping bands with bone slips at the head and foreedge of the upper cover, and a bookmark attached to the lower cover.
Detail of the decorated spine piece.
The codex closed with the wrapping bands in place; the scalloped leather at the tail of the spine imitates the broken or worn condition of the original binding. The endbands are simple and elegant.

he Glazier Codex model you will make in this two-day workshop is a full size replica of the original in the Pierpont Morgan Collection in NYC.

The original codex contains one half of the text of the Acts of the Apostles and is speculated to be part of a two-volume set of luxury bindings, perhaps made for a private individual.

Thought to date from the 5th century, this volume belongs to a very special group of Coptic bindings studied and described by John Sharpe III. He refers to this 5th and 6th century group as The Nine because they are the only nine texts that survive from this period with at least part of their original wooden board bindings, leather spines, wrapping bands, and bone slips intact.

You may be interested to note that the Glazier is also the earliest known Coptic text to have an illustration.

During the course of two days, you can expect to sew your paper text block using a link style method, and work colored thread unsupported endbands on the textblock.

The leather spine piece is decorated with blind tooling done with unheated tools on the dampened leather.

You will drill the cedar boards with either an electric or a hand drill.

The cover-to-text attachment style of the Glazier consists of a spine piece with five horizontal lacing strips attached tightback to the spine of the text block, with the strips laced into the wooden boards.

You will attach wrapping bands at the top and fore edge of the upper cover; the bookmark is a laminate of leather and vellum and is decorated with ink and blind tooling.

Two bone slips will be shaped and attached to the ends of the wrapping bands; their purpose is to hold the wrapping bands in place.

In order to help you understand the place of the Glazier in the tradition of Coptic binding, Julia will show you her fine group of binding models that represent many of the Coptic family of historical binding styles.

Julia will also furnish handouts that include patterns for the boards, spine piece and bookmark; a reading list; and Sharpe’s foundation article about The Nine.

This class is suitable for book artists, conservators, and historical structure enthusiasts, and good for beginners who have some basic book binding experience and who would like to move on to working with leather and drilling wood and bone. Leather paring will be minimal. Experience with link sewing is a plus.

About one month before the workshop, registrants will receive a tool list, directions to the studio, and any other pertinent logistical information via email. Workshop hours are usually from 9:30 until about 5:00. Please do not buy an airplane ticket or make any other non-refundable payment before checking with us to be sure the workshop for which you have registered has sufficient enrollment.

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