Free Library Blog - Posts by Karen L.

Amazing findings in books in the stacks

Karen L. — 2013-04-11T10:28:00-05:00

In preparation for the dismantling of the book stacks at Parkway Central, we've been surveying the "Art Lewis" books in the stacks. These are books from John Frederick Lewis's personal collection that were donated to the Library by his widow in 1934. Their call numbers begin with AL (for Art Lewis) and are housed together in a locked cage in the book stacks. Mr. Lewis was the great collector who gave the Free Library the European and Oriental manuscript collections, cuneiform tablets, and portrait collection. The most valuable AL volumes were sent to Rare Books a number of years ago, but they apparently missed a few with hidden gems. In a 1903 book called The Story of the Alphabet by Edward Clodd and an 1897 book called Latin Manuscripts by Harold W. Johnston we've found illuminated Book of Hours leaves and other medieval manuscript leaves or fragments tipped in. What a surprise! We're sending these to Rare Books for safe keeping.

Book Paper Scissors Artists' Book Fair

Karen L. — 2012-11-27T16:42:00-05:00

Book Paper Scissors

December 8, 2012

10 am - 4 pm

Parkway Central Library

Book Paper Scissors is an artists' book fair, free and open to the public, accompanied by book and paper workshops.

This festive event features prints, artists' books, handmade paper, zines, origami, blank books, paper sculpture, and jewelry, made by local artists. If it's paper-based art, it's here. Come and buy, or just be inspired! You will find hundreds of affordable and interesting gifts for everyone on your list by artists working in different disciplines at all price levels. This is a great opportunity to view and even handle unique works of art, to shop locally, and to purchase items crafted by hand.

BPS Workshops 2012 – in Room 108 (through the Home Page Café)

A Tale of Two Pamphlets with Erin Paulson

11 am - 12 pm

The pamphlet is a simple and elegant book structure that lends itself to many purposes, from zines to a special hand-written letter. In this workshop we will learn both the three-hole and the five-hole stitch, and you will walk away with two completed books!

Thaumatropes: Victorian era toys for kids with J. Pascoe and Erin Malkowski

2 pm - 3 pm

This workshop will explore the amazing versatility of thaumatropes -- a children's toy popular in the Victorian era that is now seen as a precursor to modern animation. Children will learn about and experiment with the thaumatrope as a vehicle to understanding basic animation, eye-hand coordination, and creativity!

Brought to you by Philadelphia Center for the Book and the Art Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Hip And Hidden Philadelphia: The Unexpected House In A City Of Tradition - Lecture and Book signing

Karen L. — 2012-05-04T15:54:00-05:00

Thursday, May 10, 2012

6:30-8:00 p.m.

Room 108, Parkway Central Library

Followed by a book signing. Books will be available for purchase.

For most people, Philadelphia is a place of red-brick, Revolutionary War-era structures, or 19th-century townhouses, with 20th-century row-houses added into the mix. But there is more to the story. All across the city – one here, a few there – are unique, surprising homes that are as much a part of the Philadelphia picture as the usual suspects.

Authors Virginia Restemeyer and E.I. Weiner brought together years of research and traveling to every part of the city, looking for and recording these one-of-a-kind houses. In their talk, the authors will show some of the best of the 90-plus properties spotlighted in their book: houses by some of the finest, boldest, most thoughtful, whimsical and singular minds who ever worked and lived in Philadelphia – resulting in the Hip and Hidden city that it is.

Artists' Books: Past & Present

Karen L. — 2011-11-14T12:21:00-05:00

2nd floor Art and Print Galleries
Parkway Central Library

Now through January 29, 2012

Artists have been involved with the production of books for centuries – from the illumination of medieval manuscripts to the illustration of children’s books to the graphic novels of today. What do we mean by artists’ books? Most simply (because even the experts don’t always agree), artists’ books are art works in which the artist has used the form and/or structure of the book as their medium. Sometimes text is involved, and, sometimes not. This exhibition features selections from the Print & Picture Collection of artists’ books dating from the 1970s to the present.

You’ll see Salient Seedling Press’s 1985 retelling of the Aesop’s tale, "The Fox and the Farmer", in which a rather traditional woodcut/letterpress page format is embellished with wild letterpress marginalia, or “gorp”.

You’ll also see Alice Austin’s beautiful "Red, Yellow, Blue" (2000) in which three double-page lotus-fold pop-ups open to reveal primary-colored woodcuts of flowers.

You can see these and more on Parkway Central’s second floor galleries outside the Art Department and Print & Picture Collection.

Book Paper Scissors Artists' Book Fair

Karen L. — 2011-11-14T12:10:00-05:00

SATURDAY, November 19, 2011
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
at the Parkway Central Library
Free Library of Philadelphia
1901 Vine Street

Free and open to the public!

This festive book fair features prints, artists' books, handmade paper, zines, origami, blank books, paper sculpture, and jewelry, all made by local artists. If it's paper-based art, it's here!

Free book-making workshops for all ages will also be offered at the Library the day of the fair. Space is limited - please email events@philadelphiacenterforthebook.org to reserve your spot for the morning workshop.

For Adults and Teens:
Hidden Books
11:00 a.m. - Noon, Room 108
Within every sheet of paper is a hidden book lying in wait. We will discover how to make several of these single sheet structures. You'll leave with samples and the know-how to embed your own content into these functional, quick books!

For Kids and Families:
Pop-ups
2:00 -.3:00 p.m., Room 108 - walk-ins ok
Making pop-ups is easy - just cut, fold, and pop! We will explore paper engineering techniques to make cards that jump off the page! Students will learn the basics, including v-fold, layers, and simple tabs, to make your own personalized pop-up creations. Animate holiday cards, build abstract kinetic cards, and more. This workshop is for all ages and levels of experience.

Sponsored by The Philadelphia Center for the Book and the Art Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Book Paper Scissors Artists' Book Fair

Karen L. — 2010-11-29T09:54:00-05:00

The 4th Annual Book Paper Scissors Artists’ Book Fair will be held on Saturday, Dec. 4th from 10-4 at the Parkway Central Library. It's free and open to the public. This festive event features prints, artists’ books, handmade paper, zines, origami, blank books, paper sculpture, and jewelry. Free how-to workshops will be held in Room 108 at 11 am (single sheet folded book) and 1 pm (mini flag book).

Come and buy, or just be inspired! You will find many affordable and interesting gifts for everyone on your list (or yourself).

This event is co-sponsored by the Art Department and the Philadelphia Center for the Book.

New Exhibition on Fashion in the 1960s in Art Department Gallery

Karen L. — 2010-09-16T10:43:00-05:00

From Mad Men to Mod Women: Fashion in the 1960s

2nd Floor, Art Hallway Gallery

September 15 – October 25, 2010

Inspired by the current television show Mad Men and the retro '60s fashions we are seeing today, the exhibition features 1960s Saturday Evening Post covers, images from the Library’s circulating picture collection, and magazine fashion spreads. This six-case exhibition is a brief survey of fashion in a decade that saw monumental changes in western culture–in music, fashion, and social roles. It touches on some of the highlights of fashion at the time.

The Art Department has many books on fashion – both circulating and reference copies. Fashion is classed in the call number 391. A section of circulating books on this subject can be found on your left as you walk into the Art Department. If you don’t find what interests you there, please ask one of the reference librarians for help, as there are a number of additional books in the closed reference section.

From September 20^th to October 15^th, a number of circulating books and DVDs on the subject of fashion will be on display on the back of the desk in the main lobby of Parkway Central.

Free Library Collection Featured on Chinese Television

Karen L. — 2010-06-18T14:19:36-05:00

You may have heard about the 2010 World Expo that opened in Shanghai in May. Did you know that there was a world expo in Philadelphia in 1876? That exposition celebrated the centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and the fairgrounds were in west Fairmount Park and stretched from Memorial Hall (built as the Art Gallery for the exposition) to where the Mann Music Center is today.

Recently, Chinese National Television's American Correspondent, Leon He, came up from Washington and interviewed Karen Lightner, Curator of the Print and Picture Collection, and filmed photographs from the Centennial Collection for the televised spot in May. He also interviewed David Groverman, the proprietor of the Centennial Cafe, which is housed in Ohio House, the only remaining state building in what was the state's section of the exposition. All of his background talk is in Chinese, but his interviews with Karen and David are in English and were sub-titled for broadcast. You can see the spot on YouTube below:

Book Paper Scissors 2009

Karen L. — 2009-12-01T16:58:07-05:00

Don't miss the third annual Book Paper Scissors Artists' Book Fair at the Parkway Central Library on Saturday, December 5, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.—it's free and open to the public! This festive event features prints, artists' books, handmade paper, zines, origami, blank books, paper sculpture, and jewelry for sale by more than 30 artists. If it's paper-based art, it's here! Come and buy, or just be inspired! You will find many affordable and interesting gifts for everyone on your holiday gift list, and a portion of the proceeds benefit the Free Library.

During the event, you can also learn to make a pochoir holiday card for a special someone with book artists Kay Healy and Greg Pizzoli. Pochoir, a French stenciling technique, was often used to color prints and books, especially in the early 1900s. Each participant will learn the technique and create their own handmade pochoir greeting. The kid-friendly (age 5 and up) workshops will be held at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. in the Story Hour Room in the Children's Department on the ground floor.

See you there!

Mostly Local: Recent Acquisitions by the Print and Picture Collection

Karen L. — 2009-10-15T11:39:00-05:00

The Parkway Central Library’s Print and Picture Collection is currently hosting a new exhibition of artists’ books, photographs, and prints acquired by purchase or gift in 2008 and 2009. On display through November 14, the exhibition mainly features work from local artists.

The Print and Picture Collection doesn’t have an endowment like some other special collections at the Free Library. For our acquisitions, we have relied on gifts from artists and collectors, a very small amount of mostly private Library funds, and money raised by the Friends of the Print and Picture Collection.

Because of the city budget crisis the past year, we bought very few photographs and fine prints in 2008 and 2009. We purchased a number of fairly inexpensive artists’ books, primarily at the Hybrid Book Fair at the University of the Arts in June, and some from individuals. We were also grateful to receive a very generous gift from Lilyan Maitin—24 prints by her late husband Sam, which served as a nice addition to the prints of his which were already in the collection. Several of the artists who participated in this year’s Robert Looney Memorial Event donated a print to the collection, as well. As it turns out, and as is our focus, most of our acquisitions are of work by local artists.

The Print and Picture Collection houses research collections of images of Philadelphia, as well as extensive fine art prints, photographs, and artists' books collections. A circulating picture collection of news photographs and pictures and illustrations clipped from books and magazines is also available to Library customers. The Print and Picture Collection is open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 215-686-5405.