One of the best kept secrets in recent years has been the Helen Warren DeGolyer Triennial & American Bookbinding Competition and Conference, held at the Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas. I say this because I am always surprised at the small number of participants.



The fine binders who have previously taken part in the DeGolyer Triennials have had the opportunity to be in a first class exhibition, only on view for a short time period, that has been documented in a full color catalog. They have enjoyed an intimate conference with great speakers and presenters, a banquet, and all for a bargain registration fee. The book selected for the proposed binding commission is Jorge Luis Borges’s Ficciones, printed by the Argentine fine press Ediciones Dos Amigos.



This competition was established due to the generosity of the late Helen DeGolyer, a charter member of the Guild of Book Workers’ Lone Star Chapter, who had a passion for fine binding. It is the only fine binding competition in the United States that offers cash prizes.



The 4th DeGolyer Triennial Exhibition & Conference will take place June 1-3, 2006.
There is quite a line up of demonstrators for the conference in a small setting, including an impressive group of vendors with bookbinding supplies. Details can be found at the SMU Bridwell website along with DeGolyer Bookbinding Conference Registration form.

We signed up for this?

In the Texas July heat and humidity, this serious group of students sanded, or cushioned, their laminated boards for their fine bindings behind the Hands On Bookbinding studio.

Laura Thoms (left), Marylyn Bennett (right) and Andrea Knowlton (center) sand their boards by hand, while others use the electric sanders.

Our boards were laminated with combinations of 2-ply and 4-ply museum board, or two 4-ply boards if the book was larger. A piece of paper was sandwiched between the boards for stability and was pasted on each side as the boards were laminated. Only paste was used for laminating the boards in order to sand them smoothly. Boards glued with PVA peel when sanded.

For more pictures from this summer class, visit a Workshop Diary: Summer 2004 . This was a pilot class in preparation for planning the Fine Binding Intensive, April 17-24, 2005.

Welcome to the new Hands On Bookbinding website! This is a work in progress, so please check back for future developments???

It is hard to believe that next April 2005 will mark the tenth year I have operated the Hands On Bookbinding studio. Originally established out of my home in Austin, Texas, in 1995, the bindery was moved in 1998 to its own building in Smithville, a small town 45 miles SE of Austin, where I now live.

Prior to establishing my bindery, as many of you know, I had the privilege to work with Craig Jensen for eight years, along with Gary Frost and an incredible crew at the now legendary BookLab, Inc., once in Austin. Craig is still busy binding at his own BookLab II bindery in San Marcos, Texas.

With previous training in bookbinding from the London College of Printing (1980/81) I have remained challenged by hand bookbinding with an emphasis on creating well crafted and artistic books. A prior degree in printmaking from the California College of Arts & Crafts (1975) was the basis for focusing my studio work on edition binding.

What could be a more fitting tenth anniversary celebration than to hold a week long intensive workshop in April 2005 on Fine Binding at the Buescher State Park, practically in our backyard, only 3 miles from the studio.
I am pleased to announce the Fine Binding Intensive, April 17-24, 2005.