Nancy Nitzberg
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
Nancy Nitzberg began bookbinding in 1982 at Harvard College Library’s Conservation Unit, where she worked for four years. After receiving an M.S. in Library Service and a Certificate in Library and Archives Conservation from Columbia University, she served as a professional book conservator in major research libraries and a regional conservation center. She now operates her own business, Book-Care, providing conservation and custom bookbinding services to academic and cultural institutions, the book trade, and to individuals. Her research interests include examining structures and materials of book forms, broadly defined, produced through the millennia, with attention to the use of local materials and the influences of trade routes and other factors that impact the reading and writing materials of communities around the world.
Example Binding:
William Blake.
Walking Round Cambridge with William Blake.
Illustrations by Rose Harries.
Oldham, England: Incline Press, 2008.
Dark blue goatskin with onlays comprised of vintage English textile designed by William Morris; textiles arranged to create a “Cambridge style” panel motif; gold-tooled design elements. Marbled endpapers. Leather joints, hand-sewn silk endbands. Gold-stamped spine label with tooling. Text sewn with linen thread on three cords laced into the boards. The choice of English materials reflects the origin of the printed work and the colors of ink used for the images. My intention is to use tangible artifacts related to the origin of the work to subtly connect the reader to the text and illustrations within, without overshadowing the literary content.
Design Description:
Original textblock conserved as needed. Original sewing holes utilized, book to be sewn on five cords with linen sewing threads, no additional edge treatment. Five cords laced into boards and extensions of the textile spine lining adhered to inside of boards as reinforcement hinges. An alkaline paper lining in the form of a hollow tube creates a “hollowback” spine with built-in flexibility and strength. Full light aqua goatskin, gold and blind tooling on covers, spine with gold rules and lettering of title. Light aqua silk doublures and leather hinges. Light aqua and gold toned silk endbands in two-tiered French style, colors coordinated with the embroidered silk, and the gold tooling and aqua leather on the cover. Protective jacket of vintage French printed cotton fabric adhered to thick handmade paper.
