The Book Arts Collection at the University of Washington Libraries is part of the Special Collections and Preservation Division. This arrangement has the advantages of specialized staff, security, environmental controls, and close proximity to related materials. All elements of the Book Arts Collection, from bookbinding to artist's books to hand papermaking, are handled similarly. Students, historians, critics, and individual artists all use the diverse materials represented in the Collection. The focus of this article is paper, but most of the discussion applies equally to other specialty areas. The specific works mentioned here are all part of the Libraries' collections. A basic goal of the Book Arts Collection is to provide a broad range of choices for the definition of the book. Because there are thousands of artists making books, there are countless definitions for the form. It is the library's responsibility to collect examples of these different interpretations and to provide the environment to experience them. Each person then creates an individual definition for the book. In a collection both historically based and currently active, a balance between access and preservation needs to be struck. The Book Arts Collection has a strong teaching commitment and some stereotypes about libraries must be overcome in order to fulfill this function productively. Unfortunately "rare book collection" sometimes suggests an "untouchable" museum environment where materials can not be handled. In the Book Arts Collection that is far from true. Faculty members and graduate students from the University of Washington and other institutions of higher education in the state account for about half of the use of the collection. Classes and groups visit on an appointment basis. Some of the sessions led by the library staff constitute an overview of the field, covering 150 pieces in two hours. Others are focused on a specific structure, element of the book arts, or time period. Those interested in handmade paper may be part of a class studying book arts, printmaking, history of the book, textiles, letterpress printing, art history, bookbinding, music, or papermaking. Individual artists use the Collection a considerable amount. Some artists already make books, while others are new to the field. Artists use the Collection to find solutions to current technical problems. Those with a finished edition may want to know what a reasonable market price is or where to sell a piece. A person with finished art work may need to identify a bookbinder or printer to complete the book. Students interested in studying book arts seek examples of work being produced in various programs. A small staff makes it difficult to answer some of these questions on a drop in basis, therefore appointments are encouraged. Private collectors, gallery owners or museum curators looking for artists to show, and critics, art historians, and journalists writing about the book arts also use the Collection. Education brings appreciation; respect confers value. Few of those just beginning to work with books understand how labor intensive the form can be. This time consuming and sometimes strenuous aspect of the book arts is exemplified in handmade paper. Because paper is basic to the book arts, the more artists understand and appreciate it, the better versatility they find. Ideally each artist who uses handmade paper will try making it at some point, the better to appraise its worth. The Book Arts Collection contains materials dated from 1600 to the present, complemented by earlier historical materials in the Rare Book Collection, also part of Special Collections. Because the Book Arts Collection continues a long, rich tradition of the history of the book, it seems logical to combine early works such as clay tablets, pieces of papyrus, and medieval manuscripts on vellum with their contemporary counterparts. A student interested in paper can find diverse examples in Special Collections. One can page through an incunable, with its still crisp, amazingly clean leaves, or see the first illustration of a papermill in the Nuremburg Chronicle. Original bindings with a bit of wear display the laminated paper which sometimes forms the covers of early books. The conservator can find 15th century rag paper turned golden and embrittled by 19th century replacement endsheets. Books printed before 1800, originally collected for content or printer association, are, secondarily, fine examples of handmade paper. A high point of any book arts collection is the fine press movement of the late-19th century. At the University of Washington there has been a sustained commitment to collecting fine press limited editions, including many of the famous English, French, and American presses of the Arts and Crafts movement. For the artist interested in paper, particularly sheet forming, few examples are better than the specially-made Batchelor paper used by the Kelmscott, Doves, and Ashendene presses. Continuing the Arts and Crafts tradition, the Collection has many fine press editions from the turn-of-the-century to the 1960s with the focus on printer or illustrator. Many of the examples from the Grabhorns, Golden Cockerel, Gregynog, John Henry Nash, and Nonesuch used handmade paper for their books. The majority of the Collection dates from 1970, with the greatest collecting emphasis on the present. Because of the sheer number of modern book artists represented in the Collection, examples mentioned here are selective, highlighting different styles, techniques, and genres. Book Arts programs from around the country are represented, such as the Universities of Iowa, Nebraska, and Alabama. Walter Hamady has been one of the single most influential teachers of papermaking and book arts during his time at the University of Wisconsin. From his Perishable Press, he has published many first editions of major writers, usually printed on Hamady's own paper. Included in the Collection: The Charm (1967), poems by Robert Creeley; Pulsars (1974), poem by Harry Lewis, silk screen print by Sam Gilliam; and Del Quien Lo Tomo: A Suite (1982), by Joel Oppenheimer, with illustrations by Hamady. The Libraries also have Hamady's book, Hand Papermaking: Papermaking by Hand, Being a Book of Qualified Suspicions (1982). Many of Hamady's former students have continued in the book arts, making paper and printing books. Charles Alexander started Black Mesa Press with Alison Circle and they printed Mother and Daughter and the Sea (1981, edition 150) on their own paper. Later Alexander moved to Tucson and formed the Chax Press, his current imprint, where he has used paper by other papermakers as well. In Wo'I Bwikam: Coyote Songs from the Yaqui Bow Leaders' Society (1990) with drawings by Cynthia Miller, Alexander uses paper made by Thomas Leech at San Miguel Paper Works. Katherine Kuehn also studied with Hamady and printed My Grand Mother's Tablecloth with text by Tamara Plakins in an edition of 75 copies (Salient Seedling Press, 1980) on her handmade "Palm box" paper. Kuehn has also made paper for other printers, including cover paper for Landlocked Press's Walking With My Sons (1986), which Kuehn illustrated. In book arts programs, students learn from both faculty and each other; many connections made in this environment last entire careers. Other letterpress printers use handmade paper and make some of their own. The Turkey Press's The Quest For Mount Misery and Other Studies (1983, edition 100) was printed by Sandra Liddell Reese on paper made by Harry Reese. In Kill Jim (Sombre Reptiles, 1981), illustrations are individually collaged handmade papers from the Kensington Paper Mill. Mare Blocker combines mouchette and cedar bark paper by Nancy Pobanz in her one-of-a-kind, Magdalene (1990). There are few production handmade paper mills and we try to represent all of them. Paper from the Imago Handpaper Mill is used beautifully in American Bard by Walt Whitman (1981, edition 115) with woodcuts by William Everson, printed at his Lime Kiln Press. Claire Van Vliet has used Barcham Green's paper to advantage, notably in The Circus of Doctor Lao (Janus Press, 1984), printed on Green's de Wint. To help students understand how handmade paper is made, we collect full and half sample sheets, examples of various fibers in different stages of production, and small, inexpensive paper molds. Sheets from both regionally and nationally known papermakers are represented, such as Lilian Bell, Glen Wark, Sara Krohn, and Timothy Barrett. Test sheets and dyeing samples are particularly useful. We recently acquired Amanda Degener's working notes, paper samples, and proofs for the broadside Old Quilts, a collaboration between Degener and Van Vliet. We have the finished broadside as well. Pieces which demonstrate innovative techniques are also useful. For her shaped piece, Bee (1990, edition 10), Margery Hellmann used mylar on her molds to create spaces with interior deckles. Paper ephemera, such as the keepsakes from the 1980 International Conference of Hand Papermakers, and realia are also included in the Collection. Pulp painting first excited me when we were able to acquire The Dream of the Dirty Woman with paper made at Twinrocker by Van Vliet and Kathryn Clark (1980, one of 85 copies). Van Vliet's pieces using handmade paper are particularly popular. We have most of her pulp painting broadsides and several other books, including Dido and Aeneas (1989, edition 150), with paper by Van Vliet, Katie MacGregor, and Bernie Vinzani. Other book artists are using the technique of pulp painting as well. A recently acquired piece is by Robbin Ami Silverberg, of Dobbin Mill. She Was the First to Drink, the First to Bite (1990) is a one-of-a-kind accordion artist's book with text formed of linen pulp on a base sheet of cotton rag, bound in handmade paper covers decorated with a monoprint. We have a scarce Wesley Tanner piece, The Making of the Berkeley Hills (1983), printed at the Bancroft Library, handcolored, and bound into a landscape pulp painting wrapper in an edition of only twenty-five copies. Cast and sculptural paper is also part of the Collection. Mare Blocker sewed beads onto her handmade paper for Letters For the Dead and Calendar Markings, both one-of-a-kinds made in 1981. Tunnel books, such as Some Places on a Summer Night (1990, one-of-a-kind) and Windows out of Walls (1990, edition 3), both by Kathryn Leonard, use Japanese and European handmade papers. Margaret Ahrens Sahlstrand has been a major influence for papermakers in the Pacific Northwest, teaching and sharing her many talents. One of the forms her work takes is cast paper. Northwest Woodlands: A Suite of Four Cast Paper Prints (1977, edition 15) was made as four prints in Plexiglass boxes enclosed in a folding container of silk and cast paper. For Passwords (1980), printed by Suzanne Ferris and published under Ferris's Sea Pen Press and Paper Mill imprint, Sahlstrand created thirty-three "unalike" cast paper prints for the frontispiece of this boxed edition. Ferris began Sea Pen Press and Paper Mill with Neal Bonham in 1975 when they were students at the University of Wisconsin. Since their return to the Northwest in 1976, both have been important influences in handmade paper and letterpress printing in the region. All of their edition work, broadsides, and many samples of handmade paper are in the Collection. Especially noteworthy is the work Bonham has been doing with distinctive watermarks. For Even Money (1988, edition 100), Ferris printed and illustrated the book and Bonham made the paper, including the watermarked coverstock with running horses. Sara Krohn started Paper Route in Port Townsend, Washington, and produced handmade paper there for several years before relocating to Easthampton, Massachusetts. The Book Arts Collection has a number of sheets from her mill and some examples of the commission work she did for presses in the area. Homage: Leda as Virgin (1986, edition 120) by the Lockhart Press is printed on Krohn's handmade. Because of the close connection the Northwest has with Japan, there is special interest in Japanese paper. The Book Arts Collection has handmade sheets from major papermakers and a mix of decorated and dyed papers. Many books use Japanese papers for text sheets, bindings, and illustration. Kathryn Leonard uses both Japanese and Western handmade paper for her papercuts in The Sound in the Shell (1990, edition 3) and combines them with letterpress text in a concertina stick binding. Jim Koss's Phoenix (1982) is a one-of-a-kind artist's book with papercut illustrations. Adrienne Robineau's Baking (1991, one- of-a-kind) stacks Japanese paper formed into baking cups into a box. The text is found on the inside of the cups, illustration on the outside. In addition to collecting examples of paper used in both traditional and non-traditional books, the library has a strong commitment to acquiring reference books, technical manuals, and bibliographies related to the history of paper and papermaking. These include several of Dard Hunter's scarcest books, created in small editions early in his career. For his first book on papermaking, Old Papermaking (1923, edition 200), Hunter designed, cut, and cast the type, and printed the book on his own watermarked paper. The book contains samples from each century from 1480 to 1725. Hunter's strong interest in papermaking in Asia documented the craft in such books as A Papermaking Pilgrimage to Japan, Korea and China (1936), containing 51 specimen sheets. Papermaking in Indo-China (1947, edition 182) was printed by Dard Hunter, Jr. on his father's paper. Henry Morris's Bird & Bull Press carries on Hunter's tradition of publishing important texts on papermaking. The Libraries' collection is nearly complete, including Timothy Barrett's Nagashizuki (1979), a splendid collaboration between Morris, Barrett, and illustrator Richard Flavin. Morris's first text on papermaking, Papyrus or the Craft of Paper (1961, edition 113), is printed on Morris's own "Bird & Bull" handmade paper, as are many of his later works, including: Old Ream Wrappers (1969) and Thirty Years of Bird & Bull (1988). There are many other modern reference books in the Collection of interest to the papermaker. A few are: Papermaking by Hand by J. Barcham Green (1967); Paper Making As An Artistic Craft by John Mason (Twelve by Eight Press Edition, 1963); and Plant Papers' Paper Plants (Alembic Press, 1989), with fourteen samples by Maureen Richardson, bound in yucca paper. There are also a variety of commercial paper sample books such as the Stevens-Nelson Paper Corporation specimen book of the 1950s. Acquisition for an institutional collection is very different than collecting as an individual. The curator's responsibility is to assess the existing collection, determine current use patterns, and evaluate future needs. The collection is not a venue for personal taste. The criteria for selection must be based on the quality and historic significance of the work, the vision of the artist, and how the piece will complement the collection. Because the primary focus of the Book Arts Collection is the present, every effort is made to acquire pieces directly from artists. There are several benefits to this approach. Much can be learned from the artist about why certain materials were chosen and how a specific piece fits into the body of work, and details can be gathered on the artist's background, influences, and future goals. A crucial question for the artists is, "Why do you use the book form?" Unfortunately many gallery owners and book dealers cannot discuss the technical aspects of the work they carry and only the artist can share the real reasons books are the medium. It is not the "meaning" of the books which I seek in talking with the artists but the motivation behind their choosing the book form. In learning some of the technical elements of the pieces, advice and cautions can be passed on to save others frustration. Frequently artists who sell exclusively through galleries and dealers never know where their work is placed. I hear from artists that this is disappointing. The advantage for the artist of knowing where the work finds a home is a clearer understanding of why it is chosen and how it is used. Ideally a personal relationship between the artist and the curator means the collection will be something other than simply a grouping of pieces available in many other institutions. Anyone can buy individual books. A collection is, at its best, a unique gathering of pieces which together create a larger and more meaningful whole. Working directly with artists aids tremendously in the creation of such a collection. In collecting at the University of Washington Libraries, there is a balance between work produced in the Pacific Northwest and that created in other parts of the world, the primary focus being on the United States, England, and Europe, in that order. Because of our position in the Northwest, it is important to support and collect regional artists. Because we are a regional resource and heavily used by local artists, it is important that we represent as many of the other regions of the world as possible. when artists in the Northwest see only work by other artists in the same region, the work tends to get incestuous. It is just as important for the Book Arts Collection to have the work of Claire Van Vliet, Bonnie O'Connell, and Susan King as it is to represent Mare Blocker, Tree Swenson, and Jim Koss. Since no library budget is unlimited, choices must be made. Because the goal of the Collection is to have as expansive a definition as possible for the book, there are many more pieces which are appropriate than the budget will allow. Many artists, both those who have used the Collection extensively and those who have not, are supportive of our goals and have donated work or a portion of the cost of a piece to make it possible for us to acquire it. In some cases, artists find willing donors; in others, we acquire slightly shopworn copies for a substantial reduction in price. Few artists choose the book form for financial gain; the primary motivation is to have their work seen, shared, and appreciated. To support the artists whose work we collect, we try to acquire a span of work. While it is impossible for us to guarantee we will buy everything an artist creates, there is the intent to acquire more than a single piece to represent that artist for eternity. Careers are long and a collection should chronicle as many facets as possible. We count on artists to tell us when they have created a piece especially significant, made a technical leap, or tried out a new style so that, if possible, it can be incorporated into the body of existing work in the Collection. On the artist's side, many are willing to discount pieces for continued support. Collecting is not an activity which flourishes without effort and commitment. There are some artists who need encouragement to try their hand at books. Other artists, including papermakers, may not usually create books. Nancy Pobanz, a papermaking in Seattle who has relocated to the Philippines, concentrated on sheet forming. Because we wanted to be sure that her paper would be appreciated, we decided that as well as collecting sheets, Nancy would make a one-of-a-kind sample book which could be cataloged. Now anyone interested in her paper can look in the Libraries' on-line catalog under either Nancy's or her firm's name, Botanical Papers, and find that the Book Arts Collection has her work. When students come to ask for the sample book, staff is able to alert them to our good collection of her sheet paper as well. Currently sheet paper is not catalogued. In Special Collections there are card finding aids which give access to some book arts related information, such as illustrators, press names, papermakers, and signed book bindings. Providing on-line catalog access to groups of handmade paper sheets by a single papermaker is an objective. Having come to the field accidentally, like all good love affairs, I feel it is important to participate as fully in the book arts as possible. In nearly 25 years, I have seen a lot of work, met a lot of artists who were devoted to books, sliced my fingers in workshops, and learned a tremendous amount. I have learned from looking, talking, and trying. I am constantly aware that the more one knows, the more learning one needs. I believe book artists with a long commitment to the field need recognition and support. New artists with talent and determination need encouragement. Everyone needs to be aware of the work which has been and is being done. I believe these are especially appropriate roles for the library to play.
