Here are a few of my favorite things :
By Tracy Honn
Working for the libraries at Silver Buckle Press allowed me to collaborate with extraordinary people on a rich variety of activities serving campus and the broader community . I ’ ve been surrounded by printing artifacts with fascinating stories , and it ’ s been my passion to interpret them . Over the last forty years Silver Buckle Press has published ( often original ) work by well-respected writers — Lorrie Moore , Audre Lorde , and Billy Collins , among others . We ’ ve supported campus events with projects honoring the UW ’ s Sesquicentennial and the Experimental College . Within the Library , our focus has been on collegially developing book arts and printing history programs and exhibitions that support our extraordinary collections .
Here are a few of my favorite things :
Hand-printed event poster with original illustration by Amanda Mathenia
Hot Type in a Cold World II : Recasting Gutenberg This symposium — on the origins of Johann Gutenberg ’ s types — highlighted emerging scholarship from the new application of digital technologies to the study of the earliest printed books . Among the presentations ( one of which required the audience to wear 3-d viewing glasses ), the most memorable was Stanley Nelson ’ s public demonstration of type casting in Room 126 of Memorial Library . The entertaining Stan , a retired Smithsonian Graphic Arts curator , brought his historic recreations of casting tools , and fired up a small crucible of molten lead , proceeding to cast type in a hand mould — making one piece at a time — as it had been done in the 15th century .
The audience was mesmerized . Attendees stayed long after the demo and lecture , crowding around the front table , examining type objects , and asking Stan endless questions . Hot type , indeed !
Book-Off Book-off was a public event produced by Silver Buckle Press for the 2006 Wisconsin Book Festival . Inspired by shows such as
Project Runway and Iron Chef , we created a book arts performance . The Wisconsin Humanities Council ’ s Book Festival director , Alison Jones Chaim , generously supported this outrage . Our bookmaking event was held in Wisconsin Union Theater and featured six student artists , who competed in three themed elimination rounds over two hours , with a live audience and a final winner . The event ’ s success depended on months of advance preparation work with Professor Jim Escalante ’ s book arts students — who volunteered to participate — teaching structures and rehearsing . At the same time we gathered props and arranged for stage and technical support , including videography ( we had a large rear-screen camera projection so the audience could see what competitors were doing in close-up detail ). Graduate student Carey Watters ( now on the art faculty at UW – Parkside ) was tireless in helping prepare supply kits , props , and small prizes . University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center supplied us with a looping slide show of gorgeous images from the Kohler Art Library ’ s artists ’ book collection . Our Master of Ceremonies , Professor Emeritus Phil Hamilton , embraced the spirit of the day and
16 | LIBRARIES Fall 2016