Allie Alvis
My final exhibition for the Smithsonian Libraries got written up in the Washington Post :’) https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/12/03/jewels-leather-bookbinding-exhibit/
Smithsonian exhibit digs out the ‘nature’ in old books

An exhibit focuses on long-ago artisans’ use of natural items such as leather, flax, lead and even semiprecious jewels to create tomes.

The Washington Post
Dec 5, 2022 at 1:27amMastodon for iOS
Show threadAllie AlvisDec 5, 2022
Here’s a little thread on how the Nature of the Book exhibition came together for the #BookHistodons !
I developed the concept back in 2018 and worked on it directly until 2021, at which point I took my current job at Type Punch Matrix.
Show threadAllie AlvisDec 5, 2022
Here’s the final setup in the main case, vs. my last two visual drafts before I left the Smithsonian Libraries. You can see how a number of things translated directly, but some changed! #BookHistory
Show threadAllie AlvisDec 5, 2022
I love how the pairing of the Sangorski and Sutcliffe grape amethyst binding with the raw amethyst looks in real life, and it’s so great to see the pairing of the wasp nest from Entomology and Schäffer’s experiments with papermaking.
Show threadAllie AlvisDec 5, 2022
And the stunning little Quran and red goatskin bindings are such showstoppers 🤩
Show threadAllie AlvisDec 5, 2022
(Here’s my first mockup of that case, by the way. You can really see how things got added and refined)
Show threadAllie AlvisDec 5, 2022
And here are a couple of my drafts for the smaller case, and the final setup! Oh, how I wish we could’ve gotten the mirror + binding thing to work…
Show threadAllie AlvisDec 5, 2022
Behind the scenes, there were spreadsheets, spreadsheets, spreadsheets! It’s very rewarding to see a spreadsheet come to life, highly recommend 👍
Show threadAllie AlvisDec 5, 2022
My co-curators Katie and Vanessa and I also made a number of relationship charts I called “constellations” to capture different themes we were trying to bring out in the descriptive text. This process doesn’t show in the final exhibit, but was important nonetheless!
Show threadAllie AlvisDec 5, 2022
The intricacies of Institutional Stuff™ meant that my ability to offer input was effectively cut off once I left the Libraries, but I’m thankful that Katie and Vanessa brought it home so beautifully.
Show threadShannon K. Supple ✨Dec 5, 2022
@book_historia Thanks for sharing all of this, Allie. What a lovely exhibit.
Show threadsapient pearwoodDec 5, 2022
@book_historia ok something I have always wondered about books as part of a display: how do you choose which page to open to? (and how often does it change? I’m sure that depends on the book’s age)
Show threadAllie AlvisDec 5, 2022
@izzybeth It depends on what you’re trying to show! A lot of these books were picked due to their illustrations, so those are the openings that wound up in the display. And the length between rotations also depends on the book: most of the bindings can stay out the whole show, but color illustrations change every 3-4 months. Black and white can be out longer
Show threadsapient pearwoodDec 5, 2022
@book_historia oh that makes sense! thank you for answering 💚📚💚
Show threadOlavDec 5, 2022
@book_historia awesome!
Show threadErik KwakkelDec 5, 2022
@book_historia very cool exhibit - and write-up!