Book History Workshop

About the Book History Workshop

This five-day workshop, limited to 20 students, provides an intensive, hands-on introduction to the history of books and printing. The workshop is intended for librarians, archivists, students, teachers, collectors, and private individuals who have an interest in the first three and a half centuries of the printed book.

Daily lab sessions concentrate on printing in the hand press era and its allied technologies, including typecasting, papermaking, bookbinding, illustration, and ink-making. Among the activities included in these sessions are casting type in a hand mould, setting type and preparing it for the press, printing on a period-accurate common press, papermaking, paper marbling, and experimenting with a number of book illustration techniques.

Throughout the week, seminar sessions provide a thematic survey of book and printing history, with the collections of Cushing Memorial Library providing examples of some of the most significant artifacts and books in the history of recorded culture. These objects include Mesopotamian clay tablets and medieval manuscripts before focusing on developments in the hand press era.

The workshop concludes with a celebratory wayzgoose, a reenactment of the annual party traditionally thrown by the master printer for his journeymen and apprentices.

Application & Enrollment

The workshop is limited to 20 students. Admissions will be made on a rolling basis, and will be made in light of each applicant’s needs in relation to the course content, the strength of the student's statement and background, and the potential use of the book history knowledge gained in the course. On the application form, prospective students should clearly identify the links between the subject matter of the workshop and their professional, academic, vocational, or avocational interests.

The registration fee for the Workshop is approximately $1100 (exact price to be determined), of which a $100 deposit is due at the time of admittance. Failure to remit this deposit within one week of acceptance will result in the forfeiture of an applicant’s seat. The full payment is due six weeks prior to the Workshop.

Registration will open soon!

Housing & Travel

Housing

On-campus accommodations are available in partnership with Texas A&M Residence Life in recently updated dorms a short walk from Cushing Library. The cost is approximately $55 per night (exact price to be determined). The dorms are located near the popular Northgate neighborhood adjacent to campus, where there are several restaurants, coffee shops, and entertainment establishments within a couple of blocks. Arrangements for these accommodations can be made through Cushing Library as part of the registration process.

Workshop participants may also seek accommodations through services such as Airbnb, or stay in one of the many local hotels. Please note that if you choose to stay off campus and plan to drive to campus, you will need to arrange for a temporary parking pass with the campus parking office. If you choose to stay off campus, please let us know when you register for the workshop. You are responsible for your own reservations if you stay off campus.

Travel

Directions to the campus and Cushing Library are available here.

Located in what National Public Radio has described as the "lush central Texas countryside," Texas A&M University is within easy access of most of the major metropolitan areas in Texas: Austin is about 2 hours, Houston 1 ½ hours, Dallas 2 ½ - 3 hours, San Antonio 2 ½ - 3 hours.

Commuter flights to Easterwood Airport in College Station, minutes from the A&M campus, are available on American from Dallas/Fort Worth. If you fly into Easterwood Airport, cab fare from the airport to the campus or nearby is about $12.00.