DESIGNER BOOKBINDINGS Hannah Dunmow, Archivist
T
he Company supports the endangered craft of hand bookbinding by commissioning fine bindings from established bookbinders, and also by supporting and funding several initiatives by Designer Bookbinders as well as the Queen’s Bindery Apprenticeship Scheme (QBAS). Three new bindings from established bookbinders have been commissioned over the summer to add to the growing collection. We hope to receive the completed works during 2020. Meanwhile, three completed bindings were delivered to Clothworkers’ Hall this past summer. First is an intricate binding by Sue Doggett incorporating not just leather (resist-dyed goatskin and gold leather onlays), but also textiles (dyed cloth, machine- and hand-embroidery, and wool felting). By Permission of Heaven: The Story of the Great Fire of London (Adrian Tinniswood, 2013) proved to be a great source of inspiration, and alongside the obvious fire theme, Sue was drawn to think about buildings and architecture, culminating in a representation of quadratura, illusionistic architectural painting that appears to extend the actual space into an imagined one. The general layout suggests what you might see painted on the ceiling of a cathedral – pointing to heaven and presenting you with an image of a world partially beyond the imagination, but rooted in reality. The phoenix, embroidered using Chinese silk, was prompted by one of the chapters colourfully summing up the optimism of those who envisioned the new city-to-be. It appears along the spine of the book, rising up out of a flaming
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THE CLOTHWORKER | AUTUMN 2019
