Blook Club

The Blook Club focuses on the description of projects relating to the creation of an encyclopedic collection of historic book objects and related activities. It is also a place where I can those who have generously contributed to my understanding of book objects and to the growth of my collection.  I hope to share the knowledge I have gathered about the history of book objects through future publications. I have two books in mind; a survey of the subject, and how-to book for book artists on constructing historic structures. 

Contributors to The Art of Books That Aren't catalog and programs:

DONORS: to know more about donors, click on their names.
Jeri Garbaccio
Marie Oedel
Michele Cloonan
Martha Fleischman
Emiko Hastings
Peter Verheyen
Michael Germano
David Rose
Carolyn Riccardelli
Kathleen Weldon
Barbara Berkeley and Wendy Storch
Barbara Blumenthal
Marilyn Braiterman
Jane Bayard Curley
Richard Grosbard
Susan Gosin
Grace Burney
Victor Schwartz
Marieka Kaye
Craig Jensen
Jean Stephenson
Noelle King
Ralph Ocker and Millie Suter
Bryan Draper
Stephanie Later
Scott McCarney
Richard Kopley
Helen Hiebert
Szilvia Szmuk-Tannenbaum
Paula Beardell-Krieg
Jennifer Ware
Candice Dubansky Braun
Irene Tichenor
Robin Price
Doris Straus
Anne O'Donnell
Yukari Hayashida
Lang Ingalls
Emily McAllister (video editing)
Sophia Kramer (videographer)
Scott Geffert (photography support)
Cara Schlesinger (book editor)
Nancy Mandel (editorial support)
Pam Estes
Kathleen Kiefer
Karen B. Cohen
Laura B. Rezk
Susan Share
Larry Sullivan
Monica Strauss
Ron Patkus
Bruce and Lynn Heckman
Steve Pittelkow
Carol London
Jennifer Dossin
Ursula Mitra
Holly Phillips
Julie Tran Le
Jenny Davis
Kees Edelman, on behalf of Clancy-Cullen

Grace Owen
Lisa Baskin
George Edwards
Carol M. Mainardi
Caroline Schimmel
Cara di Edwardo
Mina Takahashi
Mary Coxe Schlosser
Ann Green
Michael Laird
Judith Ivry
Pat Falk
Andrijana Sajic
Michael Ryan
Paul Vogel
Miriam Schaer
Stan Pinkwas
Chris Loker
Bonnie Himmelman
Mary Arouni and Tom Bodkin
Carol Rothkopf
Lynn Avadenka
Marilyn Zornado
Ellen Wallenstein
Laurie Szujewska
John Shorb
Alpha Lillstrom
Paul Brubaker
Mary Norris
Sarah Peter
Kimball Higgs
Richard Ramer
Robert Ruben
Susan Tane
Neale Albert
Judith Raymo
Fern and Hersh Cohen
Maria Fredericks
Kenneth Soehner
Susan Trinter and Richard N. Tager 
Justin G. Schiller and Dennis M. V. David
Whitney and Roger Bagnall
Jane Gennaro
Maria Grandinette
Jared Ash
Donald LaRocca
Nina Libin
Deborah L. Krohn
Nelly Balloffet
The Morgan Library and Museum
Henry Pelham-Burn
Roberta Brody
Emily Martin
Cynthia Nourse Thompson
University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
Mark and Nancy Tomasko
Jack Wasserman
Franklin Feldman
Robert H. Smith, Jr.
John King
Richard Minsky
Joan Lyons
Center for Book Arts
Mary Bartos
Alice Austin

Jerilyn Glenn Davis
Nora Lockshin
Mary Austin and Brewster Kahle
Pamela Morin-Sharma and Navin Sharma
Denis Collet and Hai-Ping Yeh

Candace Langholff

Charles P. Werner
William Joyce
Paula Jull
Myriam S. P. de Arteni

EVERYONE UP TO HERE HAS BEEN LISTED IN THE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS SECTION OF THE CATALOG. 

THESE PEOPLE CONTRIBUTED TOO LATE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE CATALOG, BUT THEY ARE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGED HERE:

Laura Harris
Ian Berke
Deborah Evetts

Lynn Festa
William Reed

Contributors to my research on book objects:

Barbara Bieck
Conjuring Arts Research Center (Jen Spota)

Gabe Fajuri

Connie McPhee

National Cigar Museum

Joe Pecnik

Dana Ricciardi, Framingham History Center
Patrice Warin
George Eastman House

Contributors of objects to the blook collection:

Gift of Beau Baker, 2015

Beau Baker: Kelco Loud Book. Cheer Up. The Worst Is Yet To Come by Anonymous

Barbara Berkeley. BookBook computer case and several other book objects
Tom Bodkin: Long Life by Exide; the first first-aid kit made for the automobile

Jae Carey: personalized pyrographic box, "Mindy" and others
John Cliett: numerous blooks, including a Judith Lieber minautiere
Beatrice Coron: Chinese lacquer box

Scott Cummings: Reed Candy Co. box
Bryan Draper: S. Adams exploding book, Eve's Surprise

Pat Falk: book bank, book safe
Kathy Greenberg: Cardinal Book of Perfume
Roni Gross and Peter Schell: handmade blook hat
Richard Grosbard: Coin purse with tintype portrait
Kathy Greenberg: Cardinal Book of Perfume
Yukari Hayashida: musical Christmas blook prop, needle book, Japanese book towels etc.
Bruce and Lynn Heckman: two nineteenth-century needle books in the form of publisher's cloth bindings
Max Gunawan: Lumio book lamp
Sophia Kramer: numerous blooks, including the elusive Whitman's library box

Stephanie Later: several book objects
Linda Kaye-Moses: Book of Books, block set

Noelle O'Connonr: multi-blook wine box
Richard Kopley: book objects
Gwen Roginsky: Dennison desk set
Santiago Saavedra: several 19th century objects, including the cigar box seen above

Andrijana Sajic: several antique book objects

Caroline Schimmel: a group of book objects from the collection of Stuart Schimmel
Wendy Storch. Book-like bookshelf, BookBook laptop case and several other book objects
David Terry: French letter opener, 20th century
Hai-ping Yeh: double playing card deck book box

Note: I'm still trying to remember who gave me blooks over the years, so if you did and don't see yourself on this list, please don't feel left out, just remind me. 

Others:

Peter Blackman, White Fox Books
Fern Cohen, member's exhibition committee, Grolier Club
Eve Kahn, for being enthusiastic and supportive about my collection and publishing it in the NY Times
Philippa Marks, British Library, for bibliographic support
Ed Marquand, for publishing advice
Richard Minsky, for publishing an article in Fine Books and Collections Magazine
Ron Patkus, Special Collections Librarian and Tom Hill, Art Librarian of Vassar College Library
Gwen Roginsky, Associate Publisher and General Manager of the Editorial Department, MMA, for publishing advice and mentorship
Robert H. Smith, Jr., for donating a pamphlet containing an article on the history of metal book boxes
Femke Speelberg, for translating a blook article for me from Dutch to English
Jan Storm van Leewen, for providing references for publications on book objects from the Netherlands