Calling all bibliophiles: this talk offers a brief archaeology of books in European Medieval and Renaissance art, presenting beautiful bindings, clever clasps, and other fabulous “furniture” (such as hinges and medallions). Amply illustrated with art and diagrams, this talk offers a fascinating overview of the variety of forms of the codex as depicted in the jewellike altarpieces and other paintings of the period, revealing otherwise elusive evidence of craft techniques and reading practices.

Includes pop-up exhibit of historic bookbindings from the Rubenstein Library collection.

RSVP at duke.is/PHI-bookbinding

Speaker: Barbara Ellertson, Founder, Books as Symbols in Medieval and Renaissance Art (BASIRA), an online database hosted by the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, University of Pennsylvania.

Sponsored by the Publishing Humanities Initiative of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute and the Duke Libraries. Co-sponsored by Triangle Book Arts.