|
by Rita Colognola “Michael Kalil (1943-1991) was an educator, interior residential and commercial architect, philosopher and artist. As the Principal of Kalil Studio (1981-1991), he was known for his innovative work with technology and materials, most notably for developing an award winning automated office space for Armstrong World Industries, and for creating a Space Station habitation module prototype for NASA (1983-1986).”(1). He “was known for his abstract designs, spoke of himself as a "space engineer" and was constantly experimenting with space. ... His work has been exhibited at a number of museums, including the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, the Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum.”(2), In 2001 the "Michael Kalil Endowment for Smart Design" was established in his memory at the School of Constructed Environments (SCE).
Pictures will describe better than any word this beautiful, attractive set.
(1) Jen Larson, Michael Kalil, An Introduction (2) Joan Cook, Michael Kalil, 47, An Innovator as an Abstract Interior Designer, obituary published in the New York Times, July 4, 1991 Editor's Note: A few short articles advertise the bookmarks as stylish reading accessories. This article does not have photos but reveals that Kalil also designed another intersesting bookmark: Darlyn Brewer. “Helpful Hardware: Metal Bookmarks.” The New York Times. New York, N.Y: New York Times Company, 1985, Late Edition (East Coast) edition. The Museum of Modern Art sells a set of three satin-finished brass bookmarks. Designed by Michael Kalil exclusively for the museum, each is round with decorative cutouts and measures two inches in diameter. The set costs $17.50. Also designed by Mr. Kalil is a sterling silver bookmark. For $40, it comes packaged in a black pouch made of Japanese rice paper, which is designed by Morishima Hiroshi. The bookmark is two inches in diameter and the pouch measures approximately 3 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches. The museum store is at 11 West 53d Street. Museum members get a discount.  “Tools for Living.” Harper’s (New York, N.Y.) 252, no. 1508 (1976): 88 This article simply says that the three bookmarks are available for $17.50 from the MOMA store.  Carol Lawson. “Small Luxuries Make a Difference.” New York Times (1923-). New York, N.Y: New York Times Company, 10 April 1986, p. C12.
0 Comments
Editor's Note: A longtime collector, Sylvia was one of the first members of IFOB. She is the membership secretary as well as the excellent editor of The Bookmark Society News. As a true friend of bookmarks, Sylvia often connects people seeking to donate or rehome a collection with other collectors in England. She also arranged to have back issues of the first seven TBS Occasional Papers available for download from our Bibliography page. Tell us about yourself – where you are from, your occupation, etc.
How did you start collecting bookmarks? Do you remember your first bookmark?
 Bristol board bookmark from Sylvia Bunting's collection Do you have any favorite types or special emphasis in your collection? Probably my favourite bookmark medium is printed card, since the information given can shed intriguing light on distant scenes. I did not know until I bought a Renault Clarital bookmark that in the 30’s Renault produced planes as well as cars, and one of my favourite Day & Son multiple bookmarks told me that with the benefits of Sunlight soap, even a lady of advancing years could manage the weekly wash – a sentiment which helped me understand Victorian domestic life. Promotional bookmarks are perhaps my favourite, but I also like those from voluntary organisations, and advisory bookmarks for health, home safety and similar topics.
What is the most unusual bookmark in your collection? This is also the oldest bookmark in my collection. It is a carved piece of bone (scrimshaw work, often produced by the crews of whaling ships). This bookmark is thought to have been produced during the Napoleonic wars by French prisoners of war incarcerated in one of the prisons on the south coast. It is known that these prisoners made what handicrafts they could and sold them to local people to raise a little money. There is no official provenance, but Derek Greengrass, a noted expert on antique ivory, has stated that it is of the right period and the right material, not ivory but bone which the prisoners could have liberated from the meat carcasses supplied to them. It is clearly the creation of someone who had ample time to give attention to delicate, detailed work.
How do you acquire your bookmarks? That depends on the age! For vintage bookmarks, the best source is antiquarian book dealers, as fine specimens still come to light in old books. But that is a dwindling supply, and I usually search bookmarks out on ebay. For modern bookmarks I depend on my friends – there are several who visit local shops and libraries when they are on holiday, and they bring me an envelope full from time to time. And, of course, there is exchange with fellow collectors, particularly at swapmeets where people bring sales folders and boxes of free swaps. How many bookmarks do you have? My database tells me that as of today I have 21,239. I would never have kept count, but I was fortunate that when I started collecting I had a word processor, so could keep a list of what I acquired. When computers arrived in the 90s, I transferred the information gradually to an Access database, and am reaping the benefit. Of these, around 7,000 are promotional, which includes 2,500+ from publishers, 1500 from booksellers, 800 from banks and insurance, and 500+ from libraries. The other two large categories are Advisory (1,450) and not-for-profit Organisations (3,500). How do you organize, display and store your collection? My bookmarks are divided into categories according to purpose:
Most are stored in filing cabinets with shallow drawers, which I have divided up with cardboard partitions. This gives me the freedom to lift out the ones I want and spread them together on a table to trace their relationship to each other.
I display very little of my collection, partly because I have never found a reliable way of mounting them in frames without spoiling the bookmark. When speaking to voluntary groups about bookmark collecting, I choose a few interesting ones and put them into plastic pages in a loose-leaf binder, and project images via powerpoint. I am working towards photographing every bookmark – a slow job, but I am more than halfway there. I suppose the best place to see my bookmarks, along with those of other collectors, is in our journal, The Bookmark Society News.  Bookmarks from Sylvia Bunting's collection in storage cabinet drawers Your work with The Bookmark Society is such a significant contribution to promoting bookmarks. Tell us about your experience editing TBS News. How do you select articles? I have been fortunate that just as I took over editing, computers developed to the point where it was possible to present coloured images of reasonable quality. This has been one of the big progressions – we started with mainly black and white, but have moved on to the point where most pages now include some colour. After all, what collectors want most is to see the bookmarks. People are pleased to see something they own, grateful to see something they don’t yet have, and absolutely delighted when they can tell me of a bookmark they own which is not in the public listing. Articles come from members. Some are offered, and we have several members in different countries who are regular contributors, on subjects ranging from petrol to Red Riding Hood. Also, when people write to me they often mention a quirk of their collection, and I can then bounce back and ask if they will put something together for the journal. Members with special interests sometimes put together listings of a particular subject, such as Colin Williamson and Tauchnitz.  TBS News, March 2018 We have had a few mini-series; one called In a Flap which featured unusual page flaps. The most memorable was a flap shaped like a toilet seat. We are currently running a Hand Made series, which has featured Bristol board, eucalyptus leaves and original paintings. We also have a regular swaplist prepared by one member who puts in an enormous amount of work behind the scenes, listing and despatching the bookmarks.  TBS News, July 2021 One feature which has developed slowly but steadily is the Letters Page, where members can ask a question (is this the largest bookmark ever known?) or showcase an interesting bookmark they have just found (had you heard of the Nebra Sky Disk in Germany?). Sometimes this starts as a private letter to me, but I then ask permission to publish it. So far I don’t think anyone has stopped writing to me on that account, but I sometimes wonder if they feel it is rather hazardous. There is normally space for me to add one or two articles, featuring sets or themes from my own collection. In each issue I try to have a balance of modern and vintage bookmarks, and to cover a range of interests. When lockdown began we had an article on bookmarks featuring all the things we could no longer do (theatres, travel, sport…) which evoked a few responses from people who found their collections were a good jumping-off point for happy reminiscence. Once or twice a year a larger theme emerges and becomes an occasional paper in its own right. I usually have time to advertise the theme and invite scans from other people’s collections, and in this way we have covered drinks (3 papers – people consume a lot of drink one way and another), chocolate, World War I and calendars. {Note that a list of Occasional Papers is on our Bibliography page, plus pdfs of the first seven issues]  Occasional Paper on Soft Drinks, The Bookmark Society For me, editing the journal brings life to my own collection, and is an excellent springboard for ongoing discussion with other members. What do you enjoy about IFOB? Anything you would like to see IFOB do in the future? I think IFOB is an excellent way of bringing together collectors who could otherwise be quite isolated, and it is very good to have an ongoing presence on the web. Do you have any plans to celebrate World Bookmark Day next time? I am saving bookmarks to contribute to the prize for the raffle. Do you collect anything else? It would be difficult to find time or space for a further collection, but my husband collects model railways. This is a very helpful as we each have an understanding of a collector’s mindset. Do you have any advice for those who are just beginning to collect? If at all possible, keep a record of each bookmark you acquire. You may think you will remember everything, but you won’t! Useful bits of information are the date you obtained it, the cost, and the person/organisation from whom it came. Other details depend on your particular interests – e.g. is it bilingual, does it feature a lighthouse, is it made of a particular material? And never turn anything away. The friend who brings you a commonplace bookmark today may turn up with something rare next month, once they have grasped your consuming interest in these apparently trivial items.  Selection of Olympics bookmarks from Sylvia Bunting's collection
After we contacted his daughter, Tama Baldwin, about the award, she sent this reply: I can't tell you how pleased my sisters and I are to learn that you are honoring Don's contributions to bookmark collecting. He would have been so thrilled. I also should thank you for the beautiful remembrance you wrote about him in 2016 that I somehow missed until just a week ago when I was exploring the links you shared. That was such a beautiful testimony. I know that would have thrilled him as well. My sisters and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. The precision of your observations was especially valuable as you bore witness to a part of his life we didn't really know a lot about. Please do keep us informed about his award. We are honored to accept it on his behalf. We have sent the certificate to Tama to share with her sisters. We have also sent a copy along with this article to the University of Iowa Library where Don’s collection resides with his notes and research. One of the librarians said, “Thanks so much for reaching out to us. I've been lucky enough to see Don's collection of bookmarks, and it's such a great collection. I think it wonderful that he be remembered with this award.” Those of us not able to see the collection in person can only imagine the richness of his careful curation and the rarities that are at least well protected and preserved in Iowa.  Normally, we would interview the award winner and create a member profile. Although we can no longer hear from Don directly, we are fortunate that there are traces of his collection and his voice that we can bring together. Just recently, I came across another reminder of Don’s character. In 2009 correspondence with Lauren Roberts (IFOB member, collector and editor of the former BiblioBuffet site that featured a column on bookmarks), Don sent her copies of some bookmarks he had made recently.
Typical of him, he said, “Note that one of the early bookmarks is small and has no cover. It also has an identity which shows I was developing some pride in my results. That’s a practice I have since dropped.” Generous with his homemade bookmarks as well as praise for BiblioBuffet, he was also practical and humble in his efforts to feature his collection.
Don was especially interested in categorizing bookmarks by the type of blade or page flap. He developed a language for these, and experimented with different ways of grouping them, which he talked about in the virtual convention. Along with his presentation on organizing bookmarks by physical characteristics, Don contributed examples to the galleries for the 2010 Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention, such as these listed in the gallery on series .
 Bookmarks with open, long page clips There is also an article about the exhibit of his collection at the Iowa City Public Library in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, 11 July 2011, p. 3 by Josh O’Leary, unfortunately behind a paywall.
All of these views into Don’s collecting interests and practices remind us how devoted he was to his hobby, and serve as a model for other collectors. We are honored to bestow the Asim Maner Award for 2021 on Don M. Baldwin, 1927 – 2013.
Editor's Note: Vilija has been a great contributor and supporter of IFOB and now we can see why. Her creativity and love of bookmarks is evident in these examples and her story about making bookmarks.
And since I really like handicrafts, I am learning new technologies. The bookmarks are also very diverse: painted on fabric, from gift ribbons, metal, with natural dried flowers, with silk tassels and pendants. Beaded pendants, holiday shells, burnt glass pendants or clay molded with fragrant oils. (After all, the very first scripture is about scents, when the scent plant was wrapped in a piece of material for fear of forgetting important events).
But no matter how sophisticated they may be, they all carry out the same mission - giving the work being read even more charm, helping us to remember where we read and returning to the story being read, and increasingly bookmarks are becoming works of art. Vilija Jocienė Telšių r. Lithuania  Recently on our members' Facebook page, we have been discussing how to manage bookmarks in a database. In addition to what software to use, there is the question of how to describe the bookmarks, i.e., cataloging them. I developed a basic system twenty years ago when I began using software for my collection. I present it here as a starting point. There is no right or wrong way to do it, although there are probably 5-7 elements that most of us could agree upon. As this discussion progresses, we may create a new page on the IFOB web site for information on managing a collection.
Along with the field definitions, I have also created a set of "cataloging rules" that help me apply the elements in a consistent way. These rules may not be useful for others, however, since the purpose and design of a collector's database will vary. Any comments on this scheme, which elements are most important, other elements to consider, etc. are most welcome!
Editor's Note: Randy has some great tips for beginning collectors as well as on storing collections. We hope he will showcase his collection in an exhibit or online in the future.
Indigo Books is a large national retail bookstore chain, comprised of 3 different brands (Indigo, Chapters and Coles), with over 200 bookstores throughout Canada. My position often required long distance travel, as I was responsible for supervising between 15 and 20 retail bookstores. These stores were located primarily in large shopping centres. Prior to my employment at Indigo Books (and after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from York University in Toronto in 1978) I worked as a retail bookstore manager for a smaller Canadian company for a number of years. How did you start collecting bookmarks? Do you remember your first bookmark? I can’t remember exactly when I first started collecting bookmarks. However, I have been accumulating bookmarks for quite a long time – off and on for probably over 35 years. Being employed in the book trade my entire working life, I suppose that collecting bookmarks was a natural hobby to adopt and explore. And, as an avid reader and book collector, I also found bookmarks interesting items of associated ephemera. Of course, early on, I had no idea that I would become so involved in this area of collecting!
Do you have any favorite types or special emphasis in your collection? I have recently focused on collecting mostly paper bookmarks which advertise bookstores from around the world. I also collect author and publisher promotional bookmarks as well. In all cases I prefer vintage and pre-internet dated bookmarks. These older bookmarks are much more difficult to find - but so rewarding when I locate one. I also enjoy searching for and finding die-cut bookmarks (cutout) and celluloid bookmarks. And, although I don’t seek out homemade bookmarks, I can appreciate these and I find them very interesting.
What is the most unusual bookmark in your collection? One example of an unusual bookmark in my collection has seeds imbedded in it - so that you can actually plant the bookmark in a pot with dirt and grow a real plant! Another unusual example in my collection is a children’s bookmark from Penguin Books Publishing which includes a pair of working 3-D looking glasses.
How do you acquire your bookmarks? While working at Indigo books I had constant access to hundreds of free publisher promotional bookmarks, although I didn’t always take full advantage of this fact. I also found many bookmarks hidden and left behind inside of used books that I purchased over the years. More recently, I have also purchased a few of bookmarks from sellers on e-bay. And I also sent letters to used bookstores across Canada soliciting a copy of their own promotional bookmark, along with any other paper bookmarks they may have accumulated. This strategy worked quite well as I have had a response rate of about 15%. Many of these bookstore owners are quite happy to have the bookmarks they have accumulated over the years go to a worthy cause! Just recently I received over 500 bookmarks from a used bookstore owner in Ottawa. They had been saving all of these bookmarks for many years and couldn’t bring themselves to throw them away! Finally, of course, I have also used the IFOB swap list quite often over the past 6 years.
How many bookmarks do you have? I have slightly more than 6,000 bookmarks sorted and filed in about 20 binders, with approximately 1,000 more duplicates and other assorted bookmarks to trade. How do you organize, display and store your collection? I struggled for a long time to find the best way to effectively store my bookmark collection. As a result, they remained unsorted and were stored in shoe boxes for many years. I eventually came up with a great solution when I discovered the double sided “Vario” plastic sleeves, manufactured by Lighthouse, available at a local coin and stamp dealer. {also online, for example] I utilize two sizes of these plastic sheets which are inserted into 3 ring binders, with either 3, 4, 5 or 6 pockets per page. These sleeves now accommodate the majority of my bookmark collection. I also have about 200 oversized bookmarks that do not fit into either of these sizes and so still remain stored in boxes! I don’t display any of my bookmarks - but I have recently been thinking of contacting my local library to see if they might be interested in doing a display of some of the highlights from my collection. And I would also like to post my bookmark collection on-line in the near future.  Binders with plastic, acid free sleeves made for bank notes What has been your experience in using the IFOB Swap List?
What do you enjoy about IFOB? Anything you would like to see IFOB do in the future?
Do you have any plans to celebrate World Bookmark Day next time? I have contributed to the Bookmark Swap event for the past three years and will probably continue to participate in this annual event. Do you collect anything else? I collect first edition books, autographed by the author where possible, as well as vintage real-photo postcards. I also haphazardly collect many other forms of vintage paper ephemera such as vintage catalogues, pamphlets and other kinds of old advertising materials. Anything else you would like to share? I am the co-author of a local history book on early lumbering in Ottawa and in the Algonquin Park area of northern Ontario, titled When Giants Fall: The Gilmour Quest for Algonquin Pine. The revised 3rd edition of our book is being released in 3 to 4 months. Do you have any advice for those who are just beginning to collect?
Editor's note: Clemens was member #5 of IFOB in 2015. He has interesting approaches to his collection specialties and ways of showcasing his collection.
Do you have any favorite types or special emphasis in your collection? The main collecting track I follow goes to bookmarks representing towns or countries with respect to motive, material, or manufacturing technique. A big point here is made of course by bookmarks showing reproductions of paintings, a good entry into the world of fine arts. So, a bookmark is a personal traveling souvenir but also a keyhole allowing a look into the character of a location. Here are some examples:
I am especially happy about handmade bookmarks. These can be made from friends or relatives or directly from artists, e.g. at craft markets. But I collect all kinds of bookmarks as well. To be honest, I stopped taking bookmarks in German bookshops, because it became too much. Somehow amazing also is the diversity of technologies in which bookmarks are made or in which they do their job:
Many other technologies exist, where magnetic clips or elastic straps are among the most common. To the book clip: I am just wondering who in such a hard-core process engineering company comes to the idea of producing bookmarks for advertising purposes. Actually, other companies like car producers make it as well. What is the most unusual bookmark in your collection? This question is really difficult to answer, as Debrah Gai Lewis already mentioned. Some are very interesting, others funny or remarkable. In the sense of which one is most rarely to be found is this one probably from Iran. It shows a Polo scene, very finely painted on bone as the basis material. Actually, I am even not 100% sure that it is originally meant as a bookmark. May be somebody can enlighten me?  How do you acquire your bookmarks? Besides book shops, the most rich sources are museums shops. I’m not even scared to visit souvenir shops. This has to be done alone, as other brave people, who can easily spend hours in warehouses, will give up after minutes. However, the most unique ones, often from the manufacturers by themselves, I find on flea or craft markets. Sometimes craftsmen’s workshops offer bookmarks as a side product or for advertisement. Recently I found a leather bookmark in a bags and belts shop and a silver bookmark in a jeweler, shops I would usually not even notice. Many of course are donated to me from family or colleagues. Sometimes, when I have time, I do a bid on eBay. Also, Pinterest is a source of ideas. How do you organize, display and store your collection? This is my collection housed now in 50 gift boxes containing 100 specimens of bookmarks each for an estimated total of about 5,000. This is good enough to rummage in the boxes or put the content on the table to show it to friends.  The bookmarks are continuously numbered more or less chronologically from the beginning. Further, I put them into an Access database. A formal description by size, date of production and acquisition, motif, text, etc. makes seeking and remembering easier. Besides that, it contains a free text meant to appear during display on the website. For exhibitions I use such display cases as the one below. Rosemarie Abel organized such events from time to time (see also the first picture).  In my office I have 6 of such cases, one for every continent, of course without Antarctica but separates for North and South America. This is the one for Europe. The background is a vintage map wallpaper from a Polish stationery company. The bookmark from Germany contains a little piece of the Berlin Wall with a bit of original colour, as it was painted on the west side. “Original” means that with all of these splinters you could easily build two new walls. 🙁 What has been your experience in using the IFOB Swap List? Unfortunately, I have not many doubles, and did not take part in the Swap List. May be, after retirement that can change. What do you enjoy about IFOB? Anything you would like to see IFOB do in the future? It is really great, how many collectors from all over the world take part and contribute to the site and the Facebook page. It was not long ago that I learned not to be alone with this hobby, but some people in Germany and some other European countries are also active. Now finally there is a worldwide platform. Do you have any plans to celebrate World Bookmark Day next time? I'm seriously considering it. Do you collect anything else? Besides collecting as such, I work on a website, where my bookmarks are displayed. www.bookmark-museum.com [caution: may not work on some browsers] The idea was not only to display bookmarks but to bring them to their own life. Bookmarks showing plants, e.g. grow up forming a botanical garden in the bookmark museum. It has some technical features like a virtual reading glass for magnification of bookmarks in high resolution or a torch to increase brightness. As Flash is no longer supported by many browsers I stopped work for the moment.  Editor's note: If the museum works on your browser, you are in for a treat! Explore the different categories to see how bookmarks can come to life. We hope Clemens will continue to work on this site as an unusual way to present his collection.
Editor’s Note: Olav is one of our newer members, joining in January 2020. As you will see, he has a huge and interesting collection and has been sharing examples on our Facebook group for members.
Do you have any favorite types or special emphasis in your collection? I only collect paper bookmarks from all over the world and all topics outside religious ones. The main reason is that with religious ones there is basically no end to it and I am not religious anymore.
What is the most unusual bookmark in your collection? Probably the ones (4) that can slide to show all the moon phases. They date back to the 40’s.   How do you acquire your bookmarks? Obviously I ask for them in bookshops wherever and whenever I can. I get them from people that save them. Also when I am traveling, I try to take home as many as possible without spending a fortune. I also buy on the internet like on the Dutch version of Craigs list and on auction sites. How do you organize, display and store your collection? All sorted bookmarks are stored in plastic folders in ring binders. The plastic folders I organize myself by using a bag seal machine. Very helpful. Currently I have well over 200 ring binders (wide ones), but when I am done sorting all bookmarks, I guess I will be close to 300. I estimate that I have at least 50,000 bookmarks!
 What has been your experience in using the IFOB Swap List? Haven’t used the swap list yet. I have offered to swap bookmarks, but no transaction has taken place yet. I do have over five large moving boxes full of double bookmarks and it would be a waste to throw them away at some point.  What do you enjoy about IFOB? Anything you would like to see IFOB do in the future? It’s nice to be part of a community of fellow collectors and recently I started sharing pictures and stories which is nice as I am getting positive reactions. Along the way useful information is exchanged. Do you have any plans to celebrate World Bookmark Day next time? I will next time. Do you collect anything else? I collect art, mainly silk screen prints. I collect 5 different designs of Waterman roller ball and ball point pens, and I have a large collection of classical stamps from Hungary. If I lived alone, I would probably become one of those hoarders 😊
The commenter explains: “This book is the winner of the Eliza Atkins Gleason Award and the Willa Literary Award for a nonfiction book from Women Writing the West. The author, Louise Robbins, is not only a professor at the School of Library & Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the former Director of the School, but is also the former Mayor of Ada, Oklahoma and first woman elected to their city council!”
The movie was filmed in Santa Rosa, California in a classic Carnegie library. In 2012, one of the librarians wrote a post for Banned Books Week about the movie and some of the behind-the-scenes details that were described in an article by Ruth Hall who was the librarian at the time of the filming. [photo of Ruth Hall and Bette Davis]
The movie is difficult to find but occasionally a library will screen it because they still deal with censorship. It has received more attention recently from academics and various bloggers, such as this one whose comment from five years ago rings even more true today: “It’s striking how little has changed in fifty-eight years. Oh sure, we like to convince ourselves that we are more evolved than our elders but when it comes right down to it, we are just as susceptible as they were to fear and propaganda.”  Poster from Wikipedia cite rights holder By Corporate author/original rights holder: Columbia Pictures - Scan from private collection, PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9713493 Have you ever mentioned using bookmarks to someone and later they say that you inspired them to do so? Gaby Dondlinger sent two examples.
Gaby was also inspired through her IFOB activities to add tiny bookmarks to the tiny books she makes and sells. In these photos, you can see the display she uses to showcase the books on large letters. Now they will also be promoting the use of bookmarks.
Please tell us if you have examples of bookmark inspirations!
|
IFOB BLOGAttention Archives
August 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
