Versions of the following have appeared online regularly, since 1992, as a feature of the FYI France ejournal, ISSN 1071-5916, which is distributed for free via email every month except August. Ejournal subscriptions may be obtained via email request to: kessler@well.sf.ca.us

Here this file is one of a number made available -- hopefully attractively, all in one place, and relevant to libraries and online digital information work in France and Europe -- as part of FYI France (sm)(tm), an online service to which anyone can subscribe for 12 months by postal mailing a check for US $45, payable to Jack Kessler, to PO Box 460668, San Francisco, California, USA 94146 (site licenses also are available): please write your email address on the front of your check. Please email suggestions for improvements to me at kessler@well.sf.ca.us
 

For anyone who can be in France this spring, once again the Institut d'Histoire du Livre is offering its excellent:

"For its third Book History Workshop, the Institut d'histoire du Livre is offering four advanced courses aimed at a wide variety of specialists interested in book and printing history.

1) Introduction to analytical bibliography, Neil Harris

• This course offers a practical introduction to the examination of printed artefacts of the hand-press period, with emphasis on Venetian Renaissance printing, including the figure of Aldus.

• Topics include: concepts and definitions; history of the practice and theory of analytical bibliography; organisation of the early printing shop; structures and conventions affecting the making of books; practical case studies and bibliographical puzzles.

• The course will be taught in French, but precise notions will be imparted about the language and technical vocabulary of the Anglo-American tradition, as well as an introduction to the algebra of writing a collational formula

• Neil Harris is Professor of Bibliology at the University of Udine in Italy. After a first degree in English at Oxford, a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at Leicester, a Perfezionamento at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa turned what began as a learned footnote into a vocation for bibliography. Best known as the author of a Bibliografia dell' "Orlando Innamorato" (1988-91), his recent work includes in-depth studies of the printing of the Aldine Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and a lengthy exploration of the tricks of the trade used in the publication of Sixteenth-century Italian poetry. A roving existence, including years of teaching English as a foreign language, has left him with a mixed baggage of experience and a deep-seated conviction about the importance of being a bibliographer.

  http://ihl.enssib.fr/siteihl.php?page=38&aflng=en

2) Conservation and study of printed ephemera, Michael Twyman

• This course addresses printed ephemera from several different directions, but principally with the needs of the curator and collector in mind. It will focus on c19 British and French ephemera, though the general issues raised relate to all periods and to material in other languages. Classes will consist of a mix of illustrated talks on specific topics, discussion periods, and sessions spent looking at original items.

• Topics include: processes used in the production of ephemera (in particular, transfer lithography and chromolithography); acquisitions policies and strategies; describing and cataloging ephemera; dating ephemera; terminology; digitization of collections.

• Members of the class are invited -- though not required -- to give short accounts or presentations of focused collections in their care, whether private or institutional.

• This course, which is taught in English, is similar to that offered by the Rare Book School, but with a distinctly French focus.

• Michael Twyman is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the university of Reading and has written extensively on the history of printing, lithography and ephemera. He is the author of John Soulby, Printer, Ulverston (1966), Printing 1770-1970 (1970, reprinted 1998), The British Library Guide to Printing: History and Techniques (1998), Lithography 1800-1850 (1970), Early Lithographed Books (1990), and Early Lithographed Music (1996). He has recently completed and edited Maurice Rickards' The Encyclopedia of Ephemera (2000).

  http://ihl.enssib.fr/siteihl.php?page=39&aflng=en

   

3) Type, lettering and calligraphy 1450-1830, James Mosley

• The development of the major formal and informal book hands, the dominant printing types of each period, and their interrelationship.

• Topics include: the Gothic hands; humanistic script; the Renaissance inscriptional capital; Garamond and the spread of the Aldine Roman; calligraphy from the chancery italic to the English round hand; the neo-classical book and its typography; and early commercial typography. The course presupposes a general knowledge of Western history and some awareness of the continuity of the Latin script but no special knowledge of typographical history.

• This course, which is taught in French, is also offered by the Rare Book School.

• James Mosley is Visiting Professor in the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading. He retired as Librarian of the St. Bride Printing Library in London in 1999. The founding editor of the Journal of the Printing Historical Society, he has written and lectured extensively on the history of European and English typography.

  http://ihl.enssib.fr/siteihl.php?page=40&aflng=en

4) Reliures françaises à décor doré 1507-1967, Isabelle de Conihout et Pascal Ract-Madoux

[the following information was not included in the original ejournal posting distributed on November 15, 2003:]

• "Since the publication in 1951 of Louis-Marie Michon’s La reliure française - an excellent but sparsely illustrated study which is now, inevitably, rather out of date - there has been no serious study of French bookbinding as a whole.

  "Isabelle de Conihout and Pascal Ract-Madoux aim in their course to fill this gap by offering a close examination of a large number of remarkable bindings from the period 1507-1967. A hundred or so original bindings (and several hundred photographic reproductions) will be presented and described. Although bindings are physically inseparable from the content which they enclose, they also have to be considered as autonomous artefacts. French deluxe bindings in particular have to be considered as works of art as much as historical objects.

  "Areas covered by the course include:

  • decorative arts and the evolution of design: one or several golden ages?
  • dating bookbindings
  • identifying the workshop which produced the binding: binder’s tools, styles
  • recognising bindings from the principal workshops
  • why do deluxe bindings exist?
  • why were they made?
  • identifying the person for whom the binding was made
  • ownership marks
  • highly decorated bindings and more modestly decorated deluxe bindings
  • identifying fakes and altered bindings
  • research tools (bibliographies, catalogues, studies, etc.)

  "The first three days of the course will finish with a presentation and discussion of a selection of Lyon City Library’s most precious bookbindings. Participants will thus have an exceptional opportunity to discover at close quarters highly decorated bindings and discuss them with the tutors.

  "The fourth and last day of the course will take place at the Bibliothèque Mazarine in Paris and will be given over to an examination of this prestigious library’s most precious bindings."

• Isabelle de Conihout is Conservateur en chef at the Bibliothèque Mazarine.

General Information:

• "Each course is taught by a leading international specialist in the field, with emphasis on the study of original documents.

• "The courses take place at the Ecole Normale Supérieure - Lettres et Sciences Humaines (Lyons) with sessions at the Lyons Printing Museum and the rare books collection of the City Library.

• "In order to facilitate access collections of original documents the number of participants is limited to twelve per class.

• "Fee: 450 euros (mid-day meals included)

• "Situated in the South-East of France between the Massif Central and the Alpes, Lyons is a major commercial and cultural centre. Capital of Gaul under the Roman Empire, major center of culture and trading during the Renaissance, strong industrial breeding ground in the nineteenth century, Lyon has become a large European metropolis, benefiting from the influences that have swept across its beautiful landscape. Now included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Lyon is categorized along with prestigious cities such as Venice, Prague, or Saint Petersburg.

• "Thanks to the Lyon Saint Exupéry airport, France's TGV high speed train lines and a network of major European motorways, Lyon and the entire Rhône area are at the center of a major european transport interchange. The region's air, rail and road connections provide rapid and direct transportation from major French and European cities such as Paris, Milan and Munich. Travel to and from Lyon is relatively effortless thanks to the region's Air France hub, three TGV stations and other transport facilities.

• "For further information please contact:

  Institut d'histoire du livre
  c/o Musée de l'imprimerie de Lyon
  13 rue de la Poulaillerie
  69002 Lyon

  email: ihl@enssib.fr

  W3: http://ihl.enssib.fr/siteihl.php?page=6&aflng=en

And a personal note, about Lyon:

The process of reaching Lyon from Paris is immeasurably improved, since the days, not so long ago, when Parisians all used to say "yes-we-have-visited-Lyon-but-only 'en passant'"... aka racing through the Fourvière autoroute tunnels, on their annual migrations South to the Midi...

Nowadays, via TGV from the Gare de Lyon, the Lyon Part Dieu station is only 2 hours away: the high speed train ride is smooth and fun and impressive -- and you can gaze at Cluny and its pretty little valley out the right-side window as you speed by...

And why spend time in crowded and noisy and expensive Paris, when you can enjoy springtime in Lyon's beautiful Parc de la Tête d'Or?:

• http://www.ec-lyon.fr/tourisme/Lyon/Virtuel/1040.html.fr
  
• http://www.ec-lyon.fr/tourisme/Lyon/Virtuel/1000.html.fr
  
• http://www.ec-lyon.fr/tourisme/Lyon/Virtuel/1010.html.fr

-- & tour, and use, Lyon's magnificent Bibliothèque Municipale --

Volumétrie globale :	2,188,499	notices
Par type de document :
Incunable	1,157	"
Monographie	1,925,956	"
Périodique	11,817	"
Manuscrit	11,800	"
Enregistrement sonore	124,637	"
Estampe	70,568	"
Photographie	45,122	"

• http://www.ccfr.bnf.fr/rnbcd_visu/framevisu.html?acceuil=1
  
• http://www.bm-lyon.fr

-- & wander through Lyon's fascinating Printing Museum --

http://www.bm-lyon.fr/musee/imprimerie.htm

-- & savor the cuisine lyonnaise --

"Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, Pic in Valence, the Troisgros brothers à Roanne, George Blanc in Vonnas, Pierre Gagnaire in Saint-Étienne, Lacombe and Léon de Lyon, Orsi, Chavent and La Tour Rose in Lyon, Henriroux and the Pyramide in Vienne... les bouchons de Lyon...

"Andouillette de Fleurie, Saucisson de Lyon... Saint Marcelin, Saint Félicien, Cervelle de canut... Bugnes, Matefaims, Radisses, Tarte lyonnaise... Papillotes, Cocons, Coussins, Marrons à la lyonnaise... Vins du Beaujolais, Vins des coteaux du lyonnais...

"Soupe au potiron, Soupe au riz à la lyonnaise, Gras-double à la lyonnaise, Oeufs à la tripe, Salade de dents de lyon au hareng saur, Tablier de sapeur, Quenelles de Lyon...

"Gâteau de foies aux quenelles, Boeuf sauté à la lyonnaise, Chapon au gros sel, Cochon de lait à la lyonnaise, Cuisse d'oie à la lyonnaise, Pot-au-feu lyonnais, Ris de veau à la lyonnaise...

"Brocheton à la crème, Friture de goujons, Friture de perches d'Oullins...

-- and the _chocolate_!... Bernachon is in Lyon...

http://www.ec-lyon.fr/tourisme/Rhone-Alpes/Cuisine/index.html.en
http://www.laguinguette.com/0103/french2.htm

-- & appreciate Lyon's complicated and fascinating history --

"L'abbaye bénédictine d'Ainay entre dans l'Histoire au IXe Siècle quand l'abbé Aurélien, bientôt archevêque de Lyon, crée le prieuré de Saint-Benoît-de-Cessieu autour de 859 et faut venir des moines de Bonneval..."

"Du XIIe au XIVe siècle, Ainay se présente comme une véritable puissance spirituelle et temporelle. En 1250, l'abbaye possède 72 églises ou prieuré dans le diocèse de Lyon et au-delà..."

http://garennes.com/TPE-Roman/la_basilique_d'ainay.htm
http://www.ec-lyon.fr/tourisme/Lyon/Virtuel/6060.html.fr

-- lots more to France than just Paris...

http://www.ec-lyon.fr/tourisme/photo.html.fr

FYI France (sm)(tm) e-journal                   ISSN 1071 - 5916

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