Where are the Artists' Books?

Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) began collecting artists' books in earnest during the 1970s. Within the collection, which falls under SCUA's larger Book Arts Collection, are a rich variety of items by various book artists. The collection includes many different book structures and the content spans many different topics. While the Artists' Books Collection is a category in and of itself, the larger Book Arts Collection includes a variety of materials, such as fine bindings, books about the history or making of books, exhibition catalogs, and livres d'artistes.

Charles M. Adams, former UNCG Library Director

Charles M. Adams, the Library Director from 1940s-1960s, was known as a "book man". Along with many other books, he bought private press and artists' books for the Rare Books collection. When SCUA formed in the 1970s, Emmy Mills, Special Collections Librarian at the time, conducted a survey of the holdings and realized that there was a collecting focus of Book Arts, so she led the way for continuing to build and develop the collection. Rare Books Specialist, Carolyn Shankle, took the collecting baton after Mills retired and she has continued to expand SCUA's holdings of artists' books and book arts related materials.

Using a broad definition of artist books', SCUA holds works by the Kelmscott Press (late 19th century) to those published by Eragny at the turn of the 20th century to Vollard in the 1930s to the graphic works by Ward & others in the 1930s-1950s, to Black Mountain College and Jargon Society in the 1950s and onwards.

Women book artists are featured in the collection, as are artists' books based on women's writings and the domestic sphere as those relate to holdings in our Woman's Collection of rare books. Likewise, since SCUA has a collection of juvenile works, there are artists' books focused on fairy tales, Alice in Wonderland, and alphabet books among other topics. SCUA continues to expand the Book Arts and Artists' Books collections and holds artists' books of the late 20th century along with the work of contemporary book artists, such as Julie Chen and Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.

In 2020, inspired by the many treasures in SCUA's collections and my background as a book artist, I embarked on a journey to more fully discover the Artists' Books Collection (ABC) at UNCG. Due to the wide range of subject areas covered by the ABC and by artists's books in general, the books are not always housed together in one location nor is there a handy guide to which books or book artists are represented in the collection. Some are stored with books about folktales, some with poetry books, others are in the oversized books, and yet others may be among history titles or juvenile fiction. Aside from the diverse collection of artists' books stored in various locations within SCUA, a number of artists' books were (and some still are) located in Jackson Library's general circulating collections rather than among the rare books in SCUA.

Carolyn Shankle, Rare Books Specialist,
sharing early printing history books with a class

Somewhat selfishly, and of course to benefit our library's researchers and patrons, I wanted to create an inventory of the collection of artists' books. Though I expected this to be a somewhat time-consuming endeavor, I encountered a number of other challenges as I began to create a collection inventory. Perhaps the largest obstacle to beginning was getting to the bottom of what is or is not an artists' book. The history and criticism of artists' books are still very much developing and being written, and the definition of an artist's book seems quite slippery in the literature. Authors have written about artists' books for decades, but some authors take a broad view of artists' books while others argue that no matter how beautifully crafted or creative an exhibition catalog or book of poetry might be, they are still distinct categories and cannot be called artists' books. 

As I began to develop an initial inventory of artists' books, I regularly came across "potential" artists' books in the library's circulating collections. Among my finds were some of Ed Ruscha's photo books, often referred to as some of the earliest artists' books, and a beautifully crafted exhibition catalog entitled La Cédille qui sourit by George Brecht and Robert Filliou. However, despite twenty years of experience with artists' books and an MFA in Book Arts, I lacked confidence at first about making decisions about not just what is or isn't an artist's book but also which books were of enough value (artistically and monetarily) that they really should be transferred to SCUA.

One of the silver linings of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic was a deluge of free webinars and artists' talks available regularly. One such treat was a talk presented by Tony White, at the time from The Metropolitan Museum's Watson Library who also teaches a history of artists' books course at Rare Book School at UVA. After attending the presentation, I reached out to White to ask a few of my most pressing questions about artists' books. He graciously suggested that we meet virtually to talk through some of my questions. I am grateful for what turned out to be several conversations that increased my confidence about defining what is or isn't an artist's book. As with many scholars and collectors of artists' books, White was clear to state his opinion but readily admitted that other scholars or collectors may disagree with his determinations. Though I can't say that I finished our conversations with either a tight definition or an elevator speech about artists' books, I felt much more equipped in the area of how to think about what may or may not be an artist's book. In other words, I felt more confident in beginning to make those calls for myself as I started the collection inventory in earnest.

If you are interested in following along on my journey of Discovering the Artists' Books Collection at UNCG, please subscribe to this blog by entering your email at the link at the top of the column on the right. 

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Land acknowledgement: UNCG University Libraries is located on the land that has long served as the site of meeting and exchange amongst a number of Indigenous peoples, specifically the Keyauwee and Saura. We honor and respect the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to this territory on which we gather.