Coming soon...

These beauties have made there way to my desk to be cataloged! Stay tuned for some exciting posts on some of the most influential binding designers. In this batch, there are bindings by Amy Richards, Amy Sacker, Sarah Whitman, Marion L. Peabody, Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Margaret Armstrong, Blanche McManus Mansfield, and some that are unsigned. 

Girl Scouts

I was driving in to work this morning and I heard on NPR that today marks the 103rd anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts! What a great time to showcase the Girl Scouts series from our Girls books in series collection that are up online. The physical volumes are held in the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries.

This binding published by A.L. Burt in 1922 isn't signed or attributed to a designer. You can click on the image above to link directly to the binding image in CONTENTdm to zoom in and look at the details of the bindings (and verify that it's not signed -- if you find anything that you think looks like a signature, let us know!).

This book was also published by A.L. Burt and like the above volume, this binding has not been signed and hasn't been attributed to anyone yet. While in the same series and published by the same publishers, these two bindings are very different in terms of style and overall detail. It's likely that these bindings were designed by two different people. 

This binding, published a year later than the above bindings (1923) by a different publisher, John C. Winston, IS indeed signed by Decorative Designers. There will be a blog post later discussing this firm in greater detail. You can see the interlocking "DD"s in the lower left corner of the front cover.

See? 

I always love it when bindings relate to items in the news! 

Stay tuned for Paul's post soon! I won't tell you the topic but just know, it's a really good one!

Researching without the resources : Bruce Rogers

I probably have mentioned this several times by now, but it's worth mentioning again (and in all likelihood you will hear it again), I love to do research. There's just something about rediscovering information that you didn't know was there to begin with.

I'm in the middle of doing something exciting that I will hopefully get to share with you guys soon. I'm combing through book advertisements to see if there is any mention of who the book cover designer was. So far I've checked out some key phrases in the New York Times and now I'm moving on to Google Books.

A while back, I stumbled on a perfect ad that showcases just how awesome book advertisements were back in the day. They were so detailed--well, some of them. Let me say that there are a lot of good bibliographies out there that will help you find the same information. Some libraries are smaller than others and have limited access to those resources, however, so being able to do it a free (well semi-free) way is always a positive. You'll still have to pay for your own internet, but you know what I mean. The main purpose of this post is to show you how you can utilize free resources on the internet when doing your binding research. Most of you probably already know how to do this, but it never hurts to see someone else's process, right? I was perusing Google Books and I stumbled across The book buyer. Here's the title page of the one I was looking at:

(You can click on the image and it will take you to the book in Google Books)

Super helpful publication, I must say. I searched within this publication for, "book cover designed by" and ta-da I got got some hits. Will this method pick up everything in the book? No. It depends on how good the OCR was of the image but it'll definitely get you started... hopefully.

Here were my results:

The first image had the words highlighted as well; they just weren't highlighted anymore when I captured the screen shot. As you can see these advertisements were pretty informative. They offer the title, author, publisher, amount to purchase the book, all things you would expect to see; but then some go on to list illustrators and, at times, cover designers which is just what I'm looking for. Stone & Kimball and Copeland & Day were really good about informing their public about cover designers. The first image shows 3 books that had binding designers attributed to them, which is awesome since I couldn't find a signed binding of those in the Internet Archive (fyi: if you haven't used Internet Archive, you are missing out! I cannot tell you how much I love this site. Check it out when you get a moment. I promise, you will not regret it.). 

The second page had bindings by Bruce Rogers. Now some of you book enthusiasts probably have heard of him. I'm still new to the binding game so I don't have a lot of knowledge stored up about every binding design...yet. Slowly but surely, my friends. Doing a quick search in our CONTENTdm site shows me that we do have bindings by him (See). None of the bindings are signed, so how did we attribute them to Bruce Rogers? For that I had to go to our catalog (this makes me wonder if we should put references in our CONTENTdm records, probably wouldn't hurt anything but I'll have to think more on that later. Would you guys like it if we had our references in the CONTENTdm record?).

When you look in our catalog, you find this note:

This means that we found the information that Bruce Rogers was the binding designer in two places: Frederic Warde's Bruce Rogers : designer of books, and Sidney Kramer's A history of Stone & Kimball and Herbert S. Stone & Company. Luckily, we have these references in our collection so it was just a matter of looking up the particular book. For those of you who don't have these resources, you will have to stick with the first way I demonstrated of finding the information (a.k.a. the free way).  I stumbled across the information but you can do a keyword search for the book title and it should still come up. (Side note: sometimes we don't have time to do in-depth research of every book we get, so we'll just add it to the collection and make changes if we find more information later). 

The researcher in me was curious, though. Who was Bruce Rogers? Quick Google search brought up a Wikipedia page on him. Now we all know that Wikipedia sometimes isn't reliable, but I will say, they often have an awesome reference list that will link you to some pretty cool information. Like this book, for example, that was linked on Wikipedia to a book on the Internet Archive (here's Internet Archive again). Honestly, I love Wikipedia. You might have to be cautious when using the information, but we always have to be cautious with any information we find. It's definitely a great place to start for binding research in my opinion.  While we have this book in our collection as well, it's nice sometimes to just be able to make a quick reference to it at my desk and get on with my work, so I'm really glad it's digitized. You can flip through the book below if you like.

You can click the link or hit the expand button and you'll be able to view it in an larger version.

But getting back to the question at hand, who was Bruce Rogers? This book gives his full name as Albert Bruce Rogers. Evidently he went through three forms of his names which will be how you can tell the time period of his work. He started out as "Bert", then he went by "Albert Bruce Rogers" (he evidently substituted the u in Bruce with a v), and then finally he settled on "Bruce Rogers" (Work, 1939, p. xxii).

From the research I have done, he's a big fish and I'm slightly embarrassed that I didn't know who he was, but that's the joy of researching. Did you know that he created the Centaur font? Pretty awesome guy if you ask me.

So recap on free resources:

Internet Archive: Place where you can find books digitized. Usually they are before 1921 but there are some stragglers like the one above that are digitized later. It's a great resource to look at different book covers or for finding early bibliographies.

Google Books: Google books has so many resources in one place. You can check out titles such as Publisher's Weekly, The book buyer, The dial, and others that are fabulous resources. Love Google Books and the fact that they are keyword searchable.

Interlibrary Loan: This one I didn't mention above but it's a  really good resource if your library has it. Some public libraries charges a small fee for this and some academic libraries may as well. UNCG does not charge for it. Interlibrary Loan is borrowing books from another institution. If your library doesn't have it but the university down the road (or farther away) does, you can ILL the book and the institution that does hold the book will mail it to your institution (or scan it and email the selection you want if it's allowable and passes all the copyright laws and regulations). If you have this at your library, it's a great resource to take advantage of.

Binding research

It's been a while since we last posted. Our holiday break has come and gone and we are FINALLY getting back into the swing of things in the cataloging department.

I have been working on these lovelies, also known as government documents. They can be kind of dry sometimes and since we aren't having a lot coming down from Special Collections, they have been filling my time nicely. 

Sometimes they can be a little...what's the word....monotonous, so I've been doing a little research. Call it a filler project or what have you, but it's been so much fun and interesting. I've been doing a little binding research. By research I mean going through the New York Times and Publisher's Weekly advertisements looking for the phrases: "cover design by", "cover designed by", "binding design by", "binding designed by", etc... So far I have nine pages of identified binding designers paired with their work, which is going to be so helpful down the line. I made sure to save a copy of the advertisement too, so I can go back and verify my information any time I want. This will be helpful to researchers with their binding identifications and research on their favorite artist. 

I'm very glad to say that the research has already paid off (I mean, there does need to be some purpose to this project, right?). 

The beauty shown above didn't have a binding designer listed, no signature or attribution whatsoever. During our busy times, we don't really have a lot of time to go out and research to get ALL the information on a binding. We generally just take what we see and go on (for the most part anyway. If we suspect the binding is from a specific artist we might check the key websites for more information, but that's about it). The other day I stumbled across an advertisement that identified Julia Ward Richards as being responsible for this binding. We have other designs by her which can be viewed here (that link doesn't include the one above because I haven't fixed the CONTENTdm record yet--this is hot off the press!). It was so nice to have spelled out, black and white proof that she did the binding, especially since it wasn't signed. 

Thank goodness for digitized resources (in this case the digital copies of Publisher's Weekly) that help make more information available at just a few clicks of a button (I promise you, this will not be the last time I make this statement, either). A few years ago, not many people would have sat at a microfilm reader (or with the actual volumes themselves) to find this information. The internet has made it possible for us to give more detailed and useful cataloging records for all our patrons, which this cataloger thinks is pretty awesome. 

Ethel Belle Appel

I love stumbling across interesting stories when I’m working with bindings. Part of my job requires me to do research to find out more about the binding designer, publisher, binder, etc.  One of my favorite binding designers is Ethel Belle Appel, whose life was like something out of a movie. She had her share of ups and downs and the end of her life remains somewhat a mystery.

Ethel Belle Appel was born around 1874^[1] in Pennsylvania to Titus Henry Appel and Martha E. Pentz. They were both born in Pennsylvania in 1846, married in 1873 and had three children. Only two were living at the time of the 1900 census—Ethel and her brother Arthur^[2]. Titus fought in the Civil War, initially as a private from June to September 1863, then as a sailor from August 1864 to July 1865^[3]. After the war he had several different occupations: in 1880 he was listed as a miller^[4], in 1900 as a collector^[5], and by 1910 as a carpenter for a processing mill^[6]. Her younger brother, Arthur Dick Appel, eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio and became a dentist^[7].

Hard times hit the Appel family during Ethel’s sophomore year of college and she was forced to drop out of school. She left Meadville and headed to Philadelphia to enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts and the School of Design for Women, pursuing her dream of becoming a famous artist. One day Ethel got a call from an acquaintance in Cleveland, Ohio asking if she knew anyone willing to do some illustrations for the newspaper. Ethel jumped at the chance, packed up and moved to Ohio. Two years later she decided to take her career a step further and moved to New York^[8].

Ethel initially struggled in New York,  doing only newspaper illustrations and small commission jobs, but her luck soon changed. By 1896 she had established herself as an illustrator and book cover artist. An article appeared in The Morning Times on Sunday, November 15, 1896 discussing her life and  success^[9]. In addition to her illustrations and book covers she began writing articles, one of which, Life on the Canal, appeared in Godey’s Magazine in May 1898, illustrated by James Allen Lowe, Jr.

Lowe was in the process of establishing a name for himself during the 1890s. His father disapproved of his career choice and tried to persuade James to pursue a more respectable career. Ethel, on the other hand, encouraged James to follow his dreams. The two eventually started a relationship and got engaged, much to the dismay of James’ father, who resented Ethel encouraging James’ artistic career^[10]. News reports of the time say they were engaged for 8 years, postponing wedding plans until the fall of 1905 in order to further their respective art careers^[11]. James’ relatives eventually came around and accepted Ethel.

Tragedy struck on July 30, 1905. On her way home Ethel came upon an accident where a man had been struck by a hansom cab. Not just any man, but James. According to a May 29, 1906 article in the New York Times, Ethel ripped her dress and tried to stop her fiancé’s bleeding, then jumped in the ambulance to accompany him to the hospital^[12]. But James Lowe, 31, slipped into a coma and died the next day at St. Vincent’s Hospital. Oddly, the official diagnosis didn’t mention the accident, but noted uremia as the cause^[13]. Ethel became hysterical and fainted at the news, and doctors had a hard time reviving her and calming her once she did come around.^[14]

After her terrible loss, Ethel returned to Pennsylvania to stay with her parents until Christmas, then returned to New York City to continue her work. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the same ambitious Ethel Belle Appel. She would bring beautiful work to the publishers, get it enthusiastically approved with slight modifications, but never return with the completed project, saying she couldn’t finish the job. Ethel was in a deep depression over James’ death.

Ethel continued to support herself through art even though she lacked her former enthusiasm. She was employed by Miss R.E. Gould who ran an advertising illustrating bureau. By 1906 she was staying in Long Island with a cousin, Mrs. E.M. Jenkins, and her life went on as usual until Saturday, May 19th when Ethel left with a co-worker, Miss Gear, around noon. They went shopping and Ethel cashed her paycheck at a store on 6th Street. Then she left her friend and went to telegram her cousin between 4 and 5 that she would return late that evening (some newspaper sources reported that the telegram said she wouldn't be home until the next morning). Ethel never made it home to the boarding house. Her cousin became worried and reported her missing on May 24, 1906. Ethel's father and family from Ohio (presumably her brother, Arthur) came to New York to help with the search, fearing the worst had happened^[15].

She was described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, a little past 30 years old, with dark hair and eyes, oval face and a “well-rounded figure”^[16].

^[17]

On June 2, 1906 Ethel’s whereabouts were discovered. She had gone to visit a Mrs. Williamson in Little Falls, New Jersey, fell ill and had to recuperate there. The telegram to her cousin was misaddressed to Baldwin, New York instead of Baldwin, Long Island.

A year after her “disappearance,” Ethel finally found happiness. I came across the marriage certificate of an Emma Bell Appel (the 1880 census also identified her as Emma B. Appel) with parents T. Henry and Martha (which aligns with Ethel’s parents). She married Frank A. Koch on the 19^th of January 1907 in Manhattan, New York.^[18] By 1915 they were living in Bedford, New York^[19].

On March 9, 1921, Ethel Belle Appel Koch, wife of Frank A. Koch, passed away.^[20]  She was approximately 47 years old when she died. The New York Times gave no cause of death.

***A special thank you goes to Cindy S. for proofreading this article! Thanks, Cindy S.***

---

^[1] "United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M391-TGH : accessed 18 December 2014), T Henry Apple, Meadville city Ward 3, Crawford, Pennsylvania, United States; citing sheet 12B, family 283, NARA microfilm publication T623, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 1,241,399.

^[2] "United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M391-TGH : accessed 18 December 2014), T Henry Apple, Meadville city Ward 3, Crawford, Pennsylvania, United States; citing sheet 12B, family 283, NARA microfilm publication T623, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 1,241,399.

^[3] "United States Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8SM-DLS : accessed 18 December 2014), T Henry Apple, 1890; citing NARA microfilm publication M123, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 338,248.

^[4] "United States Census, 1880," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MWXY-MCY : accessed 18 December 2014), Titus H Apple, Greenwood, Crawford, Pennsylvania, United States, 100; citing sheet 170C, film number 1119, NARA microfilm publication T9, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C.; FHL microfilm 1,255,119.

^[5] "United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M391-TGH : accessed 18 December 2014), T Henry Apple, Meadville city Ward 3, Crawford, Pennsylvania, United States; citing sheet 12B, family 283, NARA microfilm publication T623, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 1,241,399.

^[6] "United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MGQK-5JB : accessed 18 December 2014), Henry F Apple, Meadville Ward 3, Crawford, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 23, sheet 5A, family 103, NARA microfilm publication T624, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 1,375,346.

^[7] "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K6FZ-CMF : accessed 18 December 2014), Arthur Dick Appel, 1917-1918.

^[8] The morning times. (Washington, D.C.), 15 Nov. 1896. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024442/1896-11-15/ed-1/seq-21/>

^[9] The morning times. (Washington, D.C.), 15 Nov. 1896. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024442/1896-11-15/ed-1/seq-21/>

^[10] "CANNOT FIND MISS APPEL." New York Times (1857-1922): 11. May 29 1906. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2014 .

^[3] The evening world. (New York, N.Y.), 01 Aug. 1905. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1905-08-01/ed-1/seq-8/>

^[11] "CANNOT FIND MISS APPEL." New York Times (1857-1922): 11. May 29 1906. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2014 .

^[12] The sun. (New York [N.Y.]), 01 Aug. 1905. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1905-08-01/ed-1/seq-1/>

^[13] Special to The New,York Times. "LONGSTREET'S WIDOW HURT." New York Times (1857-1922): 1. Aug 01 1905. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2014 .

^[15] The Minneapolis journal. (Minneapolis, Minn.), 03 June 1906. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045366/1906-06-03/ed-1/seq-2/>

^[16] "CANNOT FIND MISS APPEL." New York Times (1857-1922): 11. May 29 1906. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2014

^[17] Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]), 15 Nov. 1896. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99021999/1896-11-15/ed-1/seq-11/>

^[18] "New York, Marriages, 1686-1980," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F67Z-XJH : accessed 16 December 2014), Frank A. Koch and Emma Bell Appel, 19 Jan 1907; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 1,558,687.

^[19] "New York, State Census, 1915," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K95X-BJW : accessed 17 December 2014), Ethel B Koch, Bedford, Westchester, New York, United States; from "New York, State Census, 1915," index and images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing state population census schedules, 1915, p. 16, line 14, New York State Archives, Albany.

^[20] "Obituary 3 -- no Title." New York Times (1857-1922): 13. Mar 10 1921. ProQuest. Web. 16 Dec. 2014