A Book a Week 2014: Made, Altered, Repaired. Week 21

Week of 26 May

Drop Spine (Clamshell) Box as Postcard storage

I collect postcards. I wouldn't say I'm a tidy person, but if I have a spot for something, it's more likely to be put away. People used to send and receive postcards more often. And my mother was a tour coordinator for a travel agency and would travel overseas once or twice a year. We'd get postcards from every place she stopped. When I was learning box making and book binding, my teacher suggested making a box to fit my postcards. It was a great idea.

My brother-in-law started traveling to different U.S. colleges because he was a school counselor and then worked in admissions. He started sending postcards to my kids from those places he visited. So my postcard box is almost full.

I have some vintage ones from grandparents as well.

Time for a new box.

Postcard Box

So, for my next box, I wanted one that my postcard would fit into. It's a cool archive of postcards from around the world.

Drop Spine (Clamshell) Box

Drop Spine (or Clamshell) box

Here is the first Drop Spine Box I made in 1992. I was in library school in Madison, WI, and I took this incredible hand book binding class by my boss, Jim Dast. He was the head of the Conservation Dept of Memorial Library, and I was a peon repairing books in his lab. I learned all the finest, traditional forms of book arts from him; he was amazing.

This is one of the places I keep my little favorite paper scraps.