I don't mean to suggest that teachers engaged in punishment to improve their student's penmanship; rather that some writing masters cut the letters into a wooden block. By doing so, the student could easily trace over the negative letter, and see how well they filled in

Writing manuals – primarily Renaissance and Baroque (now referred to as early-modern) period books – were foremost in my mind in 2015. What I wasn't much interested in was American 18th and 19th century penmanship books. There are a multitude of penmanship books published in this period. Why cover ground

I guess this is a blurb? The publication of Papermaker's Tears: Essays on the Art and Craft of Paper is now available. My essay entitled: Without a Trace: Joseph Seavy and the Mystery of The Writer's Assistant, is the 8th chapter in the book. Included in

Leather: where to get it? I needed a high quality, smooth calf leather that I could turn into Russian Calf. Juliayn Coleman, conservator, design bookbinder, teacher, and avid cyclist – bicycles, that is ;-) was kind enough to take my call. In addition to all that, she's currently the

Wednesday was materials research and skills acquisition day. Earl and I collaborated on commercial jobs in NYC, had some of the same friends, and spent many hours together either at his shop, or at my loft in TriBeCa. We talked until midnight Tuesday, and most of Wednesday morning reconstructing our

Sometimes it's a pleasure to reflect on the past. It's even better when an old friend comes to town and the stories can roll out over food, and new experiences. Earl Kallemeyn came from NYC to stay with me for a week. I've known

"Everybody knows what a good sheet of paper is," says Don Farnsworth as he recounts the story his half-century of papermaking. For most of that time, he's been observing and questioning: What made the Renaissance drawings different from what contemporary drawing on paper made today? As

Last week, my "apprenticeship" resumed at Magnolia Paper, a part of Magnolia Editions. After a 3 month hiatus, we're back at it. Don Farnsworth is an iteration engine, rarely stopping, never going back but here we are, doing just that. As mentioned in the last post,

I've moved this blog away from WP, and now am using GhostPro (for the tech folk) to host it. As you can see, I've archived my 2015 motorcycle/research trip so you can refresh your memory.  I'll be updating it to conclude the story