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I went to UVA and took a couple of "rare books" courses (titles like "History of the Book", etc) under Terry Belanger, who was awarded a MacArthur fellowship in

by eitally 11y ago

I went to UVA and took a couple of "rare books" courses (titles like "History of the Book", etc) under Terry Belanger, who was awarded a MacArthur fellowship in 2006 (I think) for his work. Rare Book School is a summer program that brings together specialists and students from around the globe to further and spread knowledge of bibliographic history -- printing, papermaking, binding, distributing, font creation, etc. It meets in the workspace of the Book Arts Press in one of the UVA libraries. They have their own "stacks" with a really eclectic collection. Everything from a bazillion different versions of John Updike's novels to one of a kind 16th century manuscripts and illuminated books. They also have a fully functional letterpress. I'm only mentioning all this to get to the point that matters to me personally: Mr Belanger was my advisor and helped me with my senior project, which was to research and then stage an exhibit in UVA's Rotunda. I had a ton of fun... and realized I never wanted to be a museum curator. And that, my friends, is how I started my career in tech -- via a temp job through Manpower where I was hired as a web developer. :) Proof: http://rarebookschool.org/all-programs/exhibitions/nickel/ http://rarebookschool.org/all-programs/exhibitions/nickel/ My word of mouth marketing attempt: https://rarebookschool.org/2005/exhibitions/two_nickel.html https://rarebookschool.org/2005/exhibitions/two_nickel.html And if anyone is really interested, here's where you can buy a copy of the exhibit catalog: http://www.abebooks.com/Two-Nickel-Ephemera-Concerning-Thomas-Jefferson/12845001305/bd http://www.abebooks.com/Two-Nickel-Ephemera-Concerning-Thoma...

benbreen 11y ago
That's a great story! I took my first Rare Book School class last year and Belanger is still teaching there, although he stepped down as director a few years ago. The Washington Post was actually filming a video about RBS when I was there. Talking to the journalist about Bezos and his plans while being surrounded by people operating an 18th-century style letterpress was kind of fascinating. This is the video if anyone is interested: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/08/28/u-va-s-rare-book-school-a-summer-camp-for-book-nerds/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/08/28...
- eitally 11y ago
  RBS is a hidden gem. I like to think every research domain has something similar. Thanks for sharing the video -- that's cool. :) (one of the things we did in one of his classes was learn about the history of printing and then prep & print our own folios using that press. pretty awesome, and a new perspective on the rapid pace of technology.)

by eitally 11y ago

benbreen 11y ago

That's a great story! I took my first Rare Book School class last year and Belanger is still teaching there, although he stepped down as director a few years ago. The Washington Post was actually filming a video about RBS when I was there. Talking to the journalist about Bezos and his plans while being surrounded by people operating an 18th-century style letterpress was kind of fascinating. This is the video if anyone is interested: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/08/28/u-va-s-rare-book-school-a-summer-camp-for-book-nerds/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/08/28...

eitally 11y ago
RBS is a hidden gem. I like to think every research domain has something similar. Thanks for sharing the video -- that's cool. :) (one of the things we did in one of his classes was learn about the history of printing and then prep & print our own folios using that press. pretty awesome, and a new perspective on the rapid pace of technology.)