Printing Fabric
Today’s “site of interest” at Style Court is The Zucchi Collection, “home to 56,000 printing blocks used to produce handprinted fabric over the course of three centuries from 1785 to 1935. . . ” As outlined on the Zucchi site itself:
This series reproduces the so-called “Palma” motif which modern historians have determined as being typical of damask fabrics (click on image for more information)
A symmetrical handblock from a monochromatic pair in wood and felt, England, 1790, 46cm x 24cm (Milan: Zucchi Collection)
In 1987, Giordano Zucchi, a textile group director sensitive to changing tastes in the art of furnishing, came into possession of a handblock of wood and pewter which had formerly been used for the production of hand-printed fabrics. It was only one among many to have been found in a certain factory in Gloucestershire. These handblocks had been the property of the prestigious English textiles company David Evans & Co. who, for more than 150 years, had been gathering them from Europe’s major printing houses. Giordano Zucchi was not one to let an opportunity pass him by and in 1988, this important legacy was renamed “The Zucchi Collection.” Its value was further enhanced by the addition of special copper plates used to create the characteristic “batik” design. Today it is considered to be one of the biggest collections of handblocks for printed fabrics in the world. The cultural value of the Collection gained official recognition in 1997 when it received the Guggenheim Award.
Call for Papers: Conference on Women and Political Thought
Women’s Political Thought in Europe 1700-1800
Prato, Italy, 25-29 August 2010
Proposals due by 8 March 2010
Offers of papers are invited for a conference on the contribution of women to the history of political thought in Europe during the Enlightenment period. Papers may discuss the political ideas of individual women such as Mary Wollstonecraft, Catherine Macaulay, Mary Hays, Sarah Churchill, Mary Delariviere Manley, Marie Jodin, Emilie du Châtelet, Madame Dupin, Olympe de Gouges, Felicité Keralio-Robert, Madame Roland, Germaine de Staël, Dorothea Erxleben Leporin, Amalie Holst, Johanna Charlotte Unzer, Luise Gottsched, Mariana von Ziegler, Elise Reimarus, Elisabetta Caminer Turra, and others. Papers placing the work of such women in the broader context of political writing by men are encouraged. ‘Political thought’ is broadly interpreted to include sexual politics as well as political theory, and discussions of the political ideas of women as expressed in genres other than the political treatise are welcome.
Submissions of title and one-page abstract should be sent by 8th March 2010, to Karen.green@arts.monash.edu.au, or in hard copy to Karen Green, School of Philosophy and Bioethics, Monash University, Melbourne 3800, Australia.
Up to five bursaries of up to $500 will be available to help post-graduates and early career researchers to attend the conference. Applicants who wish to be considered for one of these should indicate this with their submission.
An edited volume on women’s political thought in Europe during the eighteenth century is proposed, and contributions to the conference may be submitted for publication in this volume. Contributors who are unable to attend the Prato Conference but would like to contribute a paper to the volume are invited to submit papers for consideration by September 30th 2010.
Fellowship Opportunities for Americanists
American Antiquarian Society Visiting Academic Fellowships, 2010-2011
Applications due by 15 January 2010
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) invites applications for its 2010-11 visiting academic fellowships. At least three AAS-National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships will be awarded for periods extending from four to twelve months. Long-term fellowships are intended for scholars beyond the doctorate; senior and mid-career scholars are particularly encouraged to apply. Over thirty short-term fellowships will be awarded for one to three months. The short-term grants are available for scholars holding the Ph.D. and for doctoral candidates engaged in dissertation research, and offer a stipend of $1850/month. Special short-term fellowships support scholars working in the history of the book in American culture, in the American eighteenth century, and in American literary studies, as well as in studies that draw upon the Society’s preeminent collections of graphic arts, newspapers, and periodicals. Accommodations are available for visiting fellows in housing owned by AAS.
The AAS is a research library whose collections focus on American history, literature, and culture from the colonial era through 1876. The Society’s collections are national in scope, and include manuscripts, printed works of all kinds, newspapers and periodicals, photographs, lithographs, broadsides, sheet music, children’s literature, maps, city directories and almanacs, and a wide range of ephemera. Of particular interest to members of SHARP is our extensive collection of materials related to the history of publishing and the book trades in the U.S. and Canada.
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A selection of the ASA’s print holdings can be seen in the following collection, as described on the association’s website:
The Charles Peirce Collection of Social and Political Caricatures and Ballads originally consisted of a bound volume of 65 mounted prints of British and American origin dating from the years 1796-1807. The prints were disbound from their album, individually foldered and treated by AAS Conservation in 1992. The folders are not organized by date, place, subject or artist, but instead preserve the original order the prints appeared in the Charles Peirce album. Those of American origin have bibliographic records in the Catalogue of American Engravings [CAEP]. Prints of a British origin have their British Museum number listed which was supplied by the Catalogue of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum (AAS Call number: BIB Prints Brit C870). The box list of the entire collection, which also serves as an inventory, is fully illustrated.
Supplied in this inventory is the sheet size, title of print, publisher/artist information and year in addition to a brief description. Researchers interested in viewing additional British prints can consult the collection of European Political Prints where the British Museum prints are arranged chronologically. While thumbnail images and 150 dpi scans are available for every work, those interested in ordering higher quality reproductions may visit the Society’s Rights and Reproductions page.
Sporting Library Fellowship
John H. Daniels Fellowship at the National Sporting Library in Middleburg, Virginia
Applications due by 1 February 2010
The National Sporting Library, a research institution specializing in horse and field sports, invites applications for research fellowships from university faculty in the humanities and social sciences, museum and library professionals, journalists, and independent scholars. Research disciplines include history, art history, literature, American studies, and area studies. Past projects include the development of foxhounds in 18th-century Britain, hunting imagery in 18th-century French portraiture, and Early Modern horsemanship manuals. Located 42 miles west of Washington, D.C., the Library holds an extensive collection of over 17,000 books, periodicals, manuscripts, and sporting art. The collection covers many aspects of equestrian and outdoor sports, including foxhunting, horse racing, dressage, polo, eventing, coaching, shooting, hunting, fly fishing and angling. The F. Ambrose Rare Book Room contains over 4,000 rare volumes from the sixteenth through twentieth centuries in several languages. The Library has a permanent art collection of European and American sporting art, and will open the National Sporting Art Museum next door in 2011. The fellowship covers approved projects of 12 months or less, and applicants must demonstrate their need to use specific works in the collections. A monthly stipend, workspace, and complimentary housing (for those outside of the immediate area) are provided. Applications must be postmarked by February 1, 2010.
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